February Sports Update

Posted 2/10/2023

Basketball

It was a bittersweet night last Saturday as Mr. Darrin Austin coached his final high school basketball game, guiding Shawnigan’s senior girls’ team to victory over Queen Margaret’s in the final of the Independent Schools Athletic Association Tier 2 championships, which Shawnigan hosted. Shawnigan also defeated Fraser Academy and Glenlyon Norfolk School on their way to the title. The senior girls also came out on top as hosts of the Stag Classic a week earlier, defeating Ballenas Secondary, Gulf Islands and Duncan Christian School, thanks to strong performances from several players.

The senior boys’ team travelled to Edmonton last weekend to play games against some strong Alberta squads. Shawnigan, an AA team in BC, played a practice game against St. Peter the Apostle Catholic High School from Spruce Grove, the top-ranked AAA team in Alberta. Next came Paul Kane High School from St. Albert, an AAAA school with one player already committed to the University of Alberta. Shawnigan held their own, ultimately coming up short by three points. Finally, they faced the Good Hoops prep team, which includes several older players back for an extra year of high school before moving on to university. The teams divided the game into quarters, with Shawnigan winning one of the four. The prep coaches expressed interest in some of the Shawnigan players, as did some university scouts in the stands. On February 16-18, the senior boys will travel to Comox for the North Island championships at Highland Secondary. If they place in the top four there, they will move on to the Island tournament hosted by St. Michaels University School in Victoria on February 23-25.

The Grade 9 boys’ basketball team was busy in the first few weeks of 2023. The team is in first place in the Central Vancouver Island league following blowout wins over Quamichan, Gulf Islands, Duncan Christian, and Queen Margaret’s. The boys have also competed in several tournaments, both at home and away, holding their own against a group of AAAA schools (Shawnigan is AA) at the South Delta Invitational, taking third place at the 10^th annual GP Vanier Grade 9 Tournament in Courtenay (tying for their best finish in 10 visits to that event), and finishing second in a pair of tournaments in the “Clash of the Grade 9 Titans” series at Shawnigan. This weekend, the team will be looking for its third straight title at the Central Zone Knockout Championships, which serves as a qualifier for the Grade 9 Island Championships.

Rowing

Shawnigan took a large contingent of rowers down the road to Brentwood College School for the Kraken Indoor Regatta. The students had some excellent results, including a trio of first-place results. Many students completed their first-ever 2000m races, and the majority of the Shawnigan rowers set personal bests. Coach Julie Platt and Shawnigan grad Gunnar Platt ’22 (Lake’s) also got into the action with first-place finishes of their own.

Top-five finishers included:

• U15 Boys: Landis F. – 5th

• U17 Boys: Dylan A. – 1st, Colton W. – 3rd

• U17 Lightweight Girls: Kathryn Y. – 3rd

• U17 Novice Girls: Rowan D. – 5th

• U19 Boys: Arden A. – 1st, Moose B. – 2nd, Ian G. – 4th

• U19 Girls: Ally T.: 1st, Eva M. – 4th

• U19 Lightweight Boys: Kieran F. – 2nd

• U19 Novice Girls: Sophia W. – 3rd, Livia P. – 5th

• U23 Men: Gunnar Platt (alum) – 1st

• 50+ Women: Julie Platt (coach) – 1st

Ice hockey

All four Shawnigan Prep teams — U15, U17 and U18 boys, and U18 girls — are working their way toward the Canadian Sport School Hockey League Western Championships in Penticton on March 6-19.

The three boys’ teams were all busy during the Christmas break. The U15 Prep boys’ team took silver at the Pat Quinn Classic in Burnaby. The U17 Prep boys played in the CSSHL Winter Classic at Sun Peaks, raising nearly $18,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society and more than $1,500 for the American Cancer Society, and hosted a CSSHL Showcase in mid-January. The U18 Prep boys reached the semifinals of the prestigious Circle K Classic in Calgary during the break, then went on a remarkable stretch in January, when they went 4-1 with four shutouts, including three from Charles-Édouard L.

The U18 Prep girls’ team has won seven games in a row as of February 5, getting four shutouts over that stretch: two each from Lauren M. and Alex N. Last weekend, the girls played their only two home games of the season, honouring graduating seniors on Saturday, when they also sported purple-tinged jerseys and raised funds for cancer research. Mikayla B., Morgan J. and Abby W. are the top three scorers in the league, all averaging more than two points a game. Morgan J., who returned to School in January after helping Canada take gold at the 2023 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship in Sweden, will be playing for Team BC at the Canada Winter Games in PEI beginning on February 27. Her Shawnigan ice hockey teammate Arnica B. will be skating for Team Yukon, and fellow student Kate R. will represent BC in alpine skiing.

Squash

The Squash BC Junior Silver Series made its first-ever stop at the School on January 19 and 20, with 27 Shawnigan players among the 55 overall entries. Jasper C, won the Platinum division, Diana L. won the Gold division, Joyce L. won the Silver division, and Jacob C. won the Bronze division. Shawnigan squash players have also been competing in a number of practice matches against Brentwood throughout January and February in preparation for the Independent School Association championships in late March.

The School is also hosting a new event this spring to recognize coach Mike Johnson and all the work he has done for Shawnigan. The Mike Johnson Shawnigan Classic will take place on March 31 and April 1. Several alumni have already entered, and organizers hope to have more than 80 competitors in all. Sign up for the event here.

Field hockey

The field hockey program has remained active in the off-season, playing in a mixed men’s and women’s indoor league in Duncan on Sundays. Indoor field hockey is a fast-paced, skill-driven game, says head coach Mrs. Andi Conroy, and the players who have attended consistently have improved significantly as a result. Mrs. Conroy and the other coaches, including Head of School Larry Lamont, play alongside the students, who have shown plenty of hustle during the indoor season.

Rugby

The Salish Sea Warriors — a club team made up of current Shawnigan students and open to other players in our area — played in the final of the BC Rugby U18 boys’ competition on Saturday, February 4, falling 26-17 to the UBC Old Boys Ravens. Originally slated for early December, the final game had to be rescheduled because of snowy weather. The club team qualified for its first-ever provincial final by defeating Castaway Wanderers 49-14 in the Island final in late November.

Back