Cross Country
For the first time in school history, both the SMUS Senior Boys and Senior Girls won their respective AA Island Championship Cross Country team titles last week in Powell River.
The two SMUS teams will take their No. 1 Island AA seeds into the BC Championships this coming Saturday at Vancouver’s Jericho Park.
“The Powell River race course for the Island Championship races featured some extreme elevation changes, as well as many sharp corners,” said SMUS Coach Jeff Hunt. “A night of heavy rain prior to the race also made the course particularly slippery.
“At the Senior level, the competition was fierce with many club and provincial-level athletes taking part.”
SMUS runners embraced the challenges. In the 5K Senior Girls race, Amelie Fleck found her way up to the lead group with teammate Beatrice Sharpe not far behind. Both SMUS runners navigated the conditions very well and executed a brilliant race strategy to finish second and seventh, respectively, among AA runners. “Perhaps the surprise of the day was the unbelievable race of Sophie DeLauniere who finished in 12th place,” said Hunt.
In the Senior Boys race, a questionable starting gun had runners dazed and confused as they started their 5K course. Blue Jag runner Luc Denux weaved his way up near the front with Owen Sandquist-Sherman not far behind. Both Finlay Hlannon and Michael Carpiano were in a sea of runners in the main pack. As the race progressed, the SMUS boys battled their way up the standings to finish with a superb overall result. Individually, Denux finished in second place, Sandquist-Sherman fourth, Hlannon ninth, and Carpiano 11th.
In the 4K Junior Girls race, Miho Oishi battled hard in the adverse conditions and was the top SMUS finisher. In the Junior Boys event, a few wrong turns by a couple of the SMUS runners unfortunately disqualified the team from a BC qualification. Nevertheless, Isaac Ren fought his way through and finished in 51st place with a gritty effort.
Field Hockey
The SMUS Senior Girls Field Hockey team also captured an Island AA championship last week, beating Glenlyon Norfolk School 3-1 in Friday afternoon’s final at UVic.
The Blue Jags got an early goal from Mackenna Brown and ultimately dominated the high-quality contest. Caitlyn Mullen scored the Blue Jags’ second goal and Brown added another SMUS marker before the game ended.
SMUS opened the Island tournament with a 3-0 morning victory over Brentwood College in a semifinal. The Blue Jags got two goals from Kendyll Adams and one from Avery Geddes in that win.
The Island title will give the Blue Jags a better seed for the BC AA Championship tournament which SMUS is hosting at UVic November 6 to 8.
SMUS also wrapped up Lower Island league play last week with a 7-0 win over Lambrick Park on Wednesday. The Blue Jags got goals from seven different players in the game. SMUS won all six of its league games, scoring 26 goals and conceding just one.
Development Field Hockey
The SMUS Development Field Hockey team had a packed week with three days of tournaments.
“At the Tier 2 Islands on Tuesday, the team played some challenging opponents but improved with each match,” said Coach Leslie Moffat. “Mia Wong was a force in net, saving numerous direct shots and confidently defending penalty corners. Adison Grady was strong on defence and created multiple attacking opportunities for the team with her amazing free hits. Attempts on goal were led by Ailo Streitel, Farah Sinclair-Lingard, Anika Keirn, and Michaela Yee, who all repeatedly made excellent runs up the field. The captains, Yuriko Ishikawa and Madison Triconi, did an excellent job keeping the team’s spirits and energy up.”
At the Independent Schools Athletic Association Junior tournament on Friday and Saturday, the team faced Shawnigan Lake again after playing them at Islands, but this time with an improved scoreline. SMUS got off to an early lead in its final game against York House but ended up losing the hard-fought match.
“Overall, SMUS improved significantly throughout the week, having to work hard in every game,” Moffat said.
Junior Boys Soccer
he Junior Boys Soccer team faced off against Royal Bay in its final regular season game on Monday, October 21, with a berth in the Island Championships on the line.
Despite a strong first half with a number of chances, the Junior Jags found themselves down 2-0 at halftime. With 35 minutes left, the pressure was on SMUS to find a way to battle back.
After scoring early in the second half, the Jags created chance after chance. It wasn't until the final minutes of regulation time that they finally found the breakthrough with Hendrick Dietrich scoring an excellent header on the back post, to give SMUS a 2-2 tie.
The draw capped off an excellent regular season, in which SMUS finished second in Lower Island league play with three wins, one loss and two ties.
SMUS now advances to the Island Championships, Monday, October 28, and Tuesday, October 29, at Oak Bay. SMUS is in Pool A for the tournament, along with Brentwood College, Carihi and Oak Bay. Making up Pool B are Belmont, Nanaimo District, Claremont and Dover Bay.
The Blue Jags’ three round-robin pool games are at 10 am Monday vs. Brentwood, 1 pm Monday vs. Carihi, and 9 am Tuesday vs. Oak Bay.
