Senior Girls Soccer
The SMUS Senior Girls Soccer team remained unbeaten with a Lower Island league draw on Tuesday against Oak Bay followed by an impressive tournament championship performance at the Vikes Invitational on Thursday and Friday.
The Blue Jags defeated the Royal Bay Ravens 2-1 in the championship game of the tournament on Friday at UVic. After spotting Royal Bay an early 1-0 lead, SMUS evened things up on a goal by Joss Olcen 24 minutes in and then moved ahead when Mackenna Brown notched what proved to the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
The Blue Jags earned a spot in the final with a 3-1 victory over Mark Isfeld of Courtenay in a semifinal played earlier Friday. Olcen, Kate McQueen and Julia Rothwell scored for SMUS in that win.
SMUS opened the tournament with a pair of victories on Thursday. Brown scored twice and Olcen had a single as the Blue Jags beat Carihi 3-0. The Blue Jags then moved on to edge Oak Bay 1-0 in their second game, with the lone goal coming from Avery Geddes on a penalty kick in the 60th minute. Indigo Edgington recorded shutouts in the SMUS net in both games and was strong for the Blue Jags all tournament.
In their lone Lower Island Tier 1 league action last week, the Jags scored in the final minute to earn a 3-3 draw with visiting Oak Bay on Tuesday. SMUS got goals from Brown, Kate Fraser and Isabelle LeRoy in that game.
The Blue Jags will host Royal Bay in a league game on Tuesday at 3:45 pm. They will also take on Reynolds at Braefoot Turf on Thursday beginning at 3:25 pm.
Junior Girls Soccer
The SMUS Junior Girls recorded another Lower Island league win last Thursday, beating visiting Belmont 2-0.
Clara Pressello and Fiona Davison scored for the Junior Jags in the win while Linn Kuepper recorded her second straight league shutout in the SMUS net.
“We got an impressive game from Elspeth Rodger, who can seemingly play any position thrown at her as well as big hustle from Tamara Mazoy Caraza and Talia Klenz,” said Coach Samantha Butler. “It was a great all-around victory.”
The Junior Girls, 2-1 now in league, play host to Oak Bay on Monday (April 14). They will also host Reynolds on Thursday. Both games begin at 3:45 pm.
Rowing
The SMUS Rowing team won nine medals and 15 of the school’s 20 boats finished in the top six of their events in an impressive overall showing at the Maple Bay Regatta held over the weekend on Quamichan Lake.
The regatta included local clubs (Maple Bay, Nanaimo, Victoria City Rowing Club, and Salt Spring Island), Vancouver Rowing Club, Delta Deas, Thunder Rowing (Richmond), St. George’s School (Vancouver) as well as Island schools (Claremont, Brentwood and Shawnigan).
“Both regatta days started early with a 6 am bus,” said Coach Sarah Hagkull. “Our racing was filled with a little bit of everything – solid results, sun, and wind.”
Winning gold for the SMUS Crew were the U17 Women’s 4+, the U19 Men Novice 8+ (a U17 boat), the U19 Men’s Novice 4X+ (a U17 boat) and the U19 Mixed 4X- (mixed combination).
Taking silver for SMUS were the U19 Women’s Novice 4X+ (a U17 boat) and the U17 Men’s 8+.
Earning bronze medals were the U17 Women’s 4X+, the U17 Men’s 4+ and the U19 Women’s Novice 2X (a U17 boat).
Finishing just off the podium for SMUS in fourth place were the U19 Men’s 4+ and the U19 Men’s Novice 4X+ (a U17 boat).
The next racing event for SMUS Rowing will be the Brentwood College Regatta, April 25 to 27.
Track and Field
Three members of the SMUS Track and Field team earned first-place finishes in the second meet of the Lower Island league season last Wednesday at UVic.
Tommy Hong won the Senior Boys high jump and also placed third in long jump. Harry Lynch finished first in Senior Boys triple jump and Will Hamilton topped the Junior Boys 100-metre hurdles.
