Myer boys advance to OFSAA
The A.N. Myer boys curling team turned in a dominating performance Thursday in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association final at the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club.
The Zone 3 champions fell behind 3-0 to Saint Michael in the first end before tying the score 3-3 after two. From there, Myer stole seven points in the next five ends before Saint Michael shook hands trailing 10-3 after seven ends.
“We have more experience than most of the other teams and it shows out there,” Myer coach Bryant Karner said. “Our skip Remy (Pietrangelo) has played a lot. His brother played for Myer and he comes from a curling family. He is the leader of our team and the reason why we are here.”
The 15-year-old Pietrangelo started curling four years ago but has only been competing competitively since 2023. His high point was teaming with Myer girls skip Claire Fish to place fourth at this year’s Ontario Winter Games in Thunder Bay. They were competing against under-20 competitors.
Pietrangelo said there was no secret to Myer’s success this season.
“We just practise really hard on our draws and stuff and we have a few strong guys,” the Grade 10 student said.
He is excited to compete at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations playdowns March 20-23 in Kingston.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know people and playing games,” he said. “Doing well will take a lot of practice. Practice is important.”
Pietrangelo liked how his rink played Thursday.
“We just missed a few shots in the first end but we battled back and didn’t let that get to us. We really tried to put pressure on them and try to make them make tough shots instead of us making tough shots. That worked out for us.”
Other members of the Myer rink are vice Evan Prejza, second Ashton Butt and lead Isak Caverson.
Myer advanced to the SOSSA final with a 9-3 victory over St. Catharines Collegiate. Collegiate finished second in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Zone 4 play but moved on when Sir Winston Churchill couldn’t ice a rink for SOSSA.
Members of the Collegiate team are Annika Braun, Aaron Goertzen, Nathan Kidd, Austin McEwen and Tyler Ramos.
Saint Michael advanced to the SOSSA final with a 7-3 victory over Saint Paul in the semifinals.
Members of the Saint Michael’s team are skip Phynn Gallacher, vice Andrew Karagiannis, second Nick Perrotta, lead Immanuel Emareyo and alternate Lyndon Letourneau.
Saint Michael coach Fran Caruso-Leitch pointed to Gallacher for the team’s success.
“Phynn is an experienced skip and he curls outside of school. He is a great curler,” she said. “It helps to have a skip who can take control, call a great game and get the kids to put the shots where they need to be.”
The rest of the team has followed Gallacher’s lead.
“Andrew is in his second year of curling and all the others are new curlers,” she said. “They picked up their brooms in October and have been practising really hard and working hard. They are dedicated to the sport and are having a good season.”
Members of the Saint Paul rink are Brandon Cardoba-Cruz, Dylan Gendron, Olivia Harlan, Matthew Karas and Gabrielle Parrent.
