Fall term athletics continued this week, with our cross country and squash teams, as well as our rowers, making their season debuts.
Cross Country
At Lambrick Park, the opening race of the 2019 season took place for the Cross Country team. Tion McLeish led from start to finish over the Junior Boys 5 km course. At Senior Girls level, Izzy Champion ran well to place fourth. Middle School runners also made their mark, with Olivia V. claiming gold at Grade 8 level, with Owen S. second and Avery G. fifth in their respective Grade 7 competitions.
October 3 sees the next leg of the City race series at Henderson Park.
Field Hockey
Senior Girls Field Hockey enjoyed a lighter week, securing a convincing 5-0 victory over Lambrick Park. Suzie Stone (2), Elle Nelson, Eva Cuddihy and Jenna Coward scored goals, while Jessie Cheng recorded the shutout.
On the Girls Development front, the squad showed continued improvement, defeating both Oak Bay and Glenlyon Norfolk School.
Rowing
On the water, various SMUS crews took part in the Crabfest and Head of the Hamster Regattas. The events included skill challenges as well as dual format races, designed to give novice rowers maximum race experiences. Of note, the Women's 8+ won their heat. Then, over a 3,000 m course, with strong winds and racecourse corners to navigate, Liam Hodgins won the Open Men's 1X before teaming with Markus Muller for a bronze medal in the Open Men's 2X.
All team members now look forward to the October 25-26 Elk Lake Regatta.
Soccer
The Junior Boys dropped a league match at Royal Bay, then drew 1-1 against Oak Bay.
At the ISA Tournament in Vancouver, after splitting games against host St. George's (1-2) and Shawnigan Lake School (2-1), the team faced Brentwood College School with the winner moving on to the final. Though scoring first in this game, SMUS fell to a pair of second-half goals. Still, a third-place finish offered some consolation. Cole Pontefract, Sam Shariaty and Matthew Bennett notched goals, while goalkeeper Stuart Dobyns made several timely saves. Omar Rosales, Philip Doerfler and Alex Ross were others to impress.
The Senior Development side enjoyed a competitive tussle with Esquimalt High. Francesco Persiani's curling free kick was a thing of beauty, with another curling set piece strike almost securing a 2-2 draw.
Squash
At the Shawnigan Lake Junior Open, the Blue Jags' squash team captured three of the four titles on offer. Stuart Kerr, Jay Herring and Alex Brown won their respective events, with Ryan Chow a runner-up and John Duffey third in their events. Sofia Quon placed fourth in the Girls Open division and was named winner of the tournament sportsmanship award.
Volleyball
A shorthanded Senior Girls Volleyball squad dropped league matches to Claremont and Belmont, two of the top AAAA teams in town. Claudia Murr and Josie Hallatt both played extremely well, sparking some impressive defensive work in advance of key upcoming meetings with Vic High and Pacific Christian School.
At the Junior Girls level, SMUS placed third in the Stelly's tournament before beating Mount Douglas and Pacific Christian School in league play. Anna Fowler, Jojo Tupas-Singh, Lauren Rust and Makena Anderson were all prominent.
On the Senior Boys side, the team called up Grade 10s Ryan Cheng, Jonathan Nguyen and Ben Ingimundson for games against Vic High, Esquimalt and Reynolds. This trio, in addition to seniors Karter Fry, Jack Kelley, Matias Totz and Mark Finamore, performed soundly.
Golf
Congratulations to Grade 9 student Daniel Bennett who placed third at Golf Canada's Future Links Fall Series junior championship for at Crown Isle Resort in Courtenay last weekend. After a very successful summer playing golf, he finishes the year as the 7th ranked golfer in BC on the Junior Boys 2019 Order of Merit.
