High School Sports blog

Playoffs around the corner for District 8 winter leagues

St. David has earned a spot  in the District 8 hockey final, Resurrection needs  a win to reach the playoffs.

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Here’s a quick look at the current situations in the District 8 winter leagues.

DISTRICT 8

Boys hockey

The St. David Celtics have showed themselves to be the team to beat in the four-team league and will move on to the CWOSSA double-A championship, regardless of what happens the rest of the way.

The berth at the CWOSSA triple-A championship is a three-way battle between Resurrection, St. Mary’s and St. Benedict with no clear favourite at this point. Last-place St. Benedict is the only team to beat St. David this season and must defeat Resurrection in the final game of the season to advance to the three-team playoffs.

The Eagles have already secured a playoff spot.

Girls hockey

St. David is tops in this league as well and the girls will advance to the CWOSSA double-A championship with a good shot of making it to OFSAA.

St. David and Resurrection will meet in the final game of the regular season but it will have zero impact on the playoff picture.

St. Mary’s and Rez will meet in a semifinal game and the winner will meet St. David in the best-of-three final.

Boys basketball

St. Benedict is the hottest team in Waterloo Region but St. Mary’s appears to be every bit as good. And let’s not forget Resurrection. All three teams could make the District 8 final and are fighting for a spot at CWOSSA.

St. David will likely get the nod over Monsignor Doyle to play at the CWOSSA double-A championship. Rockway and Woodland are fighting it out for the single-A berth.

Girls volleyball

St. Benedict is the team to beat with one round of regular-season games to play. Six teams make the playoffs that start Feb. 5

St. David is the best of the double-A teams, while Woodland and Pere Rene are duking it out at the single-A level.

Wrestling

The District 8 championship is set for Feb. 15 at St. David.

Swimming

The District 8 championship was held last month and the CWOSSA meet is Feb. 14 at the Wilmot Rec Centre.

Memorable performances turned in before two-week exam break

 

Congrats to Jake Polski on being named Saints Invitational Tournament MVP. Great weekend. Thanks to TLitzen Sports for the Nike gear. pic.twitter.com/80HWfLfcbv

— St. Benedict Bball (@SBCSSBasketball) January 14, 2018

 

 

The hit-and-miss best-of-the-week feature makes another appearance before the two-week exam break. Here are some of the performances that caught my eye along with a couple that took place in the final of 2017.

Joel Izere, Père-René-de-Galinée: The versatile Grade 11 player — he does pretty much everything — continues to throw up big numbers for the Chevaliers in District 8 senior boys basketball play. In games last week, he scored 26 points in a win over Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 38 in a loss to Monsignor Doyle and 10 in a loss to St. Benedict. He has played senior basketball since Grade 9 and also plays volleyball at school. He plays basketball for the K-W Vipers.

Kanayo Nnadi, Eastwood: The fifth-year guard had an outstanding 33-point performance as the Rebels downed Grand River 87-77 in WCSSAA senior boys basketball league play. He also had a game-high 22 points as Eastwood defeated Southwood two days earlier. A former District 8 all-star at St. Mary’s, he will be a legitimate contender when it comes time to vote for the Mike Moser memorial award as league MVP.

Meghan Anton, Bluevale: The Grade 12 forward scored five goals in two games as the Knights defeated KCI and Preston in WCSSAA girls hockey. The dedicated student-athletes plays in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League for the Mississauga Jr. Chiefs and will continue her academic and hockey careers, on scholarship, at a Canadian university next year.

Tyra Boug, Huron Heights: The Grade 12 setter — who is also a strong server and hard hitter — did a great job of running the offence as the Huskies closed out the regular-season portion of their WCSSAA senior girls volleyball schedule with 3-0 wins over Glenview Park and Southwood. She also competes for the volleyball and track and field teams at Huron Heights and recently committed to the University of Guelph to compete for the Gryphons in track and field.

