Ocean Athletics runner clocks record-breaking mile at Swangard meet
When Caiden Lee crossed the finish line in the mile race at Swangard Stadium-hosted Thunderbird Track and Field Club Performance Trials earlier this month, he knew that he’d clocked a good time – a personal best by four seconds, in fact.
What he had no idea about, however, was that he’d also narrowly broken a record that had stood since 1985 – his time of four minutes, 12.02 seconds beat the nearly-four-decades old U18 mark by 0.28 seconds.
His coach didn’t realize it, either.
“I actually wasn’t paying attention to that record because we don’t often run the mile anymore. It’s rarely run in Canada and is more common in the United States,” explained Ocean Athletics coach Ted de St. Croix, who has coached Lee for the last nine years.
“Basically, he ran the race and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a really good time. I should just go check and see what the record is.’”
The mile is rarely run outside the United States, and in most places, including Canada, it’s replaced with by the 1,500 m, which is about 109 metres shorter.
Lee, who is headed into his senior year at Semiahmoo Secondary this fall, said the extra 100-or-so metres wasn’t an issue.
“There’s not too much of a difference. I’d say it’s more about your overall pace… when you’re out there, it feels quite similar,” he said. “I specialize in the 1,500 so the mile is pretty relatable, but just because of the rarity of it, it was a big (personal best) for me.”
Though he was unaware in the moment that his pupil had clocked a record-breaking run, de St. Croix said he isn’t surprised at Lee’s recent success. In fact, his improvement has been fairly consistent over the last few track seasons, he said.
“He’s had a lot of PBs this year, and I’m not at all surprised, just because of the amount of work he puts in,” he said.
“He studies the sport, he knows exactly what it takes, and he knows his body and how much training he can handle. At this age, it’s the optimal time for an athlete to improve and develop more strength and speed, but every year he seems to improve.”
As well, de St. Croix noted that in the 1,500 m – or in this case, the mile – young athletes often struggle on the third lap of the track, because the adrenaline and focus they had at the beginning has waned, but they’re not yet locked in for a late-race push.
Lee handles the third-lap lull well, he said.
“Caiden is very good at maintaining his focus. It’s something that you learn by racing, and Caiden, he loves to race.”
Sanctioned, multi-club races have only returned this summer as B.C. moved into a new phase of its COVID-19 restart plan, and though Lee said he handled last year’s mostly solo training sessions just fine once he got used to it, he’s thrilled to be back racing again.
“I’ve been getting into more meets recently, which I’m thankful for. I hadn’t done it in so long, so it was a nice change,” he said, noting that getting back into a more competitive mindset “was mostly second nature.”
“It was nice to see some of my friends from other cities,” he continued. “(At Swangard) I felt like I was time-travelling actually – back to a couple years ago. I wasn’t used to seeing so many people.”
With no competitions last year, Lee said he spent most of his days on the track running time trials, often with friends pacing him. And though such a mundane schedule might cause motivation to wane for some, Lee said focusing on his future kept him on track.
“It was a little hard to get motivated sometimes, but I was also trying to reach university recruitment standards, so if it weren’t for that, I think it would’ve been harder to stay motivated.”
Next up for Lee and some of his Ocean Athletics teammates is a July 24-25 “challenge” event that will take place in three cities – Langley, Kamloops and Victoria – and will serve as a replacement this year for BC Club Championships.
Lee and a few teammates, as well as de St. Croix, will be in Victoria, which is where the middle-distance races are scheduled to be held.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/ocean-athletics-runner-clocks-record-breaking-mile-at-swangard-meet/
What he had no idea about, however, was that he’d also narrowly broken a record that had stood since 1985 – his time of four minutes, 12.02 seconds beat the nearly-four-decades old U18 mark by 0.28 seconds.
His coach didn’t realize it, either.
“I actually wasn’t paying attention to that record because we don’t often run the mile anymore. It’s rarely run in Canada and is more common in the United States,” explained Ocean Athletics coach Ted de St. Croix, who has coached Lee for the last nine years.
“Basically, he ran the race and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a really good time. I should just go check and see what the record is.’”
The mile is rarely run outside the United States, and in most places, including Canada, it’s replaced with by the 1,500 m, which is about 109 metres shorter.
Lee, who is headed into his senior year at Semiahmoo Secondary this fall, said the extra 100-or-so metres wasn’t an issue.
“There’s not too much of a difference. I’d say it’s more about your overall pace… when you’re out there, it feels quite similar,” he said. “I specialize in the 1,500 so the mile is pretty relatable, but just because of the rarity of it, it was a big (personal best) for me.”
Though he was unaware in the moment that his pupil had clocked a record-breaking run, de St. Croix said he isn’t surprised at Lee’s recent success. In fact, his improvement has been fairly consistent over the last few track seasons, he said.
“He’s had a lot of PBs this year, and I’m not at all surprised, just because of the amount of work he puts in,” he said.
“He studies the sport, he knows exactly what it takes, and he knows his body and how much training he can handle. At this age, it’s the optimal time for an athlete to improve and develop more strength and speed, but every year he seems to improve.”
As well, de St. Croix noted that in the 1,500 m – or in this case, the mile – young athletes often struggle on the third lap of the track, because the adrenaline and focus they had at the beginning has waned, but they’re not yet locked in for a late-race push.
Lee handles the third-lap lull well, he said.
“Caiden is very good at maintaining his focus. It’s something that you learn by racing, and Caiden, he loves to race.”
Sanctioned, multi-club races have only returned this summer as B.C. moved into a new phase of its COVID-19 restart plan, and though Lee said he handled last year’s mostly solo training sessions just fine once he got used to it, he’s thrilled to be back racing again.
“I’ve been getting into more meets recently, which I’m thankful for. I hadn’t done it in so long, so it was a nice change,” he said, noting that getting back into a more competitive mindset “was mostly second nature.”
“It was nice to see some of my friends from other cities,” he continued. “(At Swangard) I felt like I was time-travelling actually – back to a couple years ago. I wasn’t used to seeing so many people.”
With no competitions last year, Lee said he spent most of his days on the track running time trials, often with friends pacing him. And though such a mundane schedule might cause motivation to wane for some, Lee said focusing on his future kept him on track.
“It was a little hard to get motivated sometimes, but I was also trying to reach university recruitment standards, so if it weren’t for that, I think it would’ve been harder to stay motivated.”
Next up for Lee and some of his Ocean Athletics teammates is a July 24-25 “challenge” event that will take place in three cities – Langley, Kamloops and Victoria – and will serve as a replacement this year for BC Club Championships.
Lee and a few teammates, as well as de St. Croix, will be in Victoria, which is where the middle-distance races are scheduled to be held.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/ocean-athletics-runner-clocks-record-breaking-mile-at-swangard-meet/
Former Semiahmoo hoops star ‘really excited’ for chance to play close to home
He’ll have to wait for COVID-19 restrictions to ease before he can actually play in front of family and friends, but Adam Paige is coming home to play basketball nevertheless, after being selected by the Fraser Valley Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s U Sports Draft.
The six-foot-eight Semiahmoo Secondary grad, currently in his third season playing for the University of Alberta Golden Bears in U Sports’ Canada West Conference, was picked in the second round – ninth overall – by the Abbotsford-based Bandits Wednesday.
The Bandits are the only B.C. team in the seven-team CEBL, a pro circuit that was formed in 2019.
“I’m really excited for it. I’ve been watching and keeping up with the CEBL for the two years it’s been running. It’s really exciting to have a pro team in the Vancouver area, and to be a hometown kid who gets to play for that team is going to be awesome,” Paige told Peace Arch News.
“Obviously this year, we don’t know if fans will be allowed, but when they are, it’ll be awesome to have my family and friends come watch me. They’ve watched me in high school, they’ve come here to watch me in university, but playing at the pro level, that’s the next thing, so that will be great.”
Paige – who was on his way back to Edmonton when he spoke with PAN – will finish his school year before joining the Bandits for their summer season. Playing pro in the CEBL does not affect his U Sports eligibility; he still has three seasons left to play for the Golden Bears.
Though the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to COVID-19, Paige had two strong seasons in Edmonton prior to that. In 2019-20, he averaged more than 22 minutes a game and scored 12.9 points per game. He also averaged more than five rebounds a game and shot better than 41 per cent from beyond the three-point line.
He was named the Canada West rookie of the year in 2018-19, and also played for Canada’s junior national team a the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup in France.
“Adam has shown in his first two years at Alberta that he can impact the game on both sides of the (court). Given his local ties to the Fraser Valley… having the opportunity to be part of a professional environment where he can develop, learn and improve represents a tremendous chance for him to grow as an individual on and off the court,” said Golden Bears men’s basketball head coach Barnaby Craddock in a release.
Paige, who helped lead the Semiahmoo Totems to a second-place finish at the 2018 BC High School 4A Boys Basketball Championships, said he will head to the Bandits with no specific expectations, but rather will aim to soak up the pro atmosphere and learn as much as he can.
“I’m not expecting a lot of playing time (at the start) but I think there is an opportunity for me to contribute,” he said. “There have been a few other U Sports players (in the CEBL) who have been contributors to their teams, so there will be an opportunity for me if I work hard enough.
“It’s all on my shoulders.”
Paige compared the task ahead of him – learning the pro game – to what he went through when moving from the high-school ranks to the university level.
“Obviously, I haven’t played any professional-level basketball yet, but there’s (going to be) a pace difference, a skill difference, and guys who have a lot of strength and quickness,” he said.
“My first two years (at university), we had a couple seniors who were All-Canadians, so getting my butt kicked every day in practice helped me. As much as it sucked, it was huge for my development. So now, I just want to get in there (with the Bandits) and soak up as much as I can.”
The CEBL is set to begin play in June, and the Bandits’ first game is scheduled for June 5 against the Edmonton Stingers.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/former-semiahmoo-hoops-star-really-excited-for-chance-to-play-close-to-home/
The six-foot-eight Semiahmoo Secondary grad, currently in his third season playing for the University of Alberta Golden Bears in U Sports’ Canada West Conference, was picked in the second round – ninth overall – by the Abbotsford-based Bandits Wednesday.
The Bandits are the only B.C. team in the seven-team CEBL, a pro circuit that was formed in 2019.
“I’m really excited for it. I’ve been watching and keeping up with the CEBL for the two years it’s been running. It’s really exciting to have a pro team in the Vancouver area, and to be a hometown kid who gets to play for that team is going to be awesome,” Paige told Peace Arch News.
“Obviously this year, we don’t know if fans will be allowed, but when they are, it’ll be awesome to have my family and friends come watch me. They’ve watched me in high school, they’ve come here to watch me in university, but playing at the pro level, that’s the next thing, so that will be great.”
Paige – who was on his way back to Edmonton when he spoke with PAN – will finish his school year before joining the Bandits for their summer season. Playing pro in the CEBL does not affect his U Sports eligibility; he still has three seasons left to play for the Golden Bears.
Though the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to COVID-19, Paige had two strong seasons in Edmonton prior to that. In 2019-20, he averaged more than 22 minutes a game and scored 12.9 points per game. He also averaged more than five rebounds a game and shot better than 41 per cent from beyond the three-point line.
He was named the Canada West rookie of the year in 2018-19, and also played for Canada’s junior national team a the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup in France.
“Adam has shown in his first two years at Alberta that he can impact the game on both sides of the (court). Given his local ties to the Fraser Valley… having the opportunity to be part of a professional environment where he can develop, learn and improve represents a tremendous chance for him to grow as an individual on and off the court,” said Golden Bears men’s basketball head coach Barnaby Craddock in a release.
Paige, who helped lead the Semiahmoo Totems to a second-place finish at the 2018 BC High School 4A Boys Basketball Championships, said he will head to the Bandits with no specific expectations, but rather will aim to soak up the pro atmosphere and learn as much as he can.
“I’m not expecting a lot of playing time (at the start) but I think there is an opportunity for me to contribute,” he said. “There have been a few other U Sports players (in the CEBL) who have been contributors to their teams, so there will be an opportunity for me if I work hard enough.
“It’s all on my shoulders.”
Paige compared the task ahead of him – learning the pro game – to what he went through when moving from the high-school ranks to the university level.
“Obviously, I haven’t played any professional-level basketball yet, but there’s (going to be) a pace difference, a skill difference, and guys who have a lot of strength and quickness,” he said.
“My first two years (at university), we had a couple seniors who were All-Canadians, so getting my butt kicked every day in practice helped me. As much as it sucked, it was huge for my development. So now, I just want to get in there (with the Bandits) and soak up as much as I can.”
The CEBL is set to begin play in June, and the Bandits’ first game is scheduled for June 5 against the Edmonton Stingers.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/former-semiahmoo-hoops-star-really-excited-for-chance-to-play-close-to-home/
South Surrey high-jumper sets personal-best mark at NCAA meet
Five years ago, as a 15-year-old track-and-field star at Semiahmoo Secondary, high-jumper Alexa Porpaczy told Peace Arch News that it was her goal to clear a bar as tall as she was – no easy feet for someone who stands five-foot-11.
“My coach always says that to be a really great high-jumper, you have to be able to jump over your own head, so that’s always been a goal of mine, to get to that point,” she said at the time, noting she would have to clear 1.8 metres in order to accomplish that goal.
And while she’s come close many times – Porpaczy has been ranked at or near the top of her age-group among Canadian high-jumpers for years – last weekend in Tucson, Ariz. the South Surrey athlete, now 20 and competing for the University of Arizona, jumped her height and then some – clearing the bar at 1.83 m (six feet) at the NCAA’s Willie Williams Classic.
The mark was a personal best, and also ranked Porpaczy, a sophomore, second in the entire NCAA among female high-jumpers at outdoor meets. Her height of 1.83 m is actually tied for first, but Porpaczy ranks second as a result of having one more jump than her competitor.
The NCAA’s outdoor season has only just begun, but Porpaczy’s mark is currently the tops in Canada and tied for fifth in the world.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/south-surrey-high-jumper-sets-personal-best-mark-at-ncaa-meet/
“My coach always says that to be a really great high-jumper, you have to be able to jump over your own head, so that’s always been a goal of mine, to get to that point,” she said at the time, noting she would have to clear 1.8 metres in order to accomplish that goal.
And while she’s come close many times – Porpaczy has been ranked at or near the top of her age-group among Canadian high-jumpers for years – last weekend in Tucson, Ariz. the South Surrey athlete, now 20 and competing for the University of Arizona, jumped her height and then some – clearing the bar at 1.83 m (six feet) at the NCAA’s Willie Williams Classic.
The mark was a personal best, and also ranked Porpaczy, a sophomore, second in the entire NCAA among female high-jumpers at outdoor meets. Her height of 1.83 m is actually tied for first, but Porpaczy ranks second as a result of having one more jump than her competitor.
