The reopening of sports has hit another milestone with last weekend seeing the first B.C. high school champions crowned in 20 months.
The first wave of provincial champions included the St. Andrew’s Sabres capturing the B.C. boys’ Single-A soccer championship, with a 2-1 victory in a shootout over Glenlyon Norfolk School in the all-Island final, and Ruby Broadbent of Parkland winning the B.C. girls’ cross-country championship.
“This is really awesome for the kids,” said St. Andrew’s coach Mark Cristante, after the Sabres won their fifth provincial boys’ soccer title in school history.
“Sports, along with things like music, are so important to the whole school experience and really keeps a lot of students going. They have missed been able to do that and are so excited because it has not happened in quite a while.”
The Class of 2020 lost its spring season due to the pandemic and the Class of 2021 the full gamut of fall, winter and spring seasons. That means spring-sport athletes in the class of 2021 had their entire Grade 11-12 high school sports careers wiped out.
“I am happiest for our Grade 12s,” said Cristante.
They were led by B.C. tournament MVP Matthew Pearse.
“I’m very proud – all the players were great representatives of our school and displayed terrific work ethic.”
Cristante said the calibre of play was high at provincials and that he saw several potential varsity recruits for college and university soccer among the teams gathered.
The season isn’t over yet as the Sabres are into the quarter-finals of the Colonist Cup competition which features all Greater Victoria boys’ high school soccer teams from Single-A through Double-A to Triple-A in an FA Cup-type knockout tournament that has produced numerous future pros and national-team players over the years. St. Andrew’s is preparing to meet Triple-A power Royal Bay Ravens in the quarters.
“We play all the big schools, such as Royal Bay and Reynolds, regularly and that really helped us be successful at our provincials,” said Cristante.
St. Andrew’s plays Royal Bay and Glenlyon Norfolk meets Lambrick Park, both on Nov. 16, with the winners advancing to play the Reynolds Roadrunners and Claremont Spartans in the semifinals Nov. 18. The Colonist Cup final is Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. at Centennial Stadium.
Meanwhile, the B.C. high school cross country-championships took place over the weekend in a steady downpour at Jericho Beach in Vancouver with Broadbent leading the girls’ race from the opening gun on the muddy 5K course and outpacing runner-up Christina Peet-Williams of Chilliwack Secondary by nearly 40 seconds with Ella Ballard of Royal Bay third.
If that wasn’t enough for a day’s work, Broadbent got on the ferry and donned a different pair of cleats in helping her Island Wave team win a soccer game later in the evening. Only in Grade 11, she will be heard from again next year in high school level, not to mention at the club level provincially and nationally.
Grade 10 prodigy Connor Nichol of Elgin Park in Surrey was the story of the senior boys’ race, also 5K, and won against a challenge by runner-up Tion McLeish of St. Michaels University School with Caiden Lee of White Rock’s Semiahmoo third.
“High school championships returned this past weekend as Ontario and B.C. held their provincial meets for Grades 9-12,” wrote Canadian Running Magazine.
“Some of the previous winners of Ontario’s and B.C.’s high school championships have gone on to become Olympians and Canadian record holders. A majority of these champions will be recruited by NCAA and U Sports’ programs for cross-country and track.”