Jake Polski, St. Benedict: The fifth-year forward was named MVP of the Forest City Shootout tournament in London, leading the Saints to their third straight tournament victory. Polski was also tournament MVP at the Saints Invitational and at a tournament in Stratford. In District 8 play last week, he scored 25 points over previously undefeated St. Mary’s. A starter on last year’s team that finished second in Ontario, he will play a key role for a Saints squad that is trying to win its third consecutive District 8 title.

Maya Sokolowski, St. David: The Grade 12 power and team captain turned in a strong performance as the Celtics blanked Woodland 3-0 in District 8 senior girls volleyball league play. The humble leader plays with K-W Predators and Team Ontario outside of school and is a member of St. David’s track and field team.

Lauren Reycraft, Preston: A strong back row player, the Grade 12 left side/power hitter was strong on offence and defence as the Panthers improved to 11-2 in WCSSAA senior girls volleyball league standings with wins over Jacob Hespeler and Southwood. She was a WCSSAA all-star last year and has played club volleyball with the Guelph Jr. Gryphons and Cambridge Scorpions.

Brennan Gerrard, Grand River: The Grade 10 goaltender recorded back-to-back shutouts over KCI and Waterloo-Oxford in WCSSAA boys hockey league action. The hard-working player, who plays MD hockey in Kitchener, has been honing his skills in the Hockey Focus course at Grand River that is instructed by Renegades head coach Scott McCulloch.

Emma Mulhall, St. David: The Grade 11 defender turned in a strong performance as the Celtics topped St. Mary’s 3-2 in District 8 girls hockey league play. She plays for the Waterloo Ravens midget ‘AA’ team outside of school and has played lacrosse for the K-W Braves.

Two swimmers caught my attention prior to the holiday break. Let’s give them their recognition now.   

Kingsten Leu, Bluevale: The Grade 9 student recorded three first-place finishes at the WCSSAA swim championship to win the junior boys division and lead the Knights to their fifth consecutive overall team title. The former Region of Waterloo Swim Club member said soccer is his favourite sport — he’s a Manchester City fan — and he also skis, plays golf and ultimate Frisbee.

Nathan Stecho, Resurrection: The Grade 11 student had three first-place finishes to win the open boys division at the District 8 championship and lead the Phoenix to the overall title. He trained with the Club Warriors in the past and is involved with drama at Resurrection, having recently performed in a murder mystery dinner theatre.

WCSSAA, District 8 seasons on hold for two-week exam break

Submitted photo

The Galt Ghosts girls hockey team.

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Once again, the WCSSAA and District 8 winter leagues come to a screeching halt for the two-week exam break.

Play will continue in February with the conclusion of regular-season schedules, playoffs and CWOSSA championships. (District 8 play wraps up Monday).

Here's a quick look ahead at the WCSSAA picture. We'll take a look at District 8 next week.

WCSSSAA

Boys hockey

It wouldn't be a huge surprise to see Huron Heights and Grand River meet again for the league championship -- the Renegades won last year -- but there is no runaway favourite in the league this year.

Galt, which is a lock for the CWOSSA double-A championship, is improving as the season goes on and could be another team worth watching. 

All eight teams make the playoffs.

Girls hockey

Bluevale appears to be the class of this league but Waterloo-Oxford will give them a challenge. It would be a mistake to rule out Elmira but the Lancers have been hot and cold this year.

First-year Galt (pictured above) is a nice story and will participate in the CWOSSA double-A championship.

KCI and WCI meet in February with the winner of that game likely heading to the playoffs and the other likely to be the only team that doesn't make  it.

Boys basketball

Not much has changed since the last look at this league -- Eastwood, Glenview Park and Bluevale look to the cream of the crop and everyone else is trying to catch them.

The top three have secured spots in the playoff quarter-finals and 12 of 15 teams will survive the regular-season cut. Waterloo-Oxford and WCI are out of playoff contention and Jacob Hespeler could be as well. The math is too tricky for me on that one.

Eastwood and Bluevale look good to be heading to the CWOSSA and and hard to see anyone other than Glenview Park advancing to the CWOSSA double-A championship.

Girls volleyball

The regular season is in the books and Forest Heights is first, followed by Preston, Huron Heights and SJAM. Those four move directly to the quarter-finals.