The NCAA’s outdoor season has only just begun, but Porpaczy’s mark is currently the tops in Canada and tied for fifth in the world.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/south-surrey-high-jumper-sets-personal-best-mark-at-ncaa-meet/
Totems tops of all time? COVID cost Semiahmoo shot at undisputedly best ever B.C. girls high school basketball team
If the high school sports season had gone off as scheduled, we’d be three weeks from start the basketball provincials and in the middle of debating just where the Semiahmoo Totems fit in the history of the B.C. girls’ game.
Led by the NCAA-bound trio of Deja Lee (UC Irvine Anteaters), Izzy Forsyth (UC San Diego Tritons) and Tara Wallack (Washington State Cougars), the Totems came into this season on a 57-game winning streak against B.C. competition and looking for a third straight Quad A crown.
The Surrey side won their four games at last year’s tournament at the Langley Events Centre by an average of 54 points, including a 114-62 triumph over the Terry Fox Ravens in the title tilt that marked the most lopsided championship game in the 72-year history of the top tier of girls basketball in this province.
The Totems belong in the conversation for best B.C. girls basketball team ever. The conversation would have a better chance at being front-burner material if not for COVID-19 shutting things down.
High school teams have only been allowed to practise so far due to restrictions, and B.C. School Sports announced Feb. 2 that all winter sports provincial championship were being cancelled altogether.
Limited game action between regional rivals hasn’t been ruled out, but it certainly looks unlikely.
“I do wonder what could’ve happened this year. We were so excited to play together for our senior year,” Wallack said. “We were all working really hard individually throughout the fall and we were hopeful to have some sort of season, but we understand that safety is the main priority.”
The Heritage Park Highlanders, the Mission team led by now national team veteran Kim Smith Gaucher that won three straight provincial crowns from 2000-02, is considered by many to be the best team ever.
Heritage Park won its four games at its last provincials by an average score of 67-41, including a 56-49 triumph over the Salmon Arm Jewels in the final at Capilano College.
There are people in the basketball community who will tell you that the overall level of the girls game around the province was better then. Teams were certainly older. According to the rosters in the 2002 tournament souvenir program, there were 20 players on the 16 teams that year who were Grade 10 or younger. The Ravens alone last season listed 11 of their 14 players as being in either Grade 9 or Grade 10.
The Totems provide match-up nightmares, led by the 6-foot-2 Wallack and the 6-1 Forsyth. Those Highlanders took that to another level, though, with a usual starting lineup that featured Smith (6-0), Julia Wilson (6-4), Katja Fuess (6-1), Lisa Sigurdson (6-1) and Sarah Stroh (5-7).
They finished that 2002 season on an 82-game winning streak against B.C. competition.
‘You can imagine all sorts of things about what a season this year would bring,’ says Deja Lee, who will be joining the UC Irvine Anteaters in NCCA play next fall. ‘The biggest thing for us is thinking about how much better we’ve gotten.’
This is all conjecture. We’re all just guessing how those Semiahmoo and Heritage Park teams would match up. The deliberation would be a little more delicious if another Totems season gave us even more fuel for the fire.
The Semiahmoo players do wonder what they could have accomplished as a group this final year together.
“You can imagine all sorts of things about what a season this year would bring,” Lee, who measures in at 5-9, said. “The biggest thing for us is thinking about how much better we’ve gotten. We look at how we’re doing in practice now and we know if we had a game tomorrow we’re ready. And we’d love that. We’d love to show what we can do and how much we’ve improved.”
Forsyth added: “Are we as good as this team or that team? You’ll never know. You can’t ever play them.”
Heritage Park was coached for the majority of its run by Bruce Langford. He left to coach Simon Fraser University, replacing Allison McNeill. McNeill is the coach, oddly enough, of the Totems.
Wallack was named most valuable player of last year’s provincial tournament, while Lee and Forsyth were first all-stars. In 2019, Lee was tournament MVP, Forsyth was a first all-star and Wallack and Semiahmoo centre Faith Dut were second all-stars. Dut, a 6-foot-4 centre, is in her sophomore season with the Florida Gators.
Girls basketball added Quad A last season, putting it in line with boys basketball. Quad A has adopted all the Triple A records and histories.
The girls basketball provincials this year were slated for March 3-6 at the Langley Events Centre, while the boys tournaments were set for March 10-13 at the LEC.
https://theprovince.com/sports/high-school/totems-tops-of-all-time-covid-cost-semiahmoo-shot-at-undisputedly-best-ever-b-c-girls-high-school-basketball-team
Led by the NCAA-bound trio of Deja Lee (UC Irvine Anteaters), Izzy Forsyth (UC San Diego Tritons) and Tara Wallack (Washington State Cougars), the Totems came into this season on a 57-game winning streak against B.C. competition and looking for a third straight Quad A crown.
The Surrey side won their four games at last year’s tournament at the Langley Events Centre by an average of 54 points, including a 114-62 triumph over the Terry Fox Ravens in the title tilt that marked the most lopsided championship game in the 72-year history of the top tier of girls basketball in this province.
The Totems belong in the conversation for best B.C. girls basketball team ever. The conversation would have a better chance at being front-burner material if not for COVID-19 shutting things down.
High school teams have only been allowed to practise so far due to restrictions, and B.C. School Sports announced Feb. 2 that all winter sports provincial championship were being cancelled altogether.
Limited game action between regional rivals hasn’t been ruled out, but it certainly looks unlikely.
“I do wonder what could’ve happened this year. We were so excited to play together for our senior year,” Wallack said. “We were all working really hard individually throughout the fall and we were hopeful to have some sort of season, but we understand that safety is the main priority.”
The Heritage Park Highlanders, the Mission team led by now national team veteran Kim Smith Gaucher that won three straight provincial crowns from 2000-02, is considered by many to be the best team ever.
Heritage Park won its four games at its last provincials by an average score of 67-41, including a 56-49 triumph over the Salmon Arm Jewels in the final at Capilano College.
There are people in the basketball community who will tell you that the overall level of the girls game around the province was better then. Teams were certainly older. According to the rosters in the 2002 tournament souvenir program, there were 20 players on the 16 teams that year who were Grade 10 or younger. The Ravens alone last season listed 11 of their 14 players as being in either Grade 9 or Grade 10.
The Totems provide match-up nightmares, led by the 6-foot-2 Wallack and the 6-1 Forsyth. Those Highlanders took that to another level, though, with a usual starting lineup that featured Smith (6-0), Julia Wilson (6-4), Katja Fuess (6-1), Lisa Sigurdson (6-1) and Sarah Stroh (5-7).
They finished that 2002 season on an 82-game winning streak against B.C. competition.
‘You can imagine all sorts of things about what a season this year would bring,’ says Deja Lee, who will be joining the UC Irvine Anteaters in NCCA play next fall. ‘The biggest thing for us is thinking about how much better we’ve gotten.’
This is all conjecture. We’re all just guessing how those Semiahmoo and Heritage Park teams would match up. The deliberation would be a little more delicious if another Totems season gave us even more fuel for the fire.
The Semiahmoo players do wonder what they could have accomplished as a group this final year together.
“You can imagine all sorts of things about what a season this year would bring,” Lee, who measures in at 5-9, said. “The biggest thing for us is thinking about how much better we’ve gotten. We look at how we’re doing in practice now and we know if we had a game tomorrow we’re ready. And we’d love that. We’d love to show what we can do and how much we’ve improved.”
Forsyth added: “Are we as good as this team or that team? You’ll never know. You can’t ever play them.”
Heritage Park was coached for the majority of its run by Bruce Langford. He left to coach Simon Fraser University, replacing Allison McNeill. McNeill is the coach, oddly enough, of the Totems.
Wallack was named most valuable player of last year’s provincial tournament, while Lee and Forsyth were first all-stars. In 2019, Lee was tournament MVP, Forsyth was a first all-star and Wallack and Semiahmoo centre Faith Dut were second all-stars. Dut, a 6-foot-4 centre, is in her sophomore season with the Florida Gators.
Girls basketball added Quad A last season, putting it in line with boys basketball. Quad A has adopted all the Triple A records and histories.
The girls basketball provincials this year were slated for March 3-6 at the Langley Events Centre, while the boys tournaments were set for March 10-13 at the LEC.
https://theprovince.com/sports/high-school/totems-tops-of-all-time-covid-cost-semiahmoo-shot-at-undisputedly-best-ever-b-c-girls-high-school-basketball-team
Semiahmoo Secondary holds signing-day ceremony for three NCAA-bound basketball stars
Deja Lee, Tara Wallack and Izzy Forsyth committed to U.S. universities earlier this year
Though the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put the brakes on the high-school basketball season, Semiahmoo Secondary found a way to honour three of its own hoops stars – all of whom are bound for the NCAA ranks.
Earlier this month, the South Surrey school’s athletic department held an official signing event for Deja Lee, Izzy Forsyth and Tara Wallack – each of whom committed to their respective university programs earlier this year.
All three are members of the Semiahmoo Totems’ senior girls basketball team that has won back-to-back provincial championships.
Lee committed to the University of California Irvine in late March, and Forsyth announced her commitment to the University of California San Diego a few weeks later, in early April. Then, in late May, Wallack became the third member of the squad to announce her NCAA intentions, choosing Washington State University.
The trio brings to four the number of players from the Totems’ team to commit to an NCAA school. Faith Dut, who was a member of the team’s 2019 provincial championship-winning team before graduating, currently plays for the University of Florida.
Though everyone needed to stay socially distanced, among other COVID-19 safety protocols that were in place, the Nov. 12 event, which was held in the school’s gym, included all the trappings of a typical signing day; each player wore a hoodie emblazoned with her new team’s name and sat at a table decked out in school colours and logos.
Semiahmoo Secondary teacher Lori Pajic, who is a co-coach of the senior girls team, called the event “a great day for Semiahmoo athletics.”
After Wallack committed to WSU, Semiahmoo Totems coach Allison McNeill – who was a longtime coach at Simon Fraser University and the Canadian national women’s team – told Peace Arch News that she could not remember a B.C. high-school team with three NCAA-signed recruits on it at once – four if you include Dut.
“It’s quite shocking, when you think about it,” McNeill said at the time.
www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-secondary-holds-signing-day-ceremony-for-three-ncaa-bound-basketball-stars/
Though the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put the brakes on the high-school basketball season, Semiahmoo Secondary found a way to honour three of its own hoops stars – all of whom are bound for the NCAA ranks.
Earlier this month, the South Surrey school’s athletic department held an official signing event for Deja Lee, Izzy Forsyth and Tara Wallack – each of whom committed to their respective university programs earlier this year.
All three are members of the Semiahmoo Totems’ senior girls basketball team that has won back-to-back provincial championships.
Lee committed to the University of California Irvine in late March, and Forsyth announced her commitment to the University of California San Diego a few weeks later, in early April. Then, in late May, Wallack became the third member of the squad to announce her NCAA intentions, choosing Washington State University.
The trio brings to four the number of players from the Totems’ team to commit to an NCAA school. Faith Dut, who was a member of the team’s 2019 provincial championship-winning team before graduating, currently plays for the University of Florida.
Though everyone needed to stay socially distanced, among other COVID-19 safety protocols that were in place, the Nov. 12 event, which was held in the school’s gym, included all the trappings of a typical signing day; each player wore a hoodie emblazoned with her new team’s name and sat at a table decked out in school colours and logos.
Semiahmoo Secondary teacher Lori Pajic, who is a co-coach of the senior girls team, called the event “a great day for Semiahmoo athletics.”
After Wallack committed to WSU, Semiahmoo Totems coach Allison McNeill – who was a longtime coach at Simon Fraser University and the Canadian national women’s team – told Peace Arch News that she could not remember a B.C. high-school team with three NCAA-signed recruits on it at once – four if you include Dut.
“It’s quite shocking, when you think about it,” McNeill said at the time.
www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-secondary-holds-signing-day-ceremony-for-three-ncaa-bound-basketball-stars/
Semi Senior Girls with the ring of Champions!
The senior girls received their championship rings this month after a tremendous season last year. We wish them all the best as they will try and defend their title this season. Best of luck girls!
Semiahmoo hoops star commits to Washington State
A third member of Semiahmoo Secondary’s powerhouse senior girls basketball team is headed to the NCAA.
Last week, Tara Wallack, who is just wrapping up her Grade 11 year at the South Surrey school, announced that she’ll play for the Washington State Cougars beginning in the fall of 2021.
Wallack, a six-foot-one guard, can’t officially sign on the dotted line until the NCAA’s official signing period later this year, but her verbal commitment was announced on social media by her club team, BC United on Saturday – and a congratulatory message soon followed from her coach at Semiahmoo Secondary, Allison McNeill.
Wallack is the third current member of the Totems senior girls squad to commit to an NCAA Div. 1 program this spring. In late March, guard Deja Lee committed to the University of California Irvine, and in April, Izzy Forsyth verbally committed to the University of California San Diego.
“Tara took a little bit longer than the other two girls to decide. I think she was really processing it all, and I think she did a great job. I think all three did great jobs of trying to find schools that were the right fit for them,” McNeill told Peace Arch News Monday.
Wallack – who was the most valuable player at last February’s BC Senior Girls 4A Basketball Championships – said part of the reason for holding off on a decision was to see if COVID-19 travel restrictions would ease up and allow her to travel to the U.S. Wallack, Lee and Forsyth all made separate recruiting trips down the west coast in January, just weeks before such trips were made impossible due to the pandemic, and while that trip was integral to Lee and Forsyth’s decisions, Wallack has not yet made an in-person visit to Washington State University’s Pullman, Wash. campus.
“I had offers from two schools – one I’d visited and then (Washington State), which I hadn’t,” she said. “I tried to wait, but then it became clear that (travel) wasn’t going to open up anytime soon, and I didn’t want to wait all summer.”
Instead, Wallack took a virtual tour of the school, did her own research online and had meetings with coaches, players and other team staff via video-conference.
“A lot of Zoom calls,” she said.
Wallack said the lure of playing in the prestigious Pac-12 Conference is what ultimately led her to choose WSU.
“The Pac-12 has always been my dream – I want to play against the best,” she said.
Semiahmoo has won the last two provincial championships, in 2019 at the triple-A level – which was the highest in the province at the time – and last year at the 4A level, once the tiers were revamped.
McNeill, a longtime coach at Simon Fraser University as well as with Canada’s national women’s team, could not remember a B.C. high-school team in recent years with three NCAA Div. 1-committed players on it. That number jumps to four if you include Faith Dut, who helped lead the Totems to their 2019 title before graduating and moving on to the University of Florida.
“It’s quite shocking, when you think about it,” said McNeill, looking back on her team’s 2019 starting lineup that included four future NCAA players.
