SOUTH RIVER — It’s been a banner week for Almaguin Highlands Secondary School (AHSS) sports teams.
Three teams — Nordic skiing, senior boys’ basketball and senior girls’ volleyball — have, or are, competing in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships.
The AHSS Nordic ski team participated in the OFSAA championships in North Bay on Feb. 28 and 29, said coach Fleur Pigeon.
The small team — consisting of only four members — saw two of its own progress to the event.
Jon Winters placed 39th out of 139 participants in the senior boys’ event while Ashley Murdoch placed 101st of 129 participants in the junior girls’ event.
These events took place on the Thursday.
On Friday, relay races were held, but since AHSS’s team was so small, Winters was asked to be part of the expo team for the Georgian Bay region.
“His team placed second at that race,” Pigeon said.
She added that on the Thursday, Murdoch faced -19 C temperatures as she competed. Races are postponed if temperatures are only a degree lower than that.
Even though the mercury plummeted during the tournament, Pigeon reported that snow conditions were optimal.
The senior boys’ basketball squad headed to Port Hope on Sunday before heading into the three-day championship tournament at Trinity College School.
The team finished their season with six wins and three losses, said squad captain Kurtis Lawes.
The team ended up finishing third in the league, he said.
The Highlanders beat out Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School (BMLSS) in the Muskoka-Parry Sound semi-finals in Bracebridge, then lost out to the Huntsville High School (HHS) Hoyas in the finals.
The team later beat Barrie-based Ecole Secondaire Nouvelle-Alliance at the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) basketball championships in the semi-final round, Lawes said.
They overtook the Gravenhurst High School (GHS) Gryphons in the finals, ensuring their trip to OFSAA, the fifth time they will make an appearance there in the last six years.
The boys’ basketball OFSAA championship runs March 3 to 5.
Also on the road this week is the senior girls’ volleyball squad.
The team went eight-and-two in their league play, reports captain Maddison Kidd.
At the Muskoka-Parry Sound championships, the Highlanders proceeded to the finals, but lost out to the HHS team.
At the GBSSA championships, the team won in the semi-finals over GHS, Kidd said, and went on to the finals versus Ecole Secondaire Le Caron.
They took the title three sets to one.
The win determined the girls’ trip to OFSAA, Kidd said. “It was pretty exciting.”
The championship is being held in Whitby. The team was scheduled to travel there on Monday, with tournament play scheduled over Tuesday and Wednesday.
The AHSS senior girls’ volleyball team’s last appearance at OFSAA was in 2004.
Visit www.ofsaa.on.ca for more information about each championship.
Editorial