Senior Boys Soccer
The Senior Boys Soccer team will enter the Vancouver Island AA playoff tournament as the South No. 2 seed after dropping a 4-0 decision to rival Lambrick Park last Tuesday at Tyndall.
SMUS will host the Island tournament November 4 and 5. Between now and then, the team will train to prepare for the tournament.
Against Lambrick last week, SMUS surrendered back-to-back messy goals in the first half before settling into what was a closer match than the scoreline indicated. Blue Jag Will Zielinski had several opportunities at the top of the box, made possible by Josh Vaupel in the midfield.
The second half featured a lot of attacking action on both ends. Unfortunately for SMUS, the Blue Jags were again unable to finish opportunities and the Lions added two more goals. Hustle on the left wing by Alexander Zabaneh and extremely well-executed ball awareness by Dash Nelson contributed to a well-played second half for SMUS despite the loss.
Squash
Members of the SMUS Squash team competed in the BC Junior Gold tournament hosted by the Vancouver Squash Academy this past weekend, highlighted by a second-place finish in the Boys U15 division by Elliot Judson.
SMUS teammate Max Arndt was third in the Boys U17 division while Etienne Denux also finished third in the Silver draw. Enzo Sartori was fourth in Boys U15 and Kieran MacKay sixth in Boys U17.
This coming weekend, six SMUS athletes will head to Edmonton to compete in the Alberta Jesters Junior Open, the second National Junior Circuit event of the year.
Rowing
SMUS Rowing took part in the Head and Tail of the Gorge Regatta this past weekend on the Gorge Waterway, the team’s home course, highlighted by Blue Jag boats picking up second- and third-place honours.
SMUS finished second in the Head of the Gorge (Sam, Matt D., Oliver, Joey, Cox - Bianca). Another SMUS entry placed fifth (William, Tristan, Liam H., Leo, Cox - Elise).
In the Tail of the Gorge, SMUS placed third (Braelyn, Clara, Liz, Mia, Cox - Bianca) and also fifth (Lucy, Mira, Sara H., Jane, Cox - Elise).
The SMUS Crew was also in action the previous weekend as challenging weather conditions plagued the Lower Island City Championship Regatta.
“The fall SMUS Rowing team had an impressive showing, demonstrating resilience and talent despite challenging weather conditions that led to the cancellation of several races on Saturday,” said Coach Sarah Hagkull.
Highlights on Saturday, October 19, included:
Open 2X
- SMUS 2 finished sixth in semifinal 1 and claimed second in Award Category E (Clara and Braelyn).
- SMUS 1 took fourth in semifinal 1 and fourth (9th overall) in Award Category F (Rowan and Oliver).
Open 8+
- SMUS 1 secured third in Heat 1 and excelled with a first-place finish in Award Category E, with standout rower Bianca.
Open Mostly Novice 4X+
- SMUS 1 finished second in Heat 1 and also earned second in Award Category E.
- SMUS 2 placed fifth in Heat 2 but triumphed with a first in Award Category A.
Other crews showed strong performances across heats, with SMUS 3, 4, 5 and 6 each making notable contributions.
Highlights on Sunday, Oct. 20, included:
Open 1X
- SMUS 1 finished fourth in Final 1 and secured second in Award Category F (Oliver).
- SMUS 2 placed third in Final 2 and earned second in Award Category E (Rowan).
Open 4X
- SMUS 1 achieved third in Final 1 and third in Award Category F (Sam).
- SMUS 2 came fourth in Final 3 and took third in Award Category E (Mira).
- SMUS 3 finished sixth in Final 4, with Clara securing fifth in Award Category E.
Open Mostly Novice 8+
- SMUS 1 dominated with a first-place finish in Final 1 and in Award Category C (Bianca).
- SMUS 2 placed third in Final 2, while SMUS 3 secured fourth in Final 3 and took first in Award Category A (Bianca; Girls).
SMUS Rowing wraps up its fall (development) season this week. After two weeks, athletes will return to winter training until Christmas break.
Senior Girls Volleyball
he SMUS Senior Girls competed in the 20-team Belmont Tournament over the weekend, winning two of five matches.
In pool play on Friday, the Blue Jags beat Vanier 2-1, lost 2-1 to Oak Bay with a close 13-15 score in the third set, and fell 2-1 to Spectrum. That left SMUS third in its pool and facing Royal Bay, the top team in its own pool, in a crossover match on Saturday.
The Blue Jags lost 18-25, 16-25 to Royal Bay as they struggled on serve receive and came up just short on defence.
In its ensuing consolation match, SMUS beat Stelly's 27-29, 25-22,15-9. “A very strong finish and well-executed game play gave the team the edge over a very talented and experienced opponent,” said SMUS Head Coach Melanie Bendfeld.