“I don’t think there are any other schools (with that many). I know Brookswood had two, back when Izzy’s sister, Louise, and Aislinn Koenig, both went to division-one schools, but I’m not sure (about) three.”
All three NCAA-bound Totems have benefited from playing with each other for years, McNeill added.
“They all push each other,” she said.
By the end of their senior seasons next spring, McNeill said the team could have even more university-bound players, if some decide to play in Canada.
“I’m hoping we get a couple more who decide they want to keep playing, too, but we’ll see. That’s up to them,” she said.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-hoops-star-commits-to-washington-state/
Last week, Tara Wallack, who is just wrapping up her Grade 11 year at the South Surrey school, announced that she’ll play for the Washington State Cougars beginning in the fall of 2021.
Wallack, a six-foot-one guard, can’t officially sign on the dotted line until the NCAA’s official signing period later this year, but her verbal commitment was announced on social media by her club team, BC United on Saturday – and a congratulatory message soon followed from her coach at Semiahmoo Secondary, Allison McNeill.
Wallack is the third current member of the Totems senior girls squad to commit to an NCAA Div. 1 program this spring. In late March, guard Deja Lee committed to the University of California Irvine, and in April, Izzy Forsyth verbally committed to the University of California San Diego.
“Tara took a little bit longer than the other two girls to decide. I think she was really processing it all, and I think she did a great job. I think all three did great jobs of trying to find schools that were the right fit for them,” McNeill told Peace Arch News Monday.
Wallack – who was the most valuable player at last February’s BC Senior Girls 4A Basketball Championships – said part of the reason for holding off on a decision was to see if COVID-19 travel restrictions would ease up and allow her to travel to the U.S. Wallack, Lee and Forsyth all made separate recruiting trips down the west coast in January, just weeks before such trips were made impossible due to the pandemic, and while that trip was integral to Lee and Forsyth’s decisions, Wallack has not yet made an in-person visit to Washington State University’s Pullman, Wash. campus.
“I had offers from two schools – one I’d visited and then (Washington State), which I hadn’t,” she said. “I tried to wait, but then it became clear that (travel) wasn’t going to open up anytime soon, and I didn’t want to wait all summer.”
Instead, Wallack took a virtual tour of the school, did her own research online and had meetings with coaches, players and other team staff via video-conference.
“A lot of Zoom calls,” she said.
Wallack said the lure of playing in the prestigious Pac-12 Conference is what ultimately led her to choose WSU.
“The Pac-12 has always been my dream – I want to play against the best,” she said.
Semiahmoo has won the last two provincial championships, in 2019 at the triple-A level – which was the highest in the province at the time – and last year at the 4A level, once the tiers were revamped.
McNeill, a longtime coach at Simon Fraser University as well as with Canada’s national women’s team, could not remember a B.C. high-school team in recent years with three NCAA Div. 1-committed players on it. That number jumps to four if you include Faith Dut, who helped lead the Totems to their 2019 title before graduating and moving on to the University of Florida.
“It’s quite shocking, when you think about it,” said McNeill, looking back on her team’s 2019 starting lineup that included four future NCAA players.
“I don’t think there are any other schools (with that many). I know Brookswood had two, back when Izzy’s sister, Louise, and Aislinn Koenig, both went to division-one schools, but I’m not sure (about) three.”
All three NCAA-bound Totems have benefited from playing with each other for years, McNeill added.
“They all push each other,” she said.
By the end of their senior seasons next spring, McNeill said the team could have even more university-bound players, if some decide to play in Canada.
“I’m hoping we get a couple more who decide they want to keep playing, too, but we’ll see. That’s up to them,” she said.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-hoops-star-commits-to-washington-state/
CFL kicker Sean Whyte aims to stay sharp amid COVID-19 concerns
Any other year, Sean Whyte would be in Edmonton right now, preparing alongside the rest of his teammates for the start of the Canadian Football League season.
The CFL season is on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however – perhaps even in jeopardy long-term, it’s been suggested – and Whyte, the Eskimos’ 34-year-old placekicker, is back on the Semiahmoo Peninsula, temporarily living with his parents, working out in a backyard shed with weights his father kept from Whyte’s teen years, and kicking balls at his old high-school rugby field.
“I’m just out here kicking on the old Semiahmoo (Secondary) field, like I used to,” he told Peace Arch News.
“I’ve always kicked here in the offseason, even going back to when I was with the BC Lions or with Montreal. It’s funny because you still see the same people walking by – they still cheer for me when I make a field goal.
“I’m glad I have such a great family and I’m able to do this, but I was talking with some buddies and I said that it feels like life is going backwards right now – back living with the parents, kicking at my old field. But they said, ‘Man, it’s going backwards for everybody – this is just normal now.’”
“You get back to your roots a little bit.”
After re-signing with the Eskimos back in 2017 – two seasons after winning a Grey Cup with the Alberta squad – Whyte decided to move to Edmonton permanently, giving up his usual routine of returning to B.C. every offseason. But a few weeks into the pandemic, with the CFL shut down, he decided to pack up and along with his dog, Tucker, make a run for the Lower Mainland.
“I sat around for about a month, but then I saw the weather in White Rock and just thought, ‘I have to get there.’ The fields in Edmonton weren’t usable – there was still ice and snow on them when all this started,” he explained.
“So I just packed up my car with as much as I could and got down here. It’s easier to train, and I just wanted to stay ready in case the season did start on time… and even now, I’m going to stay ready.”
The CFL announced in early April that the season would not start until July at the earliest, and now it seems a shortened season, with an even later start date – possibly September – is more likely. Recently, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie appealed to the federal government for financial assistance, and rumours persist that the league could fold if a 2020 season isn’t played in some form.
Whyte – one of the most accurate kickers in CFL history – admits that the uncertainty has weighed on him at times during the pandemic, especially considering that his contract is up at the end of this year. Also, Edmonton selected a kicker in the fourth round of last month’s CFL draft – something that didn’t go unnoticed by Whyte, who is coming off a career-best season in 2019.
“(The team) said don’t worry about it – it’s just something for the future, and right now I’m their kicker. But I’m too competitive to be OK with it,” he said. “I’m 34 – I’ll be 35 this year – and how long are they going to keep giving me an opportunity? I know I’m only getting stronger and better, and I think I’ve proven that, but it’s still a scary feeling.
“I was training my butt off so I could have a good year and sign another good contract, (but) maybe the team thinks, ‘Oh, he’s 34, that’s when the body starts to break down’ – that kind of thing. I know that isn’t happening, but I don’t know how they think.”
In the meantime, he remains at his parents’ house, training in the backyard, and running every morning near Crescent Beach. Once or twice a week, he and a few other kickers who live locally – including his backup last year in Edmonton, Greg Hutchins – will meet at Semiahmoo Secondary, staying a minimum of six feet apart and kicking their own footballs.
“I try to help them as much as I can, and they keep me young and strong,” Whyte said. “We can all push each other that way, at least.”
Still, nothing will replicate a game situation – something Whyte misses dearly, he said.
“I play football because I love it. It was my dream as a kid to play in front of a big crowd – it’s just what I love to do. We can practise, practise, practise, but nothing is like a game day. I just want to get out there and compete, and not being able to right now, it’s different – it sucks.”
Frustration aside, Whyte knows he’s in a much better position than some of his CFL brethren – especially those who are currently trying to support families during these unprecedented times.
“Some people have a wife and kids to worry about, but I’m single, and I’m fortunate that I have a family I can rely on for moments like this,” he said. “There are guys going through a lot worse than I am.”
In a worst-case scenario – if the 62-year-old league were to fold – Whyte admits to worrying about what would happen to players’ pensions, among other concerns, though he knows “it’s out of my control” so he’s doing his best to stay positive.
Whyte said he’s spoken with some players who are faced with deciding whether or not to continue playing, or retire and find a new line of work entirely. Already, one of his teammates – defensive tackle Mark Mackie – has retired and is returning to university to pursue a career in medicine.
Whyte – a former Surrey Ram junior player – isn’t wrestling with such a decision, having already gone through that process earlier in his career. In 2015, after being released by the Montreal Alouettes, he was days away from retiring and taking a non-football job before the Eskimos came calling.
That point, Whyte recalled, is when he decided he was “going to play until my leg falls off.”
“Some guys might retire (if this season is cancelled), but not me, man. I already made the choice – I’m gonna play until I can’t play no more.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/cfl-kicker-sean-whyte-aims-to-stay-sharp-amid-covid-19-concerns/
The CFL season is on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however – perhaps even in jeopardy long-term, it’s been suggested – and Whyte, the Eskimos’ 34-year-old placekicker, is back on the Semiahmoo Peninsula, temporarily living with his parents, working out in a backyard shed with weights his father kept from Whyte’s teen years, and kicking balls at his old high-school rugby field.
“I’m just out here kicking on the old Semiahmoo (Secondary) field, like I used to,” he told Peace Arch News.
“I’ve always kicked here in the offseason, even going back to when I was with the BC Lions or with Montreal. It’s funny because you still see the same people walking by – they still cheer for me when I make a field goal.
“I’m glad I have such a great family and I’m able to do this, but I was talking with some buddies and I said that it feels like life is going backwards right now – back living with the parents, kicking at my old field. But they said, ‘Man, it’s going backwards for everybody – this is just normal now.’”
“You get back to your roots a little bit.”
After re-signing with the Eskimos back in 2017 – two seasons after winning a Grey Cup with the Alberta squad – Whyte decided to move to Edmonton permanently, giving up his usual routine of returning to B.C. every offseason. But a few weeks into the pandemic, with the CFL shut down, he decided to pack up and along with his dog, Tucker, make a run for the Lower Mainland.
“I sat around for about a month, but then I saw the weather in White Rock and just thought, ‘I have to get there.’ The fields in Edmonton weren’t usable – there was still ice and snow on them when all this started,” he explained.
“So I just packed up my car with as much as I could and got down here. It’s easier to train, and I just wanted to stay ready in case the season did start on time… and even now, I’m going to stay ready.”
The CFL announced in early April that the season would not start until July at the earliest, and now it seems a shortened season, with an even later start date – possibly September – is more likely. Recently, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie appealed to the federal government for financial assistance, and rumours persist that the league could fold if a 2020 season isn’t played in some form.
Whyte – one of the most accurate kickers in CFL history – admits that the uncertainty has weighed on him at times during the pandemic, especially considering that his contract is up at the end of this year. Also, Edmonton selected a kicker in the fourth round of last month’s CFL draft – something that didn’t go unnoticed by Whyte, who is coming off a career-best season in 2019.
“(The team) said don’t worry about it – it’s just something for the future, and right now I’m their kicker. But I’m too competitive to be OK with it,” he said. “I’m 34 – I’ll be 35 this year – and how long are they going to keep giving me an opportunity? I know I’m only getting stronger and better, and I think I’ve proven that, but it’s still a scary feeling.
“I was training my butt off so I could have a good year and sign another good contract, (but) maybe the team thinks, ‘Oh, he’s 34, that’s when the body starts to break down’ – that kind of thing. I know that isn’t happening, but I don’t know how they think.”
In the meantime, he remains at his parents’ house, training in the backyard, and running every morning near Crescent Beach. Once or twice a week, he and a few other kickers who live locally – including his backup last year in Edmonton, Greg Hutchins – will meet at Semiahmoo Secondary, staying a minimum of six feet apart and kicking their own footballs.
“I try to help them as much as I can, and they keep me young and strong,” Whyte said. “We can all push each other that way, at least.”
Still, nothing will replicate a game situation – something Whyte misses dearly, he said.
“I play football because I love it. It was my dream as a kid to play in front of a big crowd – it’s just what I love to do. We can practise, practise, practise, but nothing is like a game day. I just want to get out there and compete, and not being able to right now, it’s different – it sucks.”
Frustration aside, Whyte knows he’s in a much better position than some of his CFL brethren – especially those who are currently trying to support families during these unprecedented times.
“Some people have a wife and kids to worry about, but I’m single, and I’m fortunate that I have a family I can rely on for moments like this,” he said. “There are guys going through a lot worse than I am.”
In a worst-case scenario – if the 62-year-old league were to fold – Whyte admits to worrying about what would happen to players’ pensions, among other concerns, though he knows “it’s out of my control” so he’s doing his best to stay positive.
Whyte said he’s spoken with some players who are faced with deciding whether or not to continue playing, or retire and find a new line of work entirely. Already, one of his teammates – defensive tackle Mark Mackie – has retired and is returning to university to pursue a career in medicine.
Whyte – a former Surrey Ram junior player – isn’t wrestling with such a decision, having already gone through that process earlier in his career. In 2015, after being released by the Montreal Alouettes, he was days away from retiring and taking a non-football job before the Eskimos came calling.
That point, Whyte recalled, is when he decided he was “going to play until my leg falls off.”
“Some guys might retire (if this season is cancelled), but not me, man. I already made the choice – I’m gonna play until I can’t play no more.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/cfl-kicker-sean-whyte-aims-to-stay-sharp-amid-covid-19-concerns/
Semiahmoo lacrosse star heading to NCAA after signing with ‘number one choice’
There’s something to be said for knowing what you want, and then going out and getting it.
In Claire Snyder’s case, what she wanted was to play lacrosse for Northwestern University. So when the Chicago-area NCAA Div. 1 school – which boasts of one of the top women’s field lacrosse programs in the United States – offered her a scholarship, she accepted it immediately.
She didn’t sleep on it, there was no hemming or hawing, no delays. Just an immediate verbal commitment last fall, followed by an official signing in March.
“When I started talking to schools, Northwestern was definitely my number one choice, so when I was deciding and I got an offer from them, it wasn’t a tough decision,” said Snyder, who is in Grade 12 at Semiahmoo Secondary, finishing up her high-school education at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While many student-athletes are currently running into recruiting roadblocks due to the pandemic, Snyder wasted little time making an official visit to Northwestern, travelling there Sept. 20, less than three weeks after NCAA schools were officially allowed to speak with her.
“I went there, and I had other visits (to other schools) planned, but the offer from Northwestern came sooner than we thought it would, so I ended up cancelling my other visits,” she explained, adding that nine schools reached out to her on Sept. 1 to express an interest in her lacrosse services.
“It was nice to have that pressure off.”
Snyder – who also plays soccer, and until Grade 10 played volleyball and basketball for her high-school teams – has been a longtime box lacrosse star with Semiahmoo Minor Lacrosse, and in field lacrosse for the Surrey Warriors.
She has twice helped lead Semiahmoo to provincial box lacrosse championships, and has a pair of B.C. field titles under her belt, too, with the Warriors, while also picking up a provincial MVP award and multiple all-star nods along the way.
Her impressive resume also includes a national title with Team BC, as well as an invitation to a U19 Team Canada lacrosse camp. At the high-school level, the multi-sport star has also twice been named Semiahmoo Secondary’s female athlete of the year.
