Girls high school basketball all-stars announced
Kaydence Hales from Thorold is one of the 40 girls selected to play in the annual high school girls basketball all-star games Jan. 29 at St. Catharines Collegiate.
The participants have been chosen for the annual Niagara girls high school basketball all-star games to be played Wednesday, Jan. 29 at St Catharines Collegiate.
Named to the North Top 10 team are: Anya Namestnik and Addi Torigan from Sir Winston Churchill; Kate Devries and Shorleigh Burrows from Eden; Kiera Teske from Governor Simcoe; Lita Sutor and Maria DiFlavio from Blessed Trinity; Kaydence Hales from Thorold; Kaylee Giesbrecht from Saint Francis; and, Reece Bolibruck from West Niagara.
Selected to the South Top 10 team are: Camilla Moscato and Ava Briggs from Notre Dame; Hannah Braye from Westlane; Emma Vendittelli and Ava Walker from A.N.Myer; Claire Piekney, Amelia Siolkowsky and Addison Falardeau from E.L. Crossley; Shania Hintenberger from Lakeshore Catholic; and, Samantha Dino from Saint Paul. The team will be coached by Ryan Petro and Aaron Belding from E.L. Crossley.
Picked for the North Top 20 squad are: Sofia Sestili from Denis Morris; Sadie Thibault and Talia Hultink from Smithville Christian; Taliyah Washington from Governor Simcoe; Kiera Pink from Sir Winston Churchill; Rozlyn Ciocca from Saint Francis; Avery Whaling from Blessed Trinity; Reece Vriend from DSBN Academy; Claire Martires from Holy Cross; and, Harper MacQueen from West Niagara. The team will be coached by Tawnia Hultnik of Smithville Christian.
Chosen for the South Top 20 team are: Lila DiPietro and Nicole Dixon from Notre Dame; Caitlyn Wade from Centennial; Madeline Leitch from Saint Michael; Jamila Johnson from Eastdale; Maia Walker from A.N. Myer; Leah Waselovich from E.L. Crossley; Serena Gigliotti from Saint Paul; and, Addison Thornton and Bridget Peazel from Lakeshore Catholic.
“It is like the final game for seniors and it also showcases the talent that we have in the Niagara region across all schools and not just a few schools,” said Frank Keltos, who organizes the event along with Kate Harpur. “We only had one school that sent in a nomination that has a player who isn’t playing due to availability. All the other schools who nominated players have at least one athlete taking part. It’s nice to recognize girls that are athletic in the Niagara region.”
The games highlight just how much talent there is in Niagara. The E.L. Crossley Cyclone won silver at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA championships and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish made it to the quarter-finals at the OFSAA AAA playdowns.
“There is a ton of talent here and when you look across the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) and college basketball, the Niagara athletes that are playing at post secondary are quite noticeable,” he said. “It’s nice to allow these kids to showcase themselves and I do it because it is a quiet, gracious way of showing them playing together for that one game. Otherwise, they never get to play together.”
Normally each school is asked to submit three ranked nominations but on occasion the committee will allow four submissions based on the quality and success of a particular program.
“We sent out the same nomination sheet we have done now for 16 years,” Keltos said. “Once the nominations come in, myself and Kate go through the list and we place names based on who should be top 10 and who should be top 20. We also look how successful they were as a team and individually. We will also look at more information if a coach talks about their value to their team. We have a pretty good understanding of the talent being that we are from two regions and we see all the teams.”
The Top 20 game will be played at 6 p.m. followed by the Top 10 game at 7:30 p.m. The cash-only admission to the game is $3 for students and $5 for adults. Proceeds from the game will be donated to Gillian’s Place.
Helping make the event a go are: St. Catharines Rebels basketball which provides the game shirts; the Niagara District Basketball Referees Association which provides the officials; and, the District School Board of Niagara for allowing the games to use St. Catharines Collegiate.
