We wrap up our review of local basketball this week by recognizing some of the top boys’ and girls’ teams from the various Nanaimo secondary schools.
Dover Bay’s senior AAA boys’ squad enjoyed a very successful campaign by winning first the North Islands and then the Island championships. It was 63-61 for Dover Bay in the Island final against Claremont from Victoria, with the team then advancing to the B.C. Championships in Langley. There, the Nanaimo entry went 2-2 to finish 13th in the province.
Head coach for the Dolphins was Mark Simpson, assisted by Taylor Culpepper and Avneet Brar. On the court for their school were players Rory Bell, Jon Bethel, Connor Billett, Matthew Billman, Filipe Campos, Ian Christison, Chris Erickson, Brandon Kumar, Erik Kuzminski, Seme Rabeh and Island MVP Jason McKee.
The Wellington Wildcats senior boys’ team also competed at the AAA level this past season, coming fourth at the North Islands and then also fourth at the Island championships. Glenn Johnson coached players Nathan Brown, Andrew Miller, Travis Rush, Travis Mickelson, Sheldon Daynes, Piero Simovic, Wayne Jules, Min Kim, Jin Han, Tory Martin and Cole Musto.
In girls’ competition at the AAA level, the Dover Bay squad coached by Walter Fields and Ashten Sihota hosted and won the North Island tournament and went on to place fourth at the Islands in Port Alberni. Team members were Stephanie Antosz, Jamie Bassett, Elise Boulanger, Deanna Dehaas, Shaylynn Dorman, Hailey Esau, Nolyn Heuser, Emma Hsueh, Cassandra Knievel, Ashley Korabek, Kristin Nagrocki, Mandy Newman and Sara Simovic.
At the girls’ AA level, the Cedar Spartans won the North Island title with a 49-39 victory over Woodlands in the final. The Island championships were held in Victoria, where Woodlands ended up placing third overall, Wellington fifth and Cedar seventh.
Carl Macdonald was coach for the Woodlands girls, assisted by Ria Duddridge, Casey Martin and Jessica Stubbs. On the team were players T.J. Andjelkovic, Michelle Berti, Katherine Coupland, Margaret Edwardson, Sina-Antonia Kroeger, Anna Kawai, Ksenia Malenica, Teagan Medves, Elisabeth Scheffer, Emma Seward and Raechell Sywak.
From Wellington, Nicole McRae was the coach for players Garaline Tom, Alex deBoeck, Katie Kennedy, Jordyn Hrenyk, Nicole Langford, Chelsea Clark, Alanna Jones and Mariah Van Sickle. The Cedar AA girls’ team featured Launa Gannon as coach for players Frances Bonkowski, Hailey Bradley, Megan Cawthorne, Ashley Gates, Heidi Hiller, Kailey Lockhart, Megan Newton, Lindsay Pirie, Trisha Randen, Cathy Schluter, Jessie Sharratt, Alicia Stone, Jordan Stotts and Stephanie Talboys.
The Woodlands Eagles coached by Joey Spillman were the top senior AA boys’ team locally this past season. Woodlands won the North Island tournament, then earned a fourth place finish at the Islands in Ladysmith. The host team came sixth, with Cedar Secondary placing eighth.
On the Woodlands squad were team members Bryson Cox, Alex Foisy, Lucas Franssen, Jordan Hansen, Scott Jensen, Jerry Knyff, Amrit Manhas, Connor Robertson, Joey Sabo, John Semper, Mike Skoropad, Theo Steward and Eric Van Waes. Representing Cedar Secondary, Rick Hart coached players Colten Altmannshofer, Jim Bradley, Tom Bradley, Steven Bruce, Ben Cawthorne, Braxton Clark, Jake Crow, Justin Engevik, Non Hozempa, Dexter Lankenau, Brendan McCarthy, Colby Morgan, Kyle Payne, Brad Putz, Eric Sackey, Josh Seward, Robert Thompson and Kyle Wolfe.
Teams from Dover Bay did well in junior boys’ and girls’ basketball competition this year. The Dolphins junior girls’ squad won the North Islands, placed second at the Island Championships, and finished ninth at the B.C.s. Players on the team included Alex Casey, Carlena Chahley, Gabby Jeffrey, McKenzie Nicks, Madison Rushton, Emily Shires, Kendra Stoner and Jenna Ziemanski. Coaches for the team were Dale Nicks and Jen Perkins.
Meanwhile, the Dover junior boys’ team coached by Chris Franklin took second at the North Islands, third at the Islands and 14th overall at the provincials. On the court were players Griffin Andreychuk, Nathen Bigham, Josh Boutin, Eli Brooks, Jaron Burns, Rob Calvin, Liam Corcoran, Taylor Davies, Garrett Dunlop, Paul Erickson, Sean Forward, Albert Hsueh, Ben Nguyen, Michael Pereira, Wes Richardson, Ben Rudson, Alek Srdic and Jordan Turner.
Finally, congratulations to coach Phil Letham and the Grade 9 boys’ basketball team from Wellington Secondary for becoming North Island champions this year. The team then did well to place second at the Island tournament and 10th at provincials. On the squad were players Dylan Dorsey, Colton Ganderton, Tyler Radelja, Nic Klaassen, Kyle Stoddart, Connor Jones, Nic Roshuk, Malcom Rush and Nick Bury.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.
Ian Thorpe writes about sports Saturdays. His column will return in September.