After Grade 10, she gave up school sports to focus more on lacrosse because “they were just taking up a lot of my time… and I couldn’t keep up at that point.”
Snyder said her first love was always soccer – “I was so into it,” she said – but when she was in Grade 5, her brother Sam, who is two years younger, took up lacrosse. It piqued her interest and, soon enough, she was hooked.
“I started throwing it around around with my brother and my dad, and it just kind of stuck with me,” she said.
Playing on successful teams, surrounded by a slew of other talented players also helped keep her focused on the sport as she got older, she added.
“For me, a big part of it was my box lacrosse team. We were really, really close, and I had so many good friends on that team that it made me want to go to practice, and made it more fun to play in general,” she said.
The team’s success didn’t hurt either, as far as motivation goes.
In 2018, the squad won a provincial midget championship, which was the culmination of seven years of hard work. The team – coached by Snyder’s dad, Colin, who also currently serves as association president – was Semiahmoo’s first-ever all-female squad, and in their first season, they lost every game.
“In the early years, opposing teams would come to play Semiahmoo for an easy win,” the elder Snyder told Peace Arch News back in 2018.
Much has changed since then, and it’s unlikely the younger Snyder will have to worry about any winless seasons in her NCAA future. The Northwestern Wildcats have long been a contender in the Big Ten Conference, having won NCAA national titles from 2005-09, and then adding two more in 2011 and ’12.
The team’s head coach, Kelly Amonte Hiller – also the U.S. national team coach – has been at the helm since 2001; Colin Snyder called her “the Bill Belichick of women’s lacrosse,” referring to the legendary National Football League coach.
“I think I’ll fit in well. I got a really good feeling from all the coaches and the staff there – I felt really comfortable,” Snyder said, adding that she’s undecided about what she will study at the highly regarded Illinois school.
Lacrosse aside, she said she was most looking forward to “getting the chance to live somewhere else and have some new experiences.”
“I’m a little bit nervous, but I think I’ll be able to adjust well.”
In Claire Snyder’s case, what she wanted was to play lacrosse for Northwestern University. So when the Chicago-area NCAA Div. 1 school – which boasts of one of the top women’s field lacrosse programs in the United States – offered her a scholarship, she accepted it immediately.
She didn’t sleep on it, there was no hemming or hawing, no delays. Just an immediate verbal commitment last fall, followed by an official signing in March.
“When I started talking to schools, Northwestern was definitely my number one choice, so when I was deciding and I got an offer from them, it wasn’t a tough decision,” said Snyder, who is in Grade 12 at Semiahmoo Secondary, finishing up her high-school education at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While many student-athletes are currently running into recruiting roadblocks due to the pandemic, Snyder wasted little time making an official visit to Northwestern, travelling there Sept. 20, less than three weeks after NCAA schools were officially allowed to speak with her.
“I went there, and I had other visits (to other schools) planned, but the offer from Northwestern came sooner than we thought it would, so I ended up cancelling my other visits,” she explained, adding that nine schools reached out to her on Sept. 1 to express an interest in her lacrosse services.
“It was nice to have that pressure off.”
Snyder – who also plays soccer, and until Grade 10 played volleyball and basketball for her high-school teams – has been a longtime box lacrosse star with Semiahmoo Minor Lacrosse, and in field lacrosse for the Surrey Warriors.
She has twice helped lead Semiahmoo to provincial box lacrosse championships, and has a pair of B.C. field titles under her belt, too, with the Warriors, while also picking up a provincial MVP award and multiple all-star nods along the way.
Her impressive resume also includes a national title with Team BC, as well as an invitation to a U19 Team Canada lacrosse camp. At the high-school level, the multi-sport star has also twice been named Semiahmoo Secondary’s female athlete of the year.
After Grade 10, she gave up school sports to focus more on lacrosse because “they were just taking up a lot of my time… and I couldn’t keep up at that point.”
Snyder said her first love was always soccer – “I was so into it,” she said – but when she was in Grade 5, her brother Sam, who is two years younger, took up lacrosse. It piqued her interest and, soon enough, she was hooked.
“I started throwing it around around with my brother and my dad, and it just kind of stuck with me,” she said.
Playing on successful teams, surrounded by a slew of other talented players also helped keep her focused on the sport as she got older, she added.
“For me, a big part of it was my box lacrosse team. We were really, really close, and I had so many good friends on that team that it made me want to go to practice, and made it more fun to play in general,” she said.
The team’s success didn’t hurt either, as far as motivation goes.
In 2018, the squad won a provincial midget championship, which was the culmination of seven years of hard work. The team – coached by Snyder’s dad, Colin, who also currently serves as association president – was Semiahmoo’s first-ever all-female squad, and in their first season, they lost every game.
“In the early years, opposing teams would come to play Semiahmoo for an easy win,” the elder Snyder told Peace Arch News back in 2018.
Much has changed since then, and it’s unlikely the younger Snyder will have to worry about any winless seasons in her NCAA future. The Northwestern Wildcats have long been a contender in the Big Ten Conference, having won NCAA national titles from 2005-09, and then adding two more in 2011 and ’12.
The team’s head coach, Kelly Amonte Hiller – also the U.S. national team coach – has been at the helm since 2001; Colin Snyder called her “the Bill Belichick of women’s lacrosse,” referring to the legendary National Football League coach.
“I think I’ll fit in well. I got a really good feeling from all the coaches and the staff there – I felt really comfortable,” Snyder said, adding that she’s undecided about what she will study at the highly regarded Illinois school.
Lacrosse aside, she said she was most looking forward to “getting the chance to live somewhere else and have some new experiences.”
“I’m a little bit nervous, but I think I’ll be able to adjust well.”
Pair of Semiahmoo basketball stars sign with NCAA schools
Given a choice, there are certainly worse places to be in January than California.
But Semiahmoo Secondary basketball players Izzy Forsyth, Deja Lee and Tara Wallack didn’t spend their time in the Golden State catching rays. Instead, the whirlwind four-day journey was all business.
During a brief semester break at the South Surrey school, the Grade 11 trio – all members of the Totems senior girls hoops team that would go on to win a second-straight provincial title one month later – were given a few day off from practice, so they and their families could head south to make some unofficial visits to NCAA schools that had expressed interest in signing them.
The effort paid off, with two recent scholarship announcements – in late March, Lee announced she would join the University of California Irvine for the 2021/22 season, and last week, Forsyth verbally committed to a school just a bit further south, University of California San Diego.
Wallack has yet to announce her post-secondary choice – “She’s still wading through her options,” Semiahmoo coach Allison McNeill said – though she likely has more than a few suitors south of the border.
Forsyth said the January trip – which she made with her dad, Bob, a former UBC basketball star – was fortuitous for all three Totems, because it wasn’t long after that the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sporting world as well as cross-border travel.
Without that unofficial visit – which differs from an official NCAA-sanctioned one in that the prospective player pays their own way – she would have been left to either choose a school sight-unseen, or wait until next fall when she’d return for her Grade 12 year at Semiahmoo at which time the hope is the COVID-19 situation would be under enough control for a basketball season to be played.
“I was able to see the campus, and I met a lot of the players and the coaches, so I based my decision just off that visit,” she told Peace Arch News, adding that her verbal commitment will turn into a written one in November, during the NCAA signing period.
“I was really fortunate to have been able to go. And once everything opens up again, I can take another one – an official visit.”
Deciding where to spend four or five years of your life after high school can be a daunting task at the best of times, and Forsyth admits the current pandemic added a few unexpected wrinkles into the decision process.
“It was pretty stressful, especially in the final weeks as I figured out where I really wanted to go, and then tried to figure out a new timeline (for deciding), because I wasn’t able to go on these official visits,” she said.
In the end, she chose San Diego for a variety of reasons, from the coach and the campus to the fact that it’s on the west coast, just a short flight from the Lower Mainland.
“It’s an accumulation of all that. I really like the coach, and the team’s style of play and I think I’ll be able to contribute,” Forsyth said, adding that she plans to study communications.
When she enrolls at UC-San Diego in 2021, she’ll see a familiar face across the court on occasion, too – Lee’s UC-Irvine team plays in the same division.
“I’ve never played against her – we’ve always been together,” Forsyth said.
Over the past few months as Lee, Forsyth and Wallack – not to mention other Totem teammates who have post-secondary hoops dreams – have also leaned on McNeill, a longtime coach at Simon Fraser University and the Canadian national women’s team, for guidance.
“I didn’t push myself on them, but they called and asked for advice,” McNeill said. “I said to them both, ‘You’re going to spend the next four years with this coach, so you’d better connect with them.
“Of course, the school itself is important – that’s the base, and you aren’t going to consider any school that doesn’t have your academic program because you want to come out of there with a degree. But if basketball is important to you, then the coach and the team’s (style of play) is important.
“I’m really proud of both of them. I think both Deja and Izzy have done a really good job going through this process. They both did their due diligence and did a good job of narrowing down their options. They got advice from other people, too – like their parents – but at the end of the day, the decision was theirs and I think they’ve both made great decisions.”
McNeill also offered one more piece of advice to both teens – if you know where you want to play, then don’t wait to make a decision. It’s the same advice she gave to former Totem star Faith Dut, who helped lead Semiahmoo to a B.C. title in 2019 before graduating and heading off to the University of Florida on a basketball scholarship.
“Even without all this COVID stuff going on, it’s nice for them to be done with this decision,” McNeill said.
“You don’t want this decision hanging over your head for the whole (Grade 12) school year, so it’s a bonus for them to have this done now.”
In the meantime, the Totems – like student-athletes everywhere – are continuing to train on their own, while moving through the school curriculum online. Forsyth said the online-only education was a tough adjustment at first, “I’m getting used to it and it’s going OK.”
As for basketball, she’s lucky to have a good training partner at home – her older sister, Louise, a former B.C. high school basketball star who is in her junior year at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.
“It’s been pretty good – we have a good training routine,” Forsyth said.
The younger Forsyth was able to lean on her older sibling during the NCAA recruitment process, too.
“She went through the same thing, so she gave me lots of advice. She said to make sure I choose a place where I feel comfortable and make sure it’s a place I want to be.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/pair-of-semiahmoo-basketball-stars-sign-with-ncaa-schools/
But Semiahmoo Secondary basketball players Izzy Forsyth, Deja Lee and Tara Wallack didn’t spend their time in the Golden State catching rays. Instead, the whirlwind four-day journey was all business.
During a brief semester break at the South Surrey school, the Grade 11 trio – all members of the Totems senior girls hoops team that would go on to win a second-straight provincial title one month later – were given a few day off from practice, so they and their families could head south to make some unofficial visits to NCAA schools that had expressed interest in signing them.
The effort paid off, with two recent scholarship announcements – in late March, Lee announced she would join the University of California Irvine for the 2021/22 season, and last week, Forsyth verbally committed to a school just a bit further south, University of California San Diego.
Wallack has yet to announce her post-secondary choice – “She’s still wading through her options,” Semiahmoo coach Allison McNeill said – though she likely has more than a few suitors south of the border.
Forsyth said the January trip – which she made with her dad, Bob, a former UBC basketball star – was fortuitous for all three Totems, because it wasn’t long after that the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sporting world as well as cross-border travel.
Without that unofficial visit – which differs from an official NCAA-sanctioned one in that the prospective player pays their own way – she would have been left to either choose a school sight-unseen, or wait until next fall when she’d return for her Grade 12 year at Semiahmoo at which time the hope is the COVID-19 situation would be under enough control for a basketball season to be played.
“I was able to see the campus, and I met a lot of the players and the coaches, so I based my decision just off that visit,” she told Peace Arch News, adding that her verbal commitment will turn into a written one in November, during the NCAA signing period.
“I was really fortunate to have been able to go. And once everything opens up again, I can take another one – an official visit.”
Deciding where to spend four or five years of your life after high school can be a daunting task at the best of times, and Forsyth admits the current pandemic added a few unexpected wrinkles into the decision process.
“It was pretty stressful, especially in the final weeks as I figured out where I really wanted to go, and then tried to figure out a new timeline (for deciding), because I wasn’t able to go on these official visits,” she said.
In the end, she chose San Diego for a variety of reasons, from the coach and the campus to the fact that it’s on the west coast, just a short flight from the Lower Mainland.
“It’s an accumulation of all that. I really like the coach, and the team’s style of play and I think I’ll be able to contribute,” Forsyth said, adding that she plans to study communications.
When she enrolls at UC-San Diego in 2021, she’ll see a familiar face across the court on occasion, too – Lee’s UC-Irvine team plays in the same division.
“I’ve never played against her – we’ve always been together,” Forsyth said.
Over the past few months as Lee, Forsyth and Wallack – not to mention other Totem teammates who have post-secondary hoops dreams – have also leaned on McNeill, a longtime coach at Simon Fraser University and the Canadian national women’s team, for guidance.
“I didn’t push myself on them, but they called and asked for advice,” McNeill said. “I said to them both, ‘You’re going to spend the next four years with this coach, so you’d better connect with them.
“Of course, the school itself is important – that’s the base, and you aren’t going to consider any school that doesn’t have your academic program because you want to come out of there with a degree. But if basketball is important to you, then the coach and the team’s (style of play) is important.
“I’m really proud of both of them. I think both Deja and Izzy have done a really good job going through this process. They both did their due diligence and did a good job of narrowing down their options. They got advice from other people, too – like their parents – but at the end of the day, the decision was theirs and I think they’ve both made great decisions.”
McNeill also offered one more piece of advice to both teens – if you know where you want to play, then don’t wait to make a decision. It’s the same advice she gave to former Totem star Faith Dut, who helped lead Semiahmoo to a B.C. title in 2019 before graduating and heading off to the University of Florida on a basketball scholarship.
“Even without all this COVID stuff going on, it’s nice for them to be done with this decision,” McNeill said.
“You don’t want this decision hanging over your head for the whole (Grade 12) school year, so it’s a bonus for them to have this done now.”
In the meantime, the Totems – like student-athletes everywhere – are continuing to train on their own, while moving through the school curriculum online. Forsyth said the online-only education was a tough adjustment at first, “I’m getting used to it and it’s going OK.”
As for basketball, she’s lucky to have a good training partner at home – her older sister, Louise, a former B.C. high school basketball star who is in her junior year at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.
“It’s been pretty good – we have a good training routine,” Forsyth said.
The younger Forsyth was able to lean on her older sibling during the NCAA recruitment process, too.
