Last week we covered some local volleyball results from this past season at the elementary and secondary levels for girls’ teams. So we’ll even things up now by acknowledging top teams from boys’ competition…
At the elementary level, David Cooper was the coordinator for the bantam (born 1999-2000) boys’ volleyball league for schools with a population of more than 275 students. He reports that post-season playoffs concluded with a final four tournament hosted at North Cedar.
At that playoff, the district title was captured by the entry from Rock City Elementary, coached by Jane Hepples and Lonny Sullivan. On the winning squad were players Dawson Heathcote, Rider Jenks, Austin Ollek, Dakota Cullum, Drew Johnson, Nate Seaman, Cameron Holman and Iskander Zhaksybek.
Runners-up at the tournament were the Forest Park boys coached by Dave Kotai. Representing their school were players Morgan Atkinson, Sahill Gill, Mike Lindia, Alex Stevens, Bailey Williams and Aidan Wood.
The third-place pennant went to the McGirr squad. Team members included Aditya Danga, Ben Dieleman, Joey DeRosa, Ryan Humpheys, Luis Montejo, Jared Pinker, Mitchell Sanderson, Jonathon Wigmore, Thomas Wright, Peter Lee, Layne Schad, Alexander Thorsteinsson and Zack Taylor. Coaches at McGirr were Tanya Peace and Ben Rudson.
A separate league for smaller elementary schools was coordinated by Mike Lundine and wrapped up with playoffs held at Gabriola. First place overall went to the team from Davis Road, coached by Sean Walsh and comprised of players Rhys Mazurenko, Zachary Morneau, Ethan Park-James, Hunter Livingston, Kieran Morneau, Aiden Kirkham and Ethan Anderson.
Placing second in the district was the Pauline Haarer entry coached by Armin Grewal. On the court for their school were players James Brown, Harjeevan Grewal, Raine McCue, Connor Nicolson, Jackson Perry, Quinn Todd, Derek Watts and Mathjis von Battenburg.
Taking third place was coach Lenette Zieber and her boys’ team from Park Avenue. Players on the roster were Josh Laukkanen, Colin Nutting, Tyler Donovan, Spencer Atto, Josh Callihoo, Kole Postema and Justin Dumont.
At the secondary level, congratulations go to the junior boys’ volleyball team from Woodlands. Coached by Jas Shahi, the talented group won the district and North Island championships, placed third at the Islands and headed into provincials with a record of 27-3. The boys played well to finish seventh at the B.C. championships and also won the Most Sportsmanlike team award.
The senior boys’ volleyball team from Wellington Secondary also had an especially strong season, finishing eighth at the Islands.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.
Ian Thorpe writes about sports Saturdays.