High school report: Churchill, Crossley, Port Colborne OFSAA roundup; Simcoe basketball
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs senior boy volleyball team, pictured after winning SOSSA, made it to the quarter-finals of the OFSAA AAA championships in Windsor.
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs senior boys volleyball team made it to the quarter-finals of the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AAA championships in Windsor before falling 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 26-28 and 25-21) to A.B. Lucas.
The fifth-ranked Bulldogs advanced to the quarter-finals by going 2-2 in round-robin play. Churchill defeated I.E. Weldon 2-0 (25-20 and 25-11) and Pierre Elliott Trudeau 2-0 (25-23 and 25-20) and lost 2-0 to Etobicoke (25-18 and 25-21) and Mississauga (25-19 and 25-15).
“We really improved during the year and ended the season with a fifth-place finish at the OFSAA level,” Churchill head coach Brent Mergl said. “Every team at AAA OFSAA was very strong.”
Mergl felt his team’s commitment level was the driving force behind its success.
“Our goal for next year is to get back to the medal-round games,” he said.
Churchill entered OFSAA with an overall record of 36-4.
Members of the team are Spencer Gregson, Ryan Daniel, Randy Phelan, Patrick Hassan, Dylan Vanleeuwen, Nathan Butler, Alexander Wang, Hawkin Paleczny, Andrew Song, Matthew Jeffery, Yazeed Alzughaibi, Noah Garnace, Jacob Cielen-Gough, Jaydon Hoadley and Griffin Whitehorne.
CROSSLEY REACHES CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
The E.L. Crossley Cyclones senior boys volleyball team made it to the consolation semifinals of the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA championships in Sydenham before falling in five sets (23-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-12 and 15-11) to third-seeded St. Michael’s from Stratford.
“It was an amazing experience,” Crossley head coach Michelle Gibson said. “The Crossley boys showed up and competed against some of the top teams in Ontario. The boys played some of their best volleyball all season. It was a pleasure to share this experience with them.”
The entire school shared in the experience.
“We felt supported by our entire school, starting with a pep rally send-off,” she said. “Most teachers streamed our games and we received so many messages of support from the school. We were all in it together.”
Crossley enjoyed watching Eden win gold.
“They deserve that gold medal, hands down,” Gibson said. “They work hard and it shows on the courts. The Crossley boys felt the support from the Eden players, their parents and coaches too. It was sportsmanship at its best.”
The Cyclones advanced to the consolation semifinals by defeating Monsignor Percy Johnson 3-1 (23-25 25-22, 25-15 and 25-17 in the quarter-finals.
E.L. Crossley went 2-2 in pool play, defeating Thornlea 2-1 (25-21, 21-25 and 15-12) and Streetsville 2-0 (25-23 and 20) and losing 2-0 to Franco Cite (25-19 and 25-16) and Preston (25-22 and 25-18).
Members of the team were Forest Turpel, Ryan Belovari, Jakob Butler, Tyler Dobbie, Lucas Fast, John Higenell,Jack Hilts, Joshua Lahn, Ethan Mergl, Hye-Jun Song, Hayden Stewart, Carter Teal and Mitchell Waldt.
BLUE BEARS REACH CONSOLATION FINALS
The Port Colborne Blue Bears senior girls basketball team made it to the consolation final of the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations A championships in North Bay before dropping a 43-40 decision to eighth-seeded St. Mary’s.
The Blue Bears trailed 23-14 at the half before outscoring St. Mary 26-20 in the second half.
“The team showed its resilience in the games. The players did not let deficits in scores put them out of contention,” head coach Barclay Walker said. “The girls had a great experience and played well as a team. They played against good competitors and saw some great games. Any time you can go to OFSAA and play five games at the championship is an amazing experience.”
Walker described his team’s second and third game’s as very physical.
“The team that could withstand the physicality of the game through 32 minutes would be the winner,” he said. “The Blue Bears were able to match the physical play with the mental toughness needed to see the play through to the end of the game.”
Port Colborne defeated 16th-seeded Saint Frere Andre 47-20 in the consolation quarter-finals and 13th-seeded Nicholson 55-32 in the semifinals.
The Blue Bears opened the tournament by losing 55-38 to ninth-seeded Algonquin and 47-30 to seventh-seeded Saint Famille.
Members of the team were Tiawna Galandy, Maddie Coleman, Deanna Donnelly, Jacobi Oskam, Reagan Grano, Sydney Vrbanac, Mackenzie Wells, Jordyn Goins, Jennifer Kozelj, Abigail Thalen, Hannah Walker, Grace Luey and Robyn Skrubbeltrang.
REDCOATS CAPTURE COUGAR CLASSIC
Player of the game Darren Johnston netted 20 points to power the Governor Simcoe Redcoats to a 51-42 victory over the Centennial Cougars in the championship game of the Centennial Cougar Classic last Friday.
Andrew Scott added seven for the Redcoats in the final and Mason MacEachern, Cal Andersen and Victor Hayes all scored six. Replying for Centennial were Ryan Starc (15), Jack Halliday (7) and Jordan Brewster (6).
Simcoe advanced to the final by beating Denis Morris 63-44 in the semifinals.
Leading scorers for Simcoe were player of the game Max Grant (16), Johnston (12) and MacEachern (9). Denis Morris’ leading scorers were Noah Honsberger (22), Michael Conlon (9) and Zubeer Liban (5).