“She went through the same thing, so she gave me lots of advice. She said to make sure I choose a place where I feel comfortable and make sure it’s a place I want to be.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/pair-of-semiahmoo-basketball-stars-sign-with-ncaa-schools/
Senior Girls Basketball Provincial Championship Game Highlights
Semiahmoo Totems’ lone senior player embraces leadership role
When Hamza Saqib first joined Semiahmoo Secondary’s senior boys basketball team, he played something of a complementary role, as the Totems at the time were, like most teams, largely led by a slew of Grade 12 stars.
Saqib, after all, was one of the team’s youngest players, first getting a taste of the senior-level when he was only in Grade 10 – the year the Totems finished second in B.C. – and then playing a bigger role last season, highlighted by an all-star nod at the Surrey RCMP Basketball Classic.
But now that he’s at the top of the team’s seniority list, he finds himself in a position not faced by any of his hoops predecessors – as the only Grade 12 player on the team. He’s also one of just two returning players from last season, alongside Tajin Rai, who is in Grade 11 this year but played on the team last year as a junior-aged player, as Saqib did two seasons ago.
Whereas previous Totem teams have had at least a few senior players to share the leadership load, Saqib is shouldering more of it than perhaps he expected, with an assist or two from the team’s six Grade 11s, including Rai.
This year’s squad also includes one Grade 10 player and one in Grade 9, too.
Saqib admits he’s not exactly an outgoing, ‘rah-rah’-style person – Totems head coach Ed Lefurgy calls him “the quiet leader of our team” – but he has embraced the role nonetheless, as he leads the team to what he and Rai hope is another trip to the provincials.
“It’s definitely a different feeling for me this year, and there’s a bit more pressure on my shoulders to be a team leader now, but I just try to lead by example… and make sure we’re all doing the things we need to do – like giving 100 per cent in practice,” he told Peace Arch News last week, a few minutes after the conclusion of a brief team meeting about the team’s league game that evening against the Tamanawis Wildcats.
Saqib, the team’s captain this year – “He’s the backbone of our team,” Lefurgy said – added that he’s leaned on Totem captains past as he’s tried to lead the way this year.
“The seniors that were here last year, they did a great job… so I’m just trying to continue it. And two years ago, we had (future Canadian university players) Vlad (Mihaila) and Adam (Paige), and I learned from them, too,” Saqib said.
Lefurgy said Saqib’s rise from young role player to team leader hasn’t come as a great surprise to him, because he’s always jumped at the opportunity for more responsibility.
“He’s an awesome young man, and he’s been a huge member of our program since Grade 8,” the senior boys coach said. “We run all our plays through him, he guards the other team’s top players every game and does a great job of it. The other day he was guarding a seven-footer, sometimes it’s a six-foot-nine guy. He just does everything we ask of him.”
What helps the six-foot-three Saqib succeed against much larger players is his “exceptional” quickness, Lefurgy added.
He’s also a quick, and willing, learner, with Lefurgy calling him “a sponge.”
While Saqib is the sole graduating player on this year’s roster, the team won’t find itself in the same boat next fall, when the team will have half a dozen Grade 12s, including Rai, who said he’s already tried to take a leadership role on the team.
“This year, I think I’ve learned a lot from Hamza about how to lead, and I feel like I’ll be able to take some of that and translate it to next year when I’m in his position,” said Rai, whose older brother was on the senior Totems when he entered the school in Grade 8.
“The seniors kind of pass on the knowledge and then it just keeps the cycling going. The older guys here have always done that, and it just helps us all continue to get better.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-totems-lone-senior-player-embraces-leadership-role/
Saqib, after all, was one of the team’s youngest players, first getting a taste of the senior-level when he was only in Grade 10 – the year the Totems finished second in B.C. – and then playing a bigger role last season, highlighted by an all-star nod at the Surrey RCMP Basketball Classic.
But now that he’s at the top of the team’s seniority list, he finds himself in a position not faced by any of his hoops predecessors – as the only Grade 12 player on the team. He’s also one of just two returning players from last season, alongside Tajin Rai, who is in Grade 11 this year but played on the team last year as a junior-aged player, as Saqib did two seasons ago.
Whereas previous Totem teams have had at least a few senior players to share the leadership load, Saqib is shouldering more of it than perhaps he expected, with an assist or two from the team’s six Grade 11s, including Rai.
This year’s squad also includes one Grade 10 player and one in Grade 9, too.
Saqib admits he’s not exactly an outgoing, ‘rah-rah’-style person – Totems head coach Ed Lefurgy calls him “the quiet leader of our team” – but he has embraced the role nonetheless, as he leads the team to what he and Rai hope is another trip to the provincials.
“It’s definitely a different feeling for me this year, and there’s a bit more pressure on my shoulders to be a team leader now, but I just try to lead by example… and make sure we’re all doing the things we need to do – like giving 100 per cent in practice,” he told Peace Arch News last week, a few minutes after the conclusion of a brief team meeting about the team’s league game that evening against the Tamanawis Wildcats.
Saqib, the team’s captain this year – “He’s the backbone of our team,” Lefurgy said – added that he’s leaned on Totem captains past as he’s tried to lead the way this year.
“The seniors that were here last year, they did a great job… so I’m just trying to continue it. And two years ago, we had (future Canadian university players) Vlad (Mihaila) and Adam (Paige), and I learned from them, too,” Saqib said.
Lefurgy said Saqib’s rise from young role player to team leader hasn’t come as a great surprise to him, because he’s always jumped at the opportunity for more responsibility.
“He’s an awesome young man, and he’s been a huge member of our program since Grade 8,” the senior boys coach said. “We run all our plays through him, he guards the other team’s top players every game and does a great job of it. The other day he was guarding a seven-footer, sometimes it’s a six-foot-nine guy. He just does everything we ask of him.”
What helps the six-foot-three Saqib succeed against much larger players is his “exceptional” quickness, Lefurgy added.
He’s also a quick, and willing, learner, with Lefurgy calling him “a sponge.”
While Saqib is the sole graduating player on this year’s roster, the team won’t find itself in the same boat next fall, when the team will have half a dozen Grade 12s, including Rai, who said he’s already tried to take a leadership role on the team.
“This year, I think I’ve learned a lot from Hamza about how to lead, and I feel like I’ll be able to take some of that and translate it to next year when I’m in his position,” said Rai, whose older brother was on the senior Totems when he entered the school in Grade 8.
“The seniors kind of pass on the knowledge and then it just keeps the cycling going. The older guys here have always done that, and it just helps us all continue to get better.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-totems-lone-senior-player-embraces-leadership-role/
Sullivan Heights Stars, Tweedsmuir Panthers earn victories at Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament
The Sullivan Heights Stars and Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers won their respective divisions at the third annual Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament at Semiahmoo Secondary Thursday – an event that saw more than 300 athletes from across Surrey take compete.
Sullivan Heights won the tournament’s Tier 1 division, with a victory over the host Semiahmoo Totems, while Tweedsmuir took top spot in this year’s Tier 2 competition. The second-tier championship win for the Panthers marked the second time in as many years that the Cloverdale team advanced to a final at the Winch tournament – last year, they lost in the Tier 1 final to the Guildford Park Sabres.
In total, 350 players from 17 schools took part in this year’s all-day event, which begin at 8:30 a.m. and wrapped up with the championship tilts in late afternoon.
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
This was the third year that Semiahmoo has hosted the tournament, which was started to honour the memory of Winch, a longtime teacher in the Surrey School District and former Semiahmoo athletic director who died in 2016 after a battle with cancer.
Thursday’s Ultimate showdown wasn’t the last time some of the top high school players will hit the field in Surrey. Next month, Newton Athletic Park (7395 128 St.) will be the host site for 2019 B.C. high school provincial championships. The event – which will include both AA and AAA level tournaments – is scheduled for May 23-24.
Last year’s AA winner was R.C. Palmer Secondary of Richmond, while the AAA title was claimed by Vancouver’s Eric Hamber Secondary.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/sullivan-heights-stars-tweedsmuir-panthers-earn-victories-at-myles-winch-ultimate-tournament/
Sullivan Heights won the tournament’s Tier 1 division, with a victory over the host Semiahmoo Totems, while Tweedsmuir took top spot in this year’s Tier 2 competition. The second-tier championship win for the Panthers marked the second time in as many years that the Cloverdale team advanced to a final at the Winch tournament – last year, they lost in the Tier 1 final to the Guildford Park Sabres.
In total, 350 players from 17 schools took part in this year’s all-day event, which begin at 8:30 a.m. and wrapped up with the championship tilts in late afternoon.
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
This was the third year that Semiahmoo has hosted the tournament, which was started to honour the memory of Winch, a longtime teacher in the Surrey School District and former Semiahmoo athletic director who died in 2016 after a battle with cancer.
Thursday’s Ultimate showdown wasn’t the last time some of the top high school players will hit the field in Surrey. Next month, Newton Athletic Park (7395 128 St.) will be the host site for 2019 B.C. high school provincial championships. The event – which will include both AA and AAA level tournaments – is scheduled for May 23-24.
Last year’s AA winner was R.C. Palmer Secondary of Richmond, while the AAA title was claimed by Vancouver’s Eric Hamber Secondary.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/sullivan-heights-stars-tweedsmuir-panthers-earn-victories-at-myles-winch-ultimate-tournament/
Ultimate tournament set to hit turf at Semiahmoo Secondary
For the third year in a row, Semiahmoo Secondary will host Ultimate players from across the city in honour of their former athletic director.
On Thursday, April 4, Semi will host its annual Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament, which will bring together a handful of Ultimate Frisbee teams from other Surrey high schools.
This year’s event promises to be even bigger than the previous two, Semiahmoo teacher and Ultimate coach Tony Chio told Peace Arch News by email.
This year’s tournament will include all 16 senior teams from throughout the city, and will also feature one league game.
“It will be a bigger event,” said Chio.
Since 2017, the tournament has been held in honour of Winch, who taught in the Surrey school district for more than 40 years. He passed away in the fall of 2016 after a battle with cancer.
The one-day event will also serve as a fundraiser for the Go Outside and Play scholarship fund, which was started in Winch’s honour and helps support students interested in outdoor eduction, which was a passion of Winch’s.
This year’s tournament will began at 8:30 a.m. at the South Surrey Athletic Park’s turf fields on the south-side of 20 Avenue (closest to the school).
Pool play games will be held in the morning, with playoff rounds set for the afternoon.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/ultimate-tournament-set-to-hit-turf-at-semiahmoo-secondary/
On Thursday, April 4, Semi will host its annual Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament, which will bring together a handful of Ultimate Frisbee teams from other Surrey high schools.
This year’s event promises to be even bigger than the previous two, Semiahmoo teacher and Ultimate coach Tony Chio told Peace Arch News by email.
This year’s tournament will include all 16 senior teams from throughout the city, and will also feature one league game.
“It will be a bigger event,” said Chio.
Since 2017, the tournament has been held in honour of Winch, who taught in the Surrey school district for more than 40 years. He passed away in the fall of 2016 after a battle with cancer.
The one-day event will also serve as a fundraiser for the Go Outside and Play scholarship fund, which was started in Winch’s honour and helps support students interested in outdoor eduction, which was a passion of Winch’s.
This year’s tournament will began at 8:30 a.m. at the South Surrey Athletic Park’s turf fields on the south-side of 20 Avenue (closest to the school).
Pool play games will be held in the morning, with playoff rounds set for the afternoon.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/ultimate-tournament-set-to-hit-turf-at-semiahmoo-secondary/
GOLD AT CANADIAN NATIONALS FOR STAN MILLER
When did you start competing in Taekwondo and what inspired you to do so?
I started taekwondo when I was seven years old and I've been doing it for 8 years. I originally joined taekwondo because I grew up watching action movies starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. I always wanted to to crazy flying kicks and be able to knock people out with my bare hands. However I quickly learned that Martial Arts are not all about beating people up. There about discipline, self defence, hard work, and for me… Sport.
What are some of your previous accomplishments in the sport and what have you achieved most recently?
My most recent accomplishments in taekwondo include winning provincials and making Team BC. Winning Nationals and becoming a member of Team Canada. And because I won Nationals, I also get to travel to Tunisia, Africa and represent Team Canada in the Taekwondo World Championships.
Who were some people (players, coaches, parents, etc) that inspired you and encourage you to reach the level you are competing at?
Although taekwondo is a solo sport, it does not lack teamwork and a sense of Comradery. I wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren't for my coach Master Thornton and my fellow teammates at Vortex taekwondo.
What is the best part about competing in Taekwondo?
For me, the best part of competing in taekwondo is the travel and the new experiences. I’ve visited cities all across Canada the USA, and now even Africa. I've gotten to visit places that I never would have been able to otherwise, and met new friends around the world.
What are your future goals in Taekwondo?
I don’t plan to stop competing in Taekwondo anytime soon. My most immediate goal would be winning Gold at Worlds. As for a long term goal, it's always been a lifelong dream of mine to compete in the Olympics (Taekwondo is an Olympic sport). And i've just gotten one step closer to it.
WE @ TOTEMS ATHLETICS ARE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS STAN!!!!!!
I started taekwondo when I was seven years old and I've been doing it for 8 years. I originally joined taekwondo because I grew up watching action movies starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. I always wanted to to crazy flying kicks and be able to knock people out with my bare hands. However I quickly learned that Martial Arts are not all about beating people up. There about discipline, self defence, hard work, and for me… Sport.
What are some of your previous accomplishments in the sport and what have you achieved most recently?
My most recent accomplishments in taekwondo include winning provincials and making Team BC. Winning Nationals and becoming a member of Team Canada. And because I won Nationals, I also get to travel to Tunisia, Africa and represent Team Canada in the Taekwondo World Championships.
Who were some people (players, coaches, parents, etc) that inspired you and encourage you to reach the level you are competing at?
Although taekwondo is a solo sport, it does not lack teamwork and a sense of Comradery. I wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren't for my coach Master Thornton and my fellow teammates at Vortex taekwondo.
What is the best part about competing in Taekwondo?
For me, the best part of competing in taekwondo is the travel and the new experiences. I’ve visited cities all across Canada the USA, and now even Africa. I've gotten to visit places that I never would have been able to otherwise, and met new friends around the world.
What are your future goals in Taekwondo?
I don’t plan to stop competing in Taekwondo anytime soon. My most immediate goal would be winning Gold at Worlds. As for a long term goal, it's always been a lifelong dream of mine to compete in the Olympics (Taekwondo is an Olympic sport). And i've just gotten one step closer to it.
WE @ TOTEMS ATHLETICS ARE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS STAN!!!!!!
Semiahmoo Secondary high-jumper heading to Arizona
After spending the better part of two years stressing over post-secondary athletic options – talking to coaches, researching schools, making official visits – Alexa Porpaczy’s future, in the end, came into focus in just a matter of weeks.