Galt and Eastwood are out and everyone else competes in the playoff qualifying round.

Two WCSSAA teams will advance to the CWOSSA triple-A championship and one  moves on to  the CWOSSA double-A event. 

Wrestling

The WCSSAA championship is set for Feb. 15 at St. David.

Swimming

The WCSSAA championship was held last month and the CWOSSA meet is Feb. 14 at the Wilmot Rec Centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basketball Saints are on fire; showdown looming in WCSSAA junior league

 

Saints win 30th Annual Saints Invitational beating Cathedral 55-48. Saints beat Our Lady of Lourdes,Glenview and Eastwood on way to final. pic.twitter.com/avXjeLJ3eE

— St. Benedict Bball (@SBCSSBasketball) January 14, 2018

 

Now that's an impressive turnaround.

The St. Benedict Saints, a team that looked pretty ordinary at the start of the District 8 senior boys basketball league schedule, are suddenly the hottest team in Waterloo Region.

The Saints, who defeated WCSSAA front-runners Eastwood and Glenview Park on Saturday at the Saints Invitational, continued their winning ways Wednesday afternoon with a 55-51 win over the previously undefeated St. Mary's Eagles in District 8 play. 

Jake Polski, who was named MVP of the Saints Invitational as the hosts won for the third straight year, posted 25 points against the Eagles in a road victory.

St. Mary's defeated St. Benedict by 15 points in their first meeting, two days after the Saints fell to the Resurrection  Phoenix by two points.

Huge props to Saints bench boss John Malnerich and his coaching staff for pointing the Saints in the right  direction. The Saints have now won 17 consecutive games in all competitions.

Games will matter most after the two-week exam break and it would be foolish to bet against Bennies.

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There's a good possibility a pair of undefeated teams will meet in the championship game of WCSSAA junior boys basketball league.

The Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders and Huron Heights Huskies lead the league with identical 10-0 records and are not scheduled to meet each other during the regular season.

Both teams have two games remaining and have already secured spots in the quarter-final round of the playoffs on Feb. 13. If both teams continue their winning ways, they'll meet  for the WCSSAA championship on Feb. 20.

 

 

 

Catching up with the latest happenings in District 8 and WCSSAA leagues

Peter Lee, Record staff

Aly Rendle (right) of Forest Heights tips the ball past SJAM players Claire Strong (21) and Meg Lemon during their WCSSAA senior girls volleyball league game on Thursday.

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It's been a while since the last post so let's catch up with the some of the recent happenings in WCSSAA and District 8 leagues.

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The Eastwood Rebels brought the Glenview Park Panthers back to earth in WCSSAA senior boys basketball play Thursday with a 72-64 win on their home court.

Tyreak Farquharson led the Rebels with 24 points, Layee Jabateh and Abdei Abdella Hamad added 14 each. Emanuel Otong had 30 for the Panthers and Rebien Rashid added 15.

The Panthers, who escaped with a one-point win over the Bluevale Knights on Tuesday, lost for the first time this season.

Eastwood has also lost once, a four-point decision to Bluevale on the opening day of the schedule.

There are three rounds of games remaining on the regular-season schedule.

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The Forest Heights Trojans defeated the Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders 3-0 in WCSSAA senior girls volleyball league play and will close out the regular season Tuesday with a pair of difficult challenges.

The Preston Panthers and Huron Heights Huskies are up next for the Trojans and all three teams are legitimate championship contenders.

 

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The St. Benedict Saints enjoyed a big win in District 8 senior boys basketball league play Wednesday, a 64-45 verdict over the Resurrection Phoenix. 

Both teams are 5-2 in the standings and are two games behind the undefeated St. Mary's Eagles.

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St. Benedict leads the way in the District 8 senior girls volleyball league and the Saints have dropped only two sets on their way to a 7-0 record.

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Finally,  the Huron Heights Huskies look to be the team to beat in WCSSAA boys hockey league play. 

The  squad, which lost in the final of the McKerlie Classic before Christmas, resumed its schedule Thursday with a 4-2 win over the Galt Ghosts.