“Grade 11 setter Crystal Cai did an outstanding job running the team's offence all weekend. Grade 11 libero Sienna Shanks was a vital part of the team's defensive success. Grade 12 outside hitter Kate Fraser made her season debut on the left side, where she was not only an offensive threat but a valuable team leader.”
The SMUS Senior Girls have finished regular season play and will enter the Lower Island AA finals next week. SMUS has already qualified for the Island AA Championships at Highland in Courtenay. This week, the team has a bye and will host Gulf Islands Secondary in an exhibition five-set match on Tuesday, October 29, at 5:30 pm in the Single Gym. These will be the Blue Jags’ final home games of the season.
The Blue Jags split their two matches in the Veterans Cup competition played last Tuesday at Lambrick Park, leaving SMUS with an eighth-place overall finish in the 20-team Lower Island league.
In its Veterans Cup semifinal, SMUS beat Vic High 25-15, 25-13 before dropping a closely contested final match to Spectrum 25-19, 23-25, 13-15.
Senior Boys Volleyball
The Senior Boys Volleyball team travelled to Courtenay this past weekend for one last tune-up tournament before playoffs. Despite being down to six players by the end of the weekend due to illness, the team performed well, made the Tier 1 playoffs and finished seventh in the Vanier Secondary tournament.
In Saturday’s playoff action, the Blue Jags fell 2-1 to both host Vanier and Royal Bay and beat Esquimalt 2-0. In pool play Friday, SMUS went 2-1 with wins over Brooks (2-0) and Nanaimo District (2-0) and a loss to Royal Bay (1-2).
“Everyone stepped up and performed at a high level,” said Head Coach Brady Doland. “Key contributors to the weekend’s success were Connor Kipling – the starting setter and team captain – rallying the team together no matter which way the point went, Seb Allard stepping outside his comfort zone and playing some spectacular defence with our team libero missing the last game to injury, Jacob Meadows stepping in to help serve-receive, and Cohen Labrecque stepping up to playing middle and being a big contributor to the team’s success on the final day of the tournament.
“The team as a whole performed to a very high standard and showed grit and determination despite missing key players.”
In Lower Island league action hosted by SMUS last Wednesday, the Blue Jags beat Stelly’s (25-11, 25-17) and split with both Vic High (25-22, 25-27) and Lambrick Park (24-26, 25-18).
“The highlight was beating No. 2 provincially ranked Lambrick Park in a set,” Doland said.
Junior A Girls Volleyball
The Junior A Girls Volleyball team played host to the ISAA tournament over the weekend, finishing seventh in the 10-team event.
SMUS beat West Point Grey Academy in three sets in its final match on Saturday afternoon. Crofton House won the tournament while Collingwood finished second and York House third as Lower Mainland schools swept the ISAA medals.
Earlier Saturday, SMUS lost in straight sets to Brentwood College. In Friday’s preliminary pool play, the Blue Jags went 1-3 with a win over Queen Margaret’s and losses to West Point Grey Academy, Crofton House and Collingwood.
Junior Girls Development Volleyball
The Junior Girls Development team enjoyed a successful Bumpin’ Pumpkin Tournament this past weekend at Oak Bay, winning their final two matches to top the Brown Bat Bracket. The Blue Jags beat Oak Bay and Vic High in those matches on Saturday.
“A big shout-out to some great serving runs from Isla and Amelia, with Mehak ‘bumping’ the ball in the basketball hoop to take second place at the skills competition,” said Coach Samantha Butler.
The Junior Girls Development team plays its last series of Lower Island league games on Monday at St. Andrew’s.
Junior Boys Volleyball
The Junior Boys Volleyball team wrapped up its season last Thursday with Lower Island league losses to Belmont (16-25, 16-25) and Claremont 2 (23-25, 20-25) before ending the night with a 25-22, 25-20 win over Glenlyon Norfolk.
Coach Jordan Tessarolo said the Belmont loss “was not great.”
“We should have been competitive with this team but came out flat and made a number of errors that prevented us from getting into any sort of rhythm,” he said. “The Claremont 2 team was a competitive match. We were the better team offensively but struggled on the serve-receive – letting them go on runs that we eventually couldn’t come back from.”
The team’s final match against GNS was exciting. “We saw Oscar He and Kevin Li really start connecting with the ball offensively,” Tessarolo said. “It was somewhat bittersweet as they were just starting to show real growth here and our season is over. It will be interesting to watch them progress.
“Manav Kang was rock steady, never letting emotions get the best of him – exactly what we need in the setter role. Liberos West Dingle and Kevin Jiang proved solid in the backrow, getting many touches to keep the play alive.”
The SMUS Junior squad narrowly missed the playoffs after a hard-fought season in which the Blue Jags played many closely contested games with mid-ranked teams.