Last week, the Grade 12 Semiahmoo Secondary high-jumper – who is among the best in the country for her age – signed an official scholarship agreement with the University of Arizona, an NCAA Div. 1 program in Tucson, Ariz. She signed her name on the dotted line just a week after making an official visit to the school, and less than two weeks after a face-to-face breakfast meeting in Bellingham with Matthew McGee, one of the program’s coaches.
“The process had been so long and gruelling, and then just in one snap, it was over,” Porpaczy told Peace Arch News earlier this week.
“It was pretty hard, going through the process, because NCAA recruiting is not exactly an easy thing to go through – there’s a lot of challenges, rules, that kind of stuff. But I’m really happy to come out of it how I did.”
Porpaczy – a multiple-time high-jump champ at BC High School Track and Field Championships – said she started receiving interest from NCAA schools in the first week of Grade 11, and interest continued through that year, as well as her current school year.
In the end, she narrowed her choices down to three – Arizona, the University of Washington and the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania. She had options north of the border, too, she added – including UBC, which she visited in Grade 11.
And while an NCAA scholarship can be worn as something of a badge of honour – competition for spots on those squads is incredibly stiff – Porpaczy told PAN that she didn’t have a USA-or-bust mentality when it came to choosing a school.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
“The NCAA had been my goal, but I decided I would only go if I could find a better opportunity than what I could get in Canada, which is hard because Canadian schools offer a lot,” she explained.
“I’ve always loved UBC, and also loved the idea of going back east, in Canada. I had a pretty narrow set of options (for NCAA schools), only because I had pretty high standards going in.”
She made four official NCAA visits, and in the end chose Arizona – in part because she “fell in love” with the campus, and also because the coaching staff’s ideas jived with her own.
“They focus more on helping their athletes do their best, rather than worrying about their program doing its best,” she said. “They favour their athletes going off (to compete) on national teams, and things like that. They put their athletes (first), and I think that’s really important.”
After first being contacted by Arizona in December, Porpaczy said communication eventually tapered off, and it was only when she came close to making a decision that she took the initiative to reconnect.
“I figured I should reach back out and see if their offer still stood.”
After that came the whirlwind few weeks of visits and discussions before making the decision official.
Porpaczy made the trip to Arizona alone – as she did on her three other official visits – which, she said, helped her get a feel for what it will be like living a few thousand miles from home, in an entirely new country.
“I got to experience what it would be like there on my own, which I thought was pretty cool,” she said. “I think that nerves come naturally with this kind of thing, but I’ve always been really independent, and I always knew I’d be (OK) with moving away from home when the time came.”
She expects the Arizona weather will also take some of the sting out of any homesickness she may feel next fall, too.
“With high jump, I’ve always performed better when it’s been warmer out, so I think this will be really good for me,” she said.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-secondary-high-jumper-heading-to-arizona/
Last week, the Grade 12 Semiahmoo Secondary high-jumper – who is among the best in the country for her age – signed an official scholarship agreement with the University of Arizona, an NCAA Div. 1 program in Tucson, Ariz. She signed her name on the dotted line just a week after making an official visit to the school, and less than two weeks after a face-to-face breakfast meeting in Bellingham with Matthew McGee, one of the program’s coaches.
“The process had been so long and gruelling, and then just in one snap, it was over,” Porpaczy told Peace Arch News earlier this week.
“It was pretty hard, going through the process, because NCAA recruiting is not exactly an easy thing to go through – there’s a lot of challenges, rules, that kind of stuff. But I’m really happy to come out of it how I did.”
Porpaczy – a multiple-time high-jump champ at BC High School Track and Field Championships – said she started receiving interest from NCAA schools in the first week of Grade 11, and interest continued through that year, as well as her current school year.
In the end, she narrowed her choices down to three – Arizona, the University of Washington and the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania. She had options north of the border, too, she added – including UBC, which she visited in Grade 11.
And while an NCAA scholarship can be worn as something of a badge of honour – competition for spots on those squads is incredibly stiff – Porpaczy told PAN that she didn’t have a USA-or-bust mentality when it came to choosing a school.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
“The NCAA had been my goal, but I decided I would only go if I could find a better opportunity than what I could get in Canada, which is hard because Canadian schools offer a lot,” she explained.
“I’ve always loved UBC, and also loved the idea of going back east, in Canada. I had a pretty narrow set of options (for NCAA schools), only because I had pretty high standards going in.”
She made four official NCAA visits, and in the end chose Arizona – in part because she “fell in love” with the campus, and also because the coaching staff’s ideas jived with her own.
“They focus more on helping their athletes do their best, rather than worrying about their program doing its best,” she said. “They favour their athletes going off (to compete) on national teams, and things like that. They put their athletes (first), and I think that’s really important.”
After first being contacted by Arizona in December, Porpaczy said communication eventually tapered off, and it was only when she came close to making a decision that she took the initiative to reconnect.
“I figured I should reach back out and see if their offer still stood.”
After that came the whirlwind few weeks of visits and discussions before making the decision official.
Porpaczy made the trip to Arizona alone – as she did on her three other official visits – which, she said, helped her get a feel for what it will be like living a few thousand miles from home, in an entirely new country.
“I got to experience what it would be like there on my own, which I thought was pretty cool,” she said. “I think that nerves come naturally with this kind of thing, but I’ve always been really independent, and I always knew I’d be (OK) with moving away from home when the time came.”
She expects the Arizona weather will also take some of the sting out of any homesickness she may feel next fall, too.
“With high jump, I’ve always performed better when it’s been warmer out, so I think this will be really good for me,” she said.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/semiahmoo-secondary-high-jumper-heading-to-arizona/
Surrey Ultimate teams engage in turf battle
Some of the top ultimate teams from throughout Surrey laced up their cleats Friday at Semiahmoo Secondary to take part in the second annual Myles Winch Memorial Ultimate Tournament.
The event – held in honour of Semiahmoo’s former athletic director, who passed away in 2016 after a battle with cancer – was held on the turf fields at South Surrey Athletic Park.
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field to one another, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
The top spot in Friday’s tournament went to the Guildford Park Sabres’ Green (Tier 1) team, which beat the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers in the championship game on Friday afternoon. Queen Elizabeth Secondary finished in third place, while the hosts from Semiahmoo ended the day in sixth spot, after being bounced from title contention by the Fraser Heights Firehawks.
Friday’s event also served as a fundraiser for the Go Play Outside scholarship fund, which was created in Winch’s honour and awards bursaries to students who plan to study outdoor education after high school.
High-school students aren’t the only ones taking up ultimate in the Surrey school district, either. On May 3, an elementary-school “Play Day” is planned for South Surrey Athletic Park. That event – set to run from noon until 5 p.m. – is to feature 32 elementary school teams from throughout the district.
The event is the largest one of its kind in the district, Chantrell Creek Elementary teacher Tor Karlsen told Peace Arch News.
“It’s a great way to get kids outside during spring and play a fun, competitive, coed sport that they can hopefully continue to play as they head into high school and further.” he said.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/surrey-ultimate-teams-engage-in-turf-battle/
The event – held in honour of Semiahmoo’s former athletic director, who passed away in 2016 after a battle with cancer – was held on the turf fields at South Surrey Athletic Park.
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field to one another, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
The top spot in Friday’s tournament went to the Guildford Park Sabres’ Green (Tier 1) team, which beat the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers in the championship game on Friday afternoon. Queen Elizabeth Secondary finished in third place, while the hosts from Semiahmoo ended the day in sixth spot, after being bounced from title contention by the Fraser Heights Firehawks.
Friday’s event also served as a fundraiser for the Go Play Outside scholarship fund, which was created in Winch’s honour and awards bursaries to students who plan to study outdoor education after high school.
High-school students aren’t the only ones taking up ultimate in the Surrey school district, either. On May 3, an elementary-school “Play Day” is planned for South Surrey Athletic Park. That event – set to run from noon until 5 p.m. – is to feature 32 elementary school teams from throughout the district.
The event is the largest one of its kind in the district, Chantrell Creek Elementary teacher Tor Karlsen told Peace Arch News.
“It’s a great way to get kids outside during spring and play a fun, competitive, coed sport that they can hopefully continue to play as they head into high school and further.” he said.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/surrey-ultimate-teams-engage-in-turf-battle/
CHEERLEADING WORLD'S IN FLORIDA!
Some may say that allstar cheerleading is about the glitz and glam. Make no mistake, these are athletes to the core. It takes a lot of time, dedication and teamwork to make a 2 ½ minute routine floor ready. Many teams will compete locally and internationally but few will earn the right to attend the World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida each year where teams compete against just that, the best in the world. This year, one of our own Semi Totems will be hitting the world stage, accomplishing a goal 8 years in the making.
AVERY GASKIN started her cheerleading career at 10 years old in a local gym at the starting level – level 1. She pushed hard to hone her skillset, even deciding to move to a further gym to train to accomplish her goal of making the highest level in cheerleading – level 6. This year, she has had the privilege of being a member of Blackout, the All Girl International Open Level 6 team at Vancouver Allstars.
On February 3rd, Avery and her teammates competed and ultimately won a coveted partial paid bid to Worlds! She will be taking the floor at the new Wide World of Sports building specifically built and designed for cheerleading in April 2018. We wish Avery the best of luck!
AVERY GASKIN started her cheerleading career at 10 years old in a local gym at the starting level – level 1. She pushed hard to hone her skillset, even deciding to move to a further gym to train to accomplish her goal of making the highest level in cheerleading – level 6. This year, she has had the privilege of being a member of Blackout, the All Girl International Open Level 6 team at Vancouver Allstars.
On February 3rd, Avery and her teammates competed and ultimately won a coveted partial paid bid to Worlds! She will be taking the floor at the new Wide World of Sports building specifically built and designed for cheerleading in April 2018. We wish Avery the best of luck!
Senior Boys Basketball BC PRovincial Championship Game Highlights
BACK 2 BACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
LANGLEY — Michael Sapic is thrilled that his Semiahmoo Totems players are enjoying the sweet taste that comes with repeating as B.C. senior boys AAA volleyball champions.
Yet the longtime head coach, who made his return to the lead chair this season after formerly leading Totems boys and girls teams to top-four B.C. finishes, isn’t sugar-coating the fact that not every title-clinching run is filled with start-to-finish high-fives and campfire songs.
“In the end it was about how everyone believed in each other,” said Sapic, reflecting Monday on the events of this past Saturday as the Totems rallied against Cranbrook’s top-seeded Mt. Baker, beating the Wild 15-12 in the fifth-and-deciding set at an ear-splitting Langley Events Centre.
“But part of what went on this year is that our team has had so many different coaches each year,” continued Sapic, who had not coached a high school team since leading the Totems girls to the B.C. semifinals in 2009. “And then I came along. They weren’t used to doing the different kinds of things I did, and I think it made them uncomfortable. It was a fear of trying something new.”
Led by the play of tournament MVP Mike Dowhaniuk, the 6-foot-5 senior left side hitter, the Totems played their best volleyball of the season over their final four matches.
In the round of 16, they topped Kelowna 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-16), beat Penticton 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-10, 25-20) in the quarterfinals, then swept past crosstown rival Earl Marriott 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-13) in the semifinals.
The way things began against Mt. Baker, the Totems looked immortal.
They led 2-0 (25-12, 25-22) and were going for a sweep before the Wild re-discovered the intensity which made them the province’s top-ranked team for the entire second half of the season.
“After we won the first two, Mt. Baker woke up,” said Sapic. “You couldn’t hear yourself think in there. It was so loud. But after we lost that fourth (set), I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it was a train’s headlight coming.”
To Sapic, it was plain to see that momentum was no longer with his team. So instead of letting them come off the floor ahead of the tie-breaker, he kept them on the court and proceeded to do the only thing he felt would get them back on the tracks.
“I went right out onto the floor and I did the rah-rah, go bananas thing,” he said. “I told them to go and take it and then I pushed them back onto the floor before they even had to go, and it changed their mood.”
After falling 18-25 and 12-25, the came back in the fifth to win 15-12 and keep B.C.’s highest-tiered boys volleyball title in South Surrey.
“The problem when we get too emotionally high is sometimes we tend to crash,” said Sapic. “I just tried to recognize when that was happening. It was about trying to maintain the highs and then pick it up if it got too low.”
As far as reading his team’s emotional barometre, the coach got it right.
And there were so many triumphant stories within the Totems’ roster.
Dowhaniuk finished his high school career as the provincial MVP.
Sapic said his need for a setter was answered when he converted former left side Jag Gill into the team’s playmaker, a position in which over a three-month span he made incredible forward progress.
Adam Paige, the 6-foot-7 dual-sport star who has already begun his senior year with the basketball team, played a role befitting his physical stature, moving from his middle blocker spot and thriving as a ride-side hitter.
“When they all ganged up on Mike on the left side, we needed someone on the other side and Adam was a dream kid,” said Sapic.
The coach had a story to tell about virtually every player on the roster and it was hard to mistake the pride he had for their collective finish.
Yet again, he stressed that the happy ending was possible because the team was willing to confront its hurdles.
“At one point I said to them ‘If you want to find another guy…’” said Sapic about the fact that he offered his resignation if it was going to be in the best interest of the players’ season. “I meant it but I didn’t want to go. I wanted them to recognize that I wanted to help them. I was grasping at straws for ways to bring it all together.
“In the end, it’s so satisfying,” he concluded. “There is nothing better than winning the provincials.”
https://varsityletters.ca/standing-totem-tall-semiahmoo-celebrates-its-bumps-in-the-road-reaps-reward-of-repeat-b-c-aaa-title/
Yet the longtime head coach, who made his return to the lead chair this season after formerly leading Totems boys and girls teams to top-four B.C. finishes, isn’t sugar-coating the fact that not every title-clinching run is filled with start-to-finish high-fives and campfire songs.
“In the end it was about how everyone believed in each other,” said Sapic, reflecting Monday on the events of this past Saturday as the Totems rallied against Cranbrook’s top-seeded Mt. Baker, beating the Wild 15-12 in the fifth-and-deciding set at an ear-splitting Langley Events Centre.
“But part of what went on this year is that our team has had so many different coaches each year,” continued Sapic, who had not coached a high school team since leading the Totems girls to the B.C. semifinals in 2009. “And then I came along. They weren’t used to doing the different kinds of things I did, and I think it made them uncomfortable. It was a fear of trying something new.”
Led by the play of tournament MVP Mike Dowhaniuk, the 6-foot-5 senior left side hitter, the Totems played their best volleyball of the season over their final four matches.
In the round of 16, they topped Kelowna 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-16), beat Penticton 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-10, 25-20) in the quarterfinals, then swept past crosstown rival Earl Marriott 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-13) in the semifinals.
The way things began against Mt. Baker, the Totems looked immortal.
They led 2-0 (25-12, 25-22) and were going for a sweep before the Wild re-discovered the intensity which made them the province’s top-ranked team for the entire second half of the season.
