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Niagara Juel and Juel Prep teams ready for action

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Now that the high school season is over, Niagara’s top female players can turn their attention to the Juel and Juel Prep seasons.

Pre-season games will be staged this Saturday and Sunday in anticipation of the start of the regular season on Jan. 7 and 8. Niagara will be hosting Juel games on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 and Juel Prep games on March 4 and March 5. Both weekends will be hosted at Notre Dame in Welland.

Named to the Niagara Juel roster are Brookelyn Keltos and Yemi Oladipo from the OFSAA AA champion Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs; Jamie Addy from Governor Simcoe; Kaitlyn Brophy from E.L. Crossley; Anna Deliyannis and Annika Rigby from Eden; Ava Stranges from Saint Paul; Brianna Davis and Lucy Whaling from Blessed Trinity; Sarah Hurley (formerly of E.L. Crossley) from St. Mary’s/Lincoln Prep in Hamilton; Emma Hemphill from Notre Dame; and, Joanna Smith and Charli Babin from Holy Trinity in Simcoe. 

“This year our Juel team is made up of five returning players in which three of them were starters. We will be leaning on the three starters — Brookelyn, Yemi and Jamie — to do the majority of the scoring but we are hoping to bring our Grade 11s up to speed as we have added five new players to the team,” Niagara head coach Frank Keltos said. “I believe we will be successful because of our speed and scoring ability but we do lack size.”

Helping Keltos coach the Juel team are Sue Sentance and Lexi Parkin.

Chosen to the Niagara Juel team are: Riyanna Chahoud and Rozlyn Ciocca from Saint Francis; Hannah Braye from Westlane; Shorleigh Burrows from Eden; Emma Venditelli and Maggie Mannell from A.N. Myer; Keira Teske from Governor Simcoe; Elyse Carmichael, Olivia Bittman and Lauryn Briggs from Notre Dame; and, Anya Namestnik and Kiera Pink from Sir Winston Churchill.

“The beginning of a new season is an exciting time for a coach. I love meeting new athletes and developing a season plan to implement what I feel is best for the success of our current squad,” Niagara Juel head coach Kristy-Anne Wytenburg said. “We are very guard heavy this year, but are tough and fast.”

Helping Wytenburg coach the team are Shelby Johnston and Rysen Stewart.

Both Niagara teams are run by the Pelham Panthers basketball organization.

Bernie Puchalski, a graduate of Brock University and Niagara College, worked in journalism in Niagara for more than 27 years before taking a voluntary buyout from The Standard at the end of 2016. He started his career as a news reporter for the Niagara Falls Review before switching to sports reporting. He was a sports reporter and sports editor at the Niagara Falls Review before joining the Standard's sports department in 1996. He was named the Standard's sports editor in 2000 and became the regional sports editor, in charge of the Niagara Falls Review, Welland Tribune and Standard, in 2015, a position he held until he left the company. During his time in newspapers, he was a multiple winner and finalist for numerous Ontario and Western Ontario Newspaper Awards for sports reporting, spot news reporting and humour writing. He was a member of the Standard Boys Basketball Tournament committee and co-chair of the Standard Girls Basketball Tournament, helping to raise tens of thousands of dollars for bursaries presented to participants in the tournament. He also served on countless local sports committees both in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines.

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