Term 3 athletics began on many fronts April 1, with teams enjoying both exhibition and league contests, most played in lovely spring weather.
Badminton
In badminton, SMUS, thanks to gutsy singles performance by Stanley Weng, scrambled past Mount Douglas Secondary 6-5. This important result paved the way for a 10-1 win versus Oak Bay High. Newcomers Duc Do, Inez Sham, Dung Le and Andre Wen each performed strongly.
Rugby
In rugby, the Senior Girls opened strongly, making the trek to Langford to play Pacific Christian School and perennial powerhouse Belmont Secondary School.
Against the Pacers, SMUS, thanks to quick thinking, accurate passing and good support play, ran in six tries en route to a 30-0 win. Jordan Stonehouse registered the first tally of the season for the Blue Jags, while Eliska Slukova, Dewi Wahono, Chloe Hill-Huse and Charlotte Kessler also impressed.
While Belmont jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, SMUS replied immediately with a Slukova score. Seniors Tate Robinson, Kiri Ngawati and Morgan Warner then began to make their presence felt, while strong running by Kenzi Farish further stretched the opposition. Level at 10-10, SMUS then opened the second half with two fine scores, with newcomer Jessica Nonay prominent. Belmont countered very late in the contest, but it was not enough as the Blue Jags recorded a confidence-building 20-15 victory. The team now looks forward to the Claremont ScrumFest April 11-13.
The Junior Boys met Claremont Secondary School April 3 in league action. Both teams looked to use the ball at every opportunity, resulting in a combined 11 tries, as SMUS snuck home 40-31. Toby Wu and Duke Curran led a spirited forward effort, while centre Eddie Kim and scrum half Louis Chang were the pick of the backs. However, Eastdale Secondary School, on tour from Ontario, proved a tougher nut to crack. The visitors tackled like demons from start to finish and scrambled one try from good pressure to win 7-0.
The Senior Boys featured in an almost identical week, first defeating Brentwood College School 45-28 in a wide open, high-scoring bonanza. Centres Will Kinahan and Elvis Duru each touched down twice, with the former adding five conversions for a 20-point haul. Max Nishima, in addition to making 21 tackles, also notched a try, as did Jacob Robb and Jack Batoni. James Scott enjoyed an excellent outing at No. 8 while Josh Mao scrummed strongly and carried well.
Against Eastdale, a somewhat experimental side welcomed back Mark Finamore, but, as in the Junior game, struggled to adapt to the conditions. While a good Connor Chan tally drew SMUS within two points at halftime, the Eagles scored twice late to finish thoroughly deserving 22-5 winners.
Soccer
In soccer, the Senior Girls produced two wins in league action, accounting for Brookes Westshore before edging Glenlyon Norfolk School 2-0. In the latter game, Maggie Fekete, in the 8th minute and then Claire Pontefract in the 58th minute, scored the goals, while a number of other high-quality chances went abegging. Claudia Murr produced several fine saves in recording the shutout.
SMUS now moves on to a league game at Esquimalt before taking part in the highly competitive UVic Invitational April 12 and 13.
At the Junior Girls level, after dropping the league opener to Stelly's Secondary School, the Blue Jags drew 2-2 versus a feisty Belmont side. Lauren Withers and Marbella Rodriguez-Ramirez each registered fine goals, while Elle Nelson, Julia McDermott and Anna Brinham provided terrific leadership. Jenna Coward, in her first season, made some impressive saves in goal.
Track and Field
The Track and Field team, featuring some 20 competitors, travelled up to the University of Victoria's Centennial Stadium to participate in the first city meet of the season. Callum Webber-Smith won both the Bantam 200m and 100m hurdles, while Kyle Stenberg (Junior Boys 100m hurdles), Liam Erlic (Senior Boys Triple Jump) and Lauren Randall-Guy (Girls Javelin) also topped the podium. Therese Mortejo placed second in the Senior Girls High Jump, with Matias Totz likewise a silver medalist in both the Senior Boys Discus and Shot Put. Hemmesh Pillay also threw well.
Squash
Siblings Brooke Herring '18 and Jay Herring competed in the Junior Olympic Cup All Japan Squash Championship during Spring Break. Brooke captured the Girls U19 title and Jay won his first Junior National title in Boys U17. The win helped Brooke qualify for the Asian Junior Individual Championships in Macao in June and the World Junior Squash Championships in July and August in Malaysia.