“After we won the first two, Mt. Baker woke up,” said Sapic. “You couldn’t hear yourself think in there. It was so loud. But after we lost that fourth (set), I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it was a train’s headlight coming.”
To Sapic, it was plain to see that momentum was no longer with his team. So instead of letting them come off the floor ahead of the tie-breaker, he kept them on the court and proceeded to do the only thing he felt would get them back on the tracks.
“I went right out onto the floor and I did the rah-rah, go bananas thing,” he said. “I told them to go and take it and then I pushed them back onto the floor before they even had to go, and it changed their mood.”
After falling 18-25 and 12-25, the came back in the fifth to win 15-12 and keep B.C.’s highest-tiered boys volleyball title in South Surrey.
“The problem when we get too emotionally high is sometimes we tend to crash,” said Sapic. “I just tried to recognize when that was happening. It was about trying to maintain the highs and then pick it up if it got too low.”
As far as reading his team’s emotional barometre, the coach got it right.
And there were so many triumphant stories within the Totems’ roster.
Dowhaniuk finished his high school career as the provincial MVP.
Sapic said his need for a setter was answered when he converted former left side Jag Gill into the team’s playmaker, a position in which over a three-month span he made incredible forward progress.
Adam Paige, the 6-foot-7 dual-sport star who has already begun his senior year with the basketball team, played a role befitting his physical stature, moving from his middle blocker spot and thriving as a ride-side hitter.
“When they all ganged up on Mike on the left side, we needed someone on the other side and Adam was a dream kid,” said Sapic.
The coach had a story to tell about virtually every player on the roster and it was hard to mistake the pride he had for their collective finish.
Yet again, he stressed that the happy ending was possible because the team was willing to confront its hurdles.
“At one point I said to them ‘If you want to find another guy…’” said Sapic about the fact that he offered his resignation if it was going to be in the best interest of the players’ season. “I meant it but I didn’t want to go. I wanted them to recognize that I wanted to help them. I was grasping at straws for ways to bring it all together.
“In the end, it’s so satisfying,” he concluded. “There is nothing better than winning the provincials.”
https://varsityletters.ca/standing-totem-tall-semiahmoo-celebrates-its-bumps-in-the-road-reaps-reward-of-repeat-b-c-aaa-title/
4 Year Drought Ended!
The TOTEMS Senior Badminton Team has broken a 4 year drought for a senior individuals title! The TOTEMS won 2 last night! In an entertaining finals, Tammy and Rebecca won in 2 very close games. On the boys side, Nick and Brian won an epic match upsetting the number 1 seeds. Their match went to a 3rd game and they won 22-20 in a back-and-forth nail biting game against an opponent that has a junior national badminton title. Outstanding Performance TOTEMS!
Final Results:
Sr. Surrey Individual Badminton Championships
Boys Singles
Adam - 2nd place
Jack - 4th place
Manin - 8th place
Boys Doubles
Nick / Brian - Champions (1st place)
Jeffrey / William - 4th place
Kevin / Charles W - 8th place
Girls Doubles
Tammy / Rebecca - Champions (1st place)
Kelly / Claire - 5th place
Mixed Doubles
Nick / Tammy - 2nd place
Brian / Claire - 4th place
William / Rebecca - 6th place
Final Results:
Sr. Surrey Individual Badminton Championships
Boys Singles
Adam - 2nd place
Jack - 4th place
Manin - 8th place
Boys Doubles
Nick / Brian - Champions (1st place)
Jeffrey / William - 4th place
Kevin / Charles W - 8th place
Girls Doubles
Tammy / Rebecca - Champions (1st place)
Kelly / Claire - 5th place
Mixed Doubles
Nick / Tammy - 2nd place
Brian / Claire - 4th place
William / Rebecca - 6th place
Seselja Named to U18 Canadian Rugby Team
Congratulations to Berlyn Seselja who has recently been named to the U18 Canadian National Rugby Team. She has been a strong force leading the Totems Girls Rugby program, well done Berlyn!
Another TOTEM Signs as UBC Thunderbird
VANCOUVER – The UBC men's volleyball program is proud to announce that Michael Dowhaniuk, of the reigning 2016 BC AAA champion Semiahmoo Totems and the Seaside Volleyball Club, has verbally committed to attend UBC in 2018-19. Dowhaniuk intends to study in the UBC Faculty of Applied Sciences.
Dowhaniuk was named tournament MVP in the 2016 BC AAA Volleyball Championship after his number two-seeded Totems knocked off the top-seeded Kelowna Owls, who'd sat first in the provincial rankings for much of the season.
Dowhaniuk is a standout on the Seaside Volleyball Club team, one of the top U-17 club teams in Canada, he has also been selected to Team BC to compete at the 2017 Canada Summer Games.
"I am overjoyed to verbally commit to UBC and join the Thunderbird's men's volleyball team for the 2018-19 season. I look forward to the opportunity to play for Kerry MacDonald and obtain a top-notch Engineering education at the same time," says Dowhaniuk. "My goal is to work and train hard to reach the best of my abilities and I believe UBC will provide me with the support to get there both academically and athletically."
"I am thrilled that Michael has chosen UBC as the place to pursue his academic and athletic goals. From early in the recruiting process it was evident that Michael was a great fit for our program," says UBC head coach Kerry MacDonald. "He is a phenomenal athlete that possesses the ability to excel in our U SPORTS league but also has realistic goals to play at even greater levels. Furthermore, he is an outstanding student that will thrive in our world renowned Applied Science faculty."
Dowhaniuk is also an active volunteer in the community. He is a volunteer "Buddy" with the Challenger Baseball Program, a program that provides an opportunity for children with cognitive or physical disabilities to enjoy the full benefits of participation in baseball. He is also active in the Wish Youth Network Society-Semiahmoo, a student-led organization that helps children with serious medical conditions engage in community activities.
https://gothunderbirds.ca/news/2017/5/10/mens-volleyball-michael-dowhaniuk-to-engineer-a-future-in-blue-and-gold.aspx
Dowhaniuk was named tournament MVP in the 2016 BC AAA Volleyball Championship after his number two-seeded Totems knocked off the top-seeded Kelowna Owls, who'd sat first in the provincial rankings for much of the season.
Dowhaniuk is a standout on the Seaside Volleyball Club team, one of the top U-17 club teams in Canada, he has also been selected to Team BC to compete at the 2017 Canada Summer Games.
"I am overjoyed to verbally commit to UBC and join the Thunderbird's men's volleyball team for the 2018-19 season. I look forward to the opportunity to play for Kerry MacDonald and obtain a top-notch Engineering education at the same time," says Dowhaniuk. "My goal is to work and train hard to reach the best of my abilities and I believe UBC will provide me with the support to get there both academically and athletically."
"I am thrilled that Michael has chosen UBC as the place to pursue his academic and athletic goals. From early in the recruiting process it was evident that Michael was a great fit for our program," says UBC head coach Kerry MacDonald. "He is a phenomenal athlete that possesses the ability to excel in our U SPORTS league but also has realistic goals to play at even greater levels. Furthermore, he is an outstanding student that will thrive in our world renowned Applied Science faculty."
Dowhaniuk is also an active volunteer in the community. He is a volunteer "Buddy" with the Challenger Baseball Program, a program that provides an opportunity for children with cognitive or physical disabilities to enjoy the full benefits of participation in baseball. He is also active in the Wish Youth Network Society-Semiahmoo, a student-led organization that helps children with serious medical conditions engage in community activities.
https://gothunderbirds.ca/news/2017/5/10/mens-volleyball-michael-dowhaniuk-to-engineer-a-future-in-blue-and-gold.aspx
Surrey’s special athletes celebrated
For anyone wondering what all the smiles, dancing, ribbons and cheers at South Surrey Athletic Park were about Wednesday, the answer is simple: athletes were being celebrated.
Students representing 16 of Surrey’s 19 secondary schools were at the track for the day to participate in the annual Special Track Meet.
In its fourth year for secondary students – an elementary-level meet marked its ninth year last week – the day gave students of varying abilities opportunities to try their hand at events including baseball, high jump, obstacle courses and more, before culminating with a relay.
Every athlete left decorated with ribbons.
“It’s celebrating these athletes,” meet co-ordinator Joan Stock said. “It’s all about them.”
https://www.peacearchnews.com/community/surreys-special-athletes-celebrated/
Students representing 16 of Surrey’s 19 secondary schools were at the track for the day to participate in the annual Special Track Meet.
In its fourth year for secondary students – an elementary-level meet marked its ninth year last week – the day gave students of varying abilities opportunities to try their hand at events including baseball, high jump, obstacle courses and more, before culminating with a relay.
Every athlete left decorated with ribbons.
“It’s celebrating these athletes,” meet co-ordinator Joan Stock said. “It’s all about them.”
https://www.peacearchnews.com/community/surreys-special-athletes-celebrated/
TOTEMS Representing BC in 2017 Canada Summer Games
Congratulations to Mike Dowhaniuk, Adam Paige, and Vlad Mihaila for representing British Columbia at the 2017 Canada Summer Games. Mike will be competing on the BC Volleyball Team, while Adam and Vlad will be competing on the BC Basketball Team. Great work fellas, and way to represent TOTEMS Athletics!
British Columbia Gold Medalists: "An Undefeated Season"
Huge Congratulations to the Grade 8 Girls Basketball team for winning the BC Provincial Championships. This is the first ever basketball provincial championship that the TOTEMS have one in the history of the school. Well done girls!
British Columbia Silver Medalists
Special Congratulations to our TOTEMS Table Tennis Team for their 2nd place finish at the 2017 Provincial Championships! The team swept through Steveston-London in the Semi Finals, but finished just short to St. Georges in the Final Championship Game. The boys have worked hard throughout the year, and all their hard work has paid off! Special thanks to Mrs. Mazurkewich for her commitment as Coach to the team!
High Jump Personal Best
On some level, Alexa Porpaczy fell into jumping.
“I kind of got lucky,” said the Semiahmoo Secondary Grade 11, who won the high school invitational high jump at the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays in Torrance, Calif., recently with a leap that qualifies her for the Canadian team for Commonwealth Youth Games this July in Nassau, Bahamas.
“We did it in class in elementary school. I went to a meet in Grade 8 and tried it and ended up doing well. I decided that I should join a club after that. I ended up going to provincials and winning.
“I just thought to try it and it’s now what consumes a lot of my time.”
At Mt. Sac, Porpaczy, 16, jumped a personal-best 1.77 metres, which is the minimum standard for the Commonwealth Youth, an event open to athletes aged 14-18. At last word, the Valley Royals club member was the lone competitor her age in Canada to have reached that plateau this season. The Canadian team is expected to be announced on Monday.
Cassidy Palka, the reigning California state champion from Oaks Christian, was the runner-up at Mt. Sac, with a 1.72 metre effort. She’s already committed to USC. That, too, offers up some idea of Porpaczy’s potential.
Porpaczy is planning to write her SATs in the coming days, although she contends she isn’t set just yet on going the NCAA route after next year.
“I’m keeping my options open,” said Porpaczy, who’s interested academically in the sciences, with biology in particular.
“There are so many good schools locally. I don’t want to go to the NCAA just to say that I’m going to the NCAA. I want to go to a school that’s outstanding.”
The 5-foot-11 Porpaczy admits she’s started to dial in her interest in high jump in the past couple of years. She won the national Under-18 Legion gold medal in Saint-Therese, Que., last August with a 1.69-metre effort, and that was coming off a 1.76-metre showing at a meet in Nanaimo a few weeks prior to that.
She can get caught up in “binge-watching,” high jumpers on YouTube, with Derek Drouin among her favourites to study.
Alexa Porpaczy trains under the veteran coach Ziggy Szelagowicz with the Valley Royals.She’s training under celebrated Royals power/speed coach Ziggy Szelagowicz, whose proteges include two-time Olympian Mike Mason. Szelagowicz spotted Porpaczy at a club meet.
“I was just jumping in old runners. I didn’t even have spikes then,” she said.
Nagging injuries, illness and the chilly winter weather limited her training this off-season, so she admits she’s surprised at how much early success she’s having so far.
She is shooting to break the 1.80 metre barrier, namely because that would equal her height and Szelagowicz preaches “you are not a real high jumper until you jump your height.”
For perspective, only two Canadian women of any age he reached that mark so far this season.
“Am I surprised at how things have gone? Yeah, it surprises me a lot,” Porpaczy said. “It’s such a simple sport in some ways. The training is so basic. You feel like you’re doing nothing at all really and then all of the sudden you’re making these gains. My coach just knows the right training methods.
“When the the big results come — like qualifying for Team Canada — it can be so surreal.”
Jim Bennest probably feels the same way about what she’s done. He was the elementary school teacher who introduced Porpaczy to high jump all those years ago. He recently sent her a letter, congratulating her on the success she’s achieved in the sport.
“It’s pretty cool that he’s been keeping up on my results,” Porpaczy said
https://theprovince.com/sports/high-school/ready-for-lift-off-skys-the-limit-for-semiahmoo-high-jumper-porpaczy
“I kind of got lucky,” said the Semiahmoo Secondary Grade 11, who won the high school invitational high jump at the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays in Torrance, Calif., recently with a leap that qualifies her for the Canadian team for Commonwealth Youth Games this July in Nassau, Bahamas.
“We did it in class in elementary school. I went to a meet in Grade 8 and tried it and ended up doing well. I decided that I should join a club after that. I ended up going to provincials and winning.
“I just thought to try it and it’s now what consumes a lot of my time.”
At Mt. Sac, Porpaczy, 16, jumped a personal-best 1.77 metres, which is the minimum standard for the Commonwealth Youth, an event open to athletes aged 14-18. At last word, the Valley Royals club member was the lone competitor her age in Canada to have reached that plateau this season. The Canadian team is expected to be announced on Monday.
Cassidy Palka, the reigning California state champion from Oaks Christian, was the runner-up at Mt. Sac, with a 1.72 metre effort. She’s already committed to USC. That, too, offers up some idea of Porpaczy’s potential.
Porpaczy is planning to write her SATs in the coming days, although she contends she isn’t set just yet on going the NCAA route after next year.
“I’m keeping my options open,” said Porpaczy, who’s interested academically in the sciences, with biology in particular.
“There are so many good schools locally. I don’t want to go to the NCAA just to say that I’m going to the NCAA. I want to go to a school that’s outstanding.”
The 5-foot-11 Porpaczy admits she’s started to dial in her interest in high jump in the past couple of years. She won the national Under-18 Legion gold medal in Saint-Therese, Que., last August with a 1.69-metre effort, and that was coming off a 1.76-metre showing at a meet in Nanaimo a few weeks prior to that.