Other top showings by SMUS athletes included Beatrice Sharpe (third in the Senior Girls 1,500), Amelie Fleck (fourth in the 1,500), Connor Lee (fourth in javelin) and Parker Sheehan (sixth in the Senior Boys 100).
Strong performances also came from SMUS competitors Fleck in the Senior Girls 400, Mehak Jagopotra in discus, Caitlyn Chen in Senior Girls discus and triple jump, Adam Zilber in the Junior Boys 400, Sheehan in the Senior Boys 400, and Owen Sandquist-Sherman in the Senior Boys 3,000 and steeplechase.
SMUS team members will take part in the third Lower Island league meet this coming Wednesday (April 16) at Centennial Stadium.
Badminton
The SMUS Badminton team rolled to consecutive Lower Island league victories last week.
The Blue Jags opened the week against visiting Claremont on Tuesday. The SMUS Girls won 5-2 while the Boys beat the Spartans 6-1.
SMUS followed up with another sweep on Thursday at Oak Bay. The Girls prevailed 4-3 in a match that included several close games, while the Boys won 7-0.
“Kudos to Nicole Meng and Janette Ooi for clinching the win against Oak Bay, and Kimberly Koo for her singles game performances on both days,” said Coach Lawrence Wong. “For the boys, kudos to Kevin Li for winning his games as a Grade 9 playing up on the Senior team.”
The Blue Jags will travel to Mount Douglas for another Lower Island league match on Tuesday (April 15).
Boys Rugby
The SMUS Junior Boys Rugby team returned home from a trip up-Island with a 47-19 victory over the Alberni Armada last Thursday.
Despite playing under difficult conditions – cold, wet and slippery, with a strong cross wind – the Junior Jags recorded the win with three tries coming from Toma Pittman and two each from Keiichi Ishihara and Sebastian Ely.
Liam Whiteside added three conversions while Heinrich Dietrich had two and Remy Albert one in the SMUS victory.
Both the Junior and Senior Boys Rugby teams will play host to rival Brentwood College this Wednesday (April 16) with the Junior game starting at 3:30 pm and the Senior contest at 4:45 pm.
Junior Girls Rugby 7s
The SMUS Junior Girls Rugby 7s team split its two games in a Lower Island jamboree hosted by the Junior Jags last Monday.
SMUS beat Mount Douglas 25-0, getting three tries from Abby Farish and singles from Mia Wong and Sonia Naimi. In its other match, the Jags fell 22-0 to Royal Bay.
Making their debut for SMUS on Monday were Miho Oishi, Helena Kim, Helios Lai, Paula Suarez, Maya Cortes Mujaes, and Sakura Morita.
Senior Girls Rugby 7s
The SMUS Senior Girls Rugby 7s team dropped a pair of Lower Island league matches last Friday at Esquimalt. The Blue Jags fell 27-0 to both Esquimalt and Reynolds.
Coach Chloe Hill Huse noted Valentina Elizalde Olea for her exceptional fight through contact and line breaks in the game against Esquimalt. In the Reynolds game, the coach acknowledged Maria Garcia for strong defensive work, with seven tackles, and Carlotta D’Amico for line breaks.
SMUS will take on Belmont and Claremont on Monday (April 14) in league matches at Claremont beginning at 3:45 pm.
Golf
The SMUS Golf team has begun training for its spring season.
The Blue Jags’ first competition will be the Police Tournament at Olympic View Golf Course on April 23 and 24. That will be followed by the Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament at McCleery Golf Course in Vancouver on May 5.
“We have a very keen and promising group of students,” said Coach Melanie Bendfeld. “We are looking forward to some team leadership from our two returning players, Grade 11s Sting Zhang and Hayden Keens. We have a lot of potential and some impressive golf experience from a number of younger Grade 9/10 players this year.”
