The SMUS sporting year began its countdown, with a series of Island championships and one BC tournament on the docket.
Golf
Golf continued with the Lower Island tournament at Gorge Vale. Both Sting Zhang and Angus Lee performed well, with the SMUS team finishing 7th of the 13 teams entered.
A great effort by the Blue Jags at the Islands at Arbutus Ridge Golf Club on May 24 saw them come close to qualifying for the BCs. Sting Zhang showed exceptional skills on the front nine, leading the individual competition by a single stroke with just three holes remaining. Although he narrowly missed out on the medalist title due to a few errant shots in the challenging conditions, his performance was still impressive.
Rugby
The SMUS Girls turned in fine performances on Day 1 of their Island tournament in Nanaimo, dominating Highland, Belmont and Oak Bay thanks to sound work on kickoffs and impressive ball retention.
The following afternoon, led by Alex Motherwell, the Blue Jags dropped Esquimalt 28-14 to reach the championship match against top seed Claremont. In a high-quality affair, played in blistering hot conditions, SMUS played beautifully to lead 17-5 at halftime. The Spartans responded well, with two converted tallies of their own, leaving the game delicately poised inside the final minute. From a scrum, Harper May then ran to the blindside, drawing one defender before passing to a flying Skye Farish. Alas, a heavy tackle right on the goal line jarred the ball loose leaving the final score 19-17 to Claremont.
Nonetheless, the silver medal finish ensured qualification for the BC tournament June 1-2 in Abbotsford, with SMUS guaranteed a top seed and favourable draw.
On the Junior Boys side, the Juniors saw their season come to an end with a 36-10 Island semifinal defeat at Shawnigan. The team, with Jack Driscoll, Marcus Lam and Ewan Webber-Smith to the fore, played with great courage throughout against a big and well drilled opponent. At the same time, a Senior Reserve XV team dropped its match as well, with Shawnigan prevailing 29-12.
However, the main focus for the Senior Boys team was the May 25 Island AA final vs Brentwood. With the team finally over various bangs and knocks, and after a series of crisp practices, SMUS enjoyed one of those magical days when everything attempted literally turned to gold. In a game predicted to be a tossup, the Blue Jags scored early and often, leading 22-0 at halftime and powering away after intermission to advance 53-7.
Matthew Bennett, Anton von Oldershausen and Carter Haddow each tallied twice, while Alex Liu, Ethan Woods, and Sam Bruninx added singles. Bennett and Driscoll added four conversions.
SMUS now moves on to the BC AA tournament, May 31 - June 3 in Abbotsford. Seeded #3, the team will open against Earl Marriott in a round 1 contest.
Soccer
In a hugely impressive performance, the Senior Girls Soccer team confirmed its reputation as one of the province's elite sides, following a comprehensive effort in the Island AA tournament. Over the four games, the Blue Jags potted an impressive 17 goals without reply, accounting for Gulf Islands, GNS and Brooks in pool play and then host Mark Isfeld in the final game.
Eva Cuddihy, named tournament MVP and stellar as always in net, also managed a few goals playing up front. Makena Anderson, Talia Pike, Gabi Perez, Maddy Albert, Amanda Adams and Joss Olcen were others on the scoresheet.
The final vs Isfeld was a stern test, with the Courtenay based Ice pressuring early. Slowly however, SMUS took control of proceedings, making light of the 30°C temperature. Albert and Pike registered goals in a 2-0 victory.
The team now awaits the draw for the BC AA tournament, set to be played June 1-3 on turf at UVic.
Tennis
Meanwhile, Tennis completed its season with the AA provincial tournament in Vancouver. SMUS opened impressively by beating Archbishop Carney 11-0 in pool play before falling 6-5 to Collingwood. In the quarterfinal, with Krissh Hora and Julian Bezeau leading the way, the team eased past West Point Grey 7-4. Then, against eventual champion Sentinel, each player performed extremely well in a very narrow loss.
Happily, the Blue Jags recovered well to then claim a well-deserved bronze medal by virtue of a 7-4 victory vs Brentwood. The consistently excellent Felina Yang completed an undefeated singles season in the process, while Josie Mason-Woodcock and Maddy Wilson provided outstanding leadership as a formidable doubles team.
Finally, Field Hockey was again in the news. Congratulations to Kendyll Adams and Caitlyn Mullen, two of only four Islanders to make the BC U16 squad. And, to cap a superb nine months, Rebecca Stone, Amanda Adams, Wynn Brown and Eva Cuddihy were named to the BC U18s. All six players will compete in the Canadian Interprovincial championships in July.
Track and Field
Track and Field was also busy, with the Lower Island meet held at Centennial Stadium on May 17 and the full Islands May 24-25 at the same venue.
In the first competition, SMUS finished 3rd at both Senior Girls and Senior Boys level, with talented jumper Leupold Wang winning the prestigious Aggregate Award.
Others who turned in strong performances included Jonah Johnston, Brianne McLeish, Charlotte Lee, Charles Gosselin, Henry Morton, Jordan Martin, Finlay Hlannon and Owen Sandquist-Sherman.
At the Island meet, 11 SMUS athletes went on to qualify for provincials, set for Langley June 8-10.
Congratulations to Owen Sandquist-Sherman (1500m and 3000m), Tommy Hong (high jump), Charlotte Lee (high jump and pole vault), Brianne McLeish (shot put), Leupold Wang (high jump, long jump, triple jump), Jonah Johnston (triple jump) and Charles Gosselin (800m).
Also, Charlotte Lee, Abby McLeish-Shaw, Annabel Howard, and Roberta Lee qualified in the 4 x 100m relay, while Charles Gosselin, Jonah Johnston, Owen Sandquist-Sherman and James Kotze did likewise in their 4 x 400m relay race.
Vivat!