She can get caught up in “binge-watching,” high jumpers on YouTube, with Derek Drouin among her favourites to study.
Alexa Porpaczy trains under the veteran coach Ziggy Szelagowicz with the Valley Royals.She’s training under celebrated Royals power/speed coach Ziggy Szelagowicz, whose proteges include two-time Olympian Mike Mason. Szelagowicz spotted Porpaczy at a club meet.
“I was just jumping in old runners. I didn’t even have spikes then,” she said.
Nagging injuries, illness and the chilly winter weather limited her training this off-season, so she admits she’s surprised at how much early success she’s having so far.
She is shooting to break the 1.80 metre barrier, namely because that would equal her height and Szelagowicz preaches “you are not a real high jumper until you jump your height.”
For perspective, only two Canadian women of any age he reached that mark so far this season.
“Am I surprised at how things have gone? Yeah, it surprises me a lot,” Porpaczy said. “It’s such a simple sport in some ways. The training is so basic. You feel like you’re doing nothing at all really and then all of the sudden you’re making these gains. My coach just knows the right training methods.
“When the the big results come — like qualifying for Team Canada — it can be so surreal.”
Jim Bennest probably feels the same way about what she’s done. He was the elementary school teacher who introduced Porpaczy to high jump all those years ago. He recently sent her a letter, congratulating her on the success she’s achieved in the sport.
“It’s pretty cool that he’s been keeping up on my results,” Porpaczy said
https://theprovince.com/sports/high-school/ready-for-lift-off-skys-the-limit-for-semiahmoo-high-jumper-porpaczy
Ultimate tournament to honour longtime South Surrey coach
By Nick Greenizan - Peace Arch News, South Surrey, White Rock posted Feb 23, 2017 at 4:00 PM
Semiahmoo Secondary has found the ultimate way to honour the memory of one of its longtime teachers.
In March, the South Surrey school will host the first-ever Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament, bringing together a handful of Ultimate Frisbee teams from other local high schools.
Winch – a longtime coach and teacher at Semiahmoo, who was also the former athletic director – passed away last September after a battle with cancer.
Until this year, Winch – an Abbotsford resident who taught in the Surrey school district for more than 40 years – had also been Semiahmoo’s only coach of its Ultimate team, which he spearheaded at the school more than a decade ago.
“For a lot of us, it was a shock when he passed away,” said Semiahmoo teacher Tony Chio, who now coaches the Ultimate team with Thomas Salzmann.
“We wanted to do something, and the students came to us and said they wanted to do something too.”
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field to one another, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
For the inaugural event, set for March 29, 12 teams are set to compete, including Semiahmoo’s senior Ultimate team.
The event will also serve as a fundraiser, with money raised helping fund the Go Play Outside scholarship at Semiahmoo, which Winch’s family created in his honour.
The bursary supports students interested in outdoor education, Chio said.
“He was a big advocate of kids getting an opportunity to play… he gave so much to Semi and it only seems fitting to have a tourney in his name,” said Steve Janzen, Semiahmoo’s athletic director.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/ultimate-tournament-to-honour-longtime-south-surrey-coach/
Semiahmoo Secondary has found the ultimate way to honour the memory of one of its longtime teachers.
In March, the South Surrey school will host the first-ever Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament, bringing together a handful of Ultimate Frisbee teams from other local high schools.
Winch – a longtime coach and teacher at Semiahmoo, who was also the former athletic director – passed away last September after a battle with cancer.
Until this year, Winch – an Abbotsford resident who taught in the Surrey school district for more than 40 years – had also been Semiahmoo’s only coach of its Ultimate team, which he spearheaded at the school more than a decade ago.
“For a lot of us, it was a shock when he passed away,” said Semiahmoo teacher Tony Chio, who now coaches the Ultimate team with Thomas Salzmann.
“We wanted to do something, and the students came to us and said they wanted to do something too.”
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field to one another, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
For the inaugural event, set for March 29, 12 teams are set to compete, including Semiahmoo’s senior Ultimate team.
The event will also serve as a fundraiser, with money raised helping fund the Go Play Outside scholarship at Semiahmoo, which Winch’s family created in his honour.
The bursary supports students interested in outdoor education, Chio said.
“He was a big advocate of kids getting an opportunity to play… he gave so much to Semi and it only seems fitting to have a tourney in his name,” said Steve Janzen, Semiahmoo’s athletic director.
https://www.peacearchnews.com/sports/ultimate-tournament-to-honour-longtime-south-surrey-coach/
The Totem becomes a Thunderbird: Semi’s Wallack evokes memories of all-time UBC great
\SURREY — Brian Wallack was somewhere around three years of age when a young player from Salmon Arm Secondary named Casey Archibald first donned the blue-and-gold of the UBC Thunderbirds.
Fifteen years later, the UBC-bound senior point guard from Surrey’s Semiahmoo Secondary admitted he needed to do a little research to truly appreciate the player he was being likened to at the same age as a graduating high school senior by ‘Birds head coach Kevin Hanson.
“I didn’t know too much about him until he came to our Semiahmoo Totems camp last summer,” Wallack said Monday of Archibald. “That’s when I looked him up.”
And what did Wallack learn?
“That he was a pretty good player,” the Grade 12 said, purposely understating his tone in tribute to Archibald, the second all-time scorer in UBC history.
“Being compared to someone like that gives me a great amount of confidence,” says Wallack. “(Archibald) was an incredible player, so if I can do anything like he did, it would be awesome.”
Time and performance will be the final arbiters of Wallack’s impact, but it’s clear that Hanson — who also recruited Archibald — is comfortable making a comparison between the two as high school seniors because he understands the combination of maturity and perseverance that Wallack brings to the table.
“Brian’s upside is huge,” Hanson says of Wallack, a 6-foot-5 point guard with athleticism, smarts and heart.
“Casey came in as a young high school player and graduated after a remarkable career,” continues Hanson of Archibald, who trails only J.D. Jackson in program scoring and was a five-time Canada West all-star. “Brian has that same capability. I don’t want to put pressure on him to have to emulate that, but I see the same kind of upside.”
What attracted Hanson to Wallack?
Aside from his substantial skills as a big lead guard, it was a cache of intangibles.
As legend has it, Wallack stood 4-foot-11 in Grade 8. He has been cut from the provincial team the past four years. Yet he has such an unflappable and sunny nature, that he ticks off every box relating to team chemistry.
“I love the size, the fact that he can handle it, shoot it, match on the perimetre against ones, twos and threes,” begins Hanson, “but he is also a 90 per cent student, his parents are both UBC grads, and he is a leader on the floor.
“Any time someone made a mistake, he would be over to high-five that player. The leadership ability that he has is something that is so hard to coach. He just brings it with him.”
UBC’s guard rotation is not exactly thin despite the graduation of Jordan Jensen-Whyte and swingman Will Ondrik.
The returning vets are led by the likes of Taylor Browne and Phil Jalalpoor, young talent is rising as well, and transfer Jauquin Bennett-Boire is a superstar in waiting.
It’s a challenging and competitive atmosphere, one that has always suited Wallack’s DNA to a T, and one that Hanson likes as a starting point for his new recruit.
Following his team’s shocking ouster at the hands of the Manitoba Bisons in the conference playoffs, Hanson attended the U Sports Final 8 national tournament and strengthened his belief of what the daily environment of practice needs to more closely resemble at War Gym.
“We need to be more competitive in practice,” he said. “Guys need to be hungry and you have to compete and play to earn your minutes.”
And perhaps that’s why the head coach doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind as to Wallack’s potential. He knows the player in question will handle it the right way.
“Looking at what we need more of, it’s size, athleticism and mental toughness,” says Hanson. “For some reason, when you look at kids, they can remind you of someone else. For Brian, it’s right down to the fact that their physical appearance is similar. What I saw in Casey as a high school player is what I see a lot of in Brian Wallack.”
Again, Wallack’s response isn’t one of shouldering pressure.
To him, the exact opposite occurs.
“I’ve been cut from so many teams in the past couple of years and I have never found that it puts me down,” says Wallack. “It makes me want to work harder, and if someone compares me to someone good, then I am going to work that much harder to prove it to them.”
https://varsityletters.ca/the-totem-becomes-a-thunderbird-semis-wallack-evokes-memories-of-all-time-ubc-great/
Fifteen years later, the UBC-bound senior point guard from Surrey’s Semiahmoo Secondary admitted he needed to do a little research to truly appreciate the player he was being likened to at the same age as a graduating high school senior by ‘Birds head coach Kevin Hanson.
“I didn’t know too much about him until he came to our Semiahmoo Totems camp last summer,” Wallack said Monday of Archibald. “That’s when I looked him up.”
And what did Wallack learn?
“That he was a pretty good player,” the Grade 12 said, purposely understating his tone in tribute to Archibald, the second all-time scorer in UBC history.
“Being compared to someone like that gives me a great amount of confidence,” says Wallack. “(Archibald) was an incredible player, so if I can do anything like he did, it would be awesome.”
Time and performance will be the final arbiters of Wallack’s impact, but it’s clear that Hanson — who also recruited Archibald — is comfortable making a comparison between the two as high school seniors because he understands the combination of maturity and perseverance that Wallack brings to the table.
“Brian’s upside is huge,” Hanson says of Wallack, a 6-foot-5 point guard with athleticism, smarts and heart.
“Casey came in as a young high school player and graduated after a remarkable career,” continues Hanson of Archibald, who trails only J.D. Jackson in program scoring and was a five-time Canada West all-star. “Brian has that same capability. I don’t want to put pressure on him to have to emulate that, but I see the same kind of upside.”
What attracted Hanson to Wallack?
Aside from his substantial skills as a big lead guard, it was a cache of intangibles.
As legend has it, Wallack stood 4-foot-11 in Grade 8. He has been cut from the provincial team the past four years. Yet he has such an unflappable and sunny nature, that he ticks off every box relating to team chemistry.
“I love the size, the fact that he can handle it, shoot it, match on the perimetre against ones, twos and threes,” begins Hanson, “but he is also a 90 per cent student, his parents are both UBC grads, and he is a leader on the floor.
“Any time someone made a mistake, he would be over to high-five that player. The leadership ability that he has is something that is so hard to coach. He just brings it with him.”
UBC’s guard rotation is not exactly thin despite the graduation of Jordan Jensen-Whyte and swingman Will Ondrik.
The returning vets are led by the likes of Taylor Browne and Phil Jalalpoor, young talent is rising as well, and transfer Jauquin Bennett-Boire is a superstar in waiting.
It’s a challenging and competitive atmosphere, one that has always suited Wallack’s DNA to a T, and one that Hanson likes as a starting point for his new recruit.
Following his team’s shocking ouster at the hands of the Manitoba Bisons in the conference playoffs, Hanson attended the U Sports Final 8 national tournament and strengthened his belief of what the daily environment of practice needs to more closely resemble at War Gym.
“We need to be more competitive in practice,” he said. “Guys need to be hungry and you have to compete and play to earn your minutes.”
And perhaps that’s why the head coach doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind as to Wallack’s potential. He knows the player in question will handle it the right way.
“Looking at what we need more of, it’s size, athleticism and mental toughness,” says Hanson. “For some reason, when you look at kids, they can remind you of someone else. For Brian, it’s right down to the fact that their physical appearance is similar. What I saw in Casey as a high school player is what I see a lot of in Brian Wallack.”
Again, Wallack’s response isn’t one of shouldering pressure.
To him, the exact opposite occurs.
“I’ve been cut from so many teams in the past couple of years and I have never found that it puts me down,” says Wallack. “It makes me want to work harder, and if someone compares me to someone good, then I am going to work that much harder to prove it to them.”
https://varsityletters.ca/the-totem-becomes-a-thunderbird-semis-wallack-evokes-memories-of-all-time-ubc-great/
A self Made Totem
January 31, 2017 Howard Tsumura
SURREY — Back in the winter of 2012, coach Edward Lefurgy approached one of the more eager members of his Grade 8 boys basketball team at Semiahmoo Secondary.
“He was always working on his skills and always asking for more coaching,” begins Lefurgy of point guard Brian Wallack, who at the time stood at just 4-foot-11. “One day I told him that if he wanted to grow, he needed to eat more hummus. At the end of the year, his mother came up to me and asked ‘Why does Brian always want to buy so much hummus.’”
Five years later, Wallack is still a point guard, one of the very best in the entire province, and one who now stands at 6-foot-5.
Yet this isn’t a story about unlocking your vast potential through a mash of chickpeas, olive oil and garlic.
Instead, it’s about finding the starting point that best illustrates just how badly Brian Wallack wanted to be a player.
Yes, there’s plenty of comic relief, but there has also been a ton of self-belief.
This weekend, as the No. 7-ranked Totems join the likes of the No. 1 Walnut Grove Gators, the host and No. 2-ranked Kelowna Owls, No. 3 Oak Bay Bays and No. 4 Kitsilano Blue Demons at the star-studded Western Canada Invitational, the star power at the leader guard position will be dazzling.
The Gators’ Ty Rowell, the Owls’ Mason Bourcier, Jaden Touchie of the Bays and the Blue Demons’ Luka Lizdek. All are either provincial team selections or standouts with their touring club sides.
Then there is the outlier.
Wallack has never played club basketball and he’s been cut from provincial team tryouts the last four straight years.
But he is intensely driven, he is a multi-sport athlete, and since the summer, when he was last watched by university basketball coaches at provincial camp, he’s grown between four and five inches. And believe it or not, he is still growing.
University coaches have always said ‘He’s got everything we want, if only he was a couple of inches taller.’”
Now, they have no excuse.
Before this past summer, Wallack, a 95 per cent student and a team leader with a tireless work ethic, already had everything but ther height. Now he’s almost five inches taller.
I know, right?
Mom, can you buy me some hummus?
A TOTEM STANDS TALL
If you want to know just how talented and competitive Wallack is on the courts, consider that this past season he started at off-side hitter for the Totems senior varsity volleyball team and helped lead Semiahmoo to the B.C. Triple-A championship title.
Before his growth spurt, he functioned as volleyball’s version of the point guard, starring as a setter. The sport gives him transfer to basketball, he says. It also helps him say thanks to a mom who has always supported his athletic endeavours.
“My mom was a very competitive beach player and she has put so much time in for me,” begins Wallack, “that I wanted to keep the sport for her. But I also love being multi-sport because I find having different types of skills helps give me a different perspective (in basketball).”
This is inquisitivness at its finest. And Lefurgy keeps breaking out stories from back in the day.
“I gave him a basketball book a number of years ago, one I gave to our whole team,” begins Lefurgy of Wallack, who has managed to retain all of his small-man skills and morph into a big point guard who can literally play and defend any spot on the court. “The other guys might use it for a while and then it just goes away. But Brian, to this day, has just kept refreshing it.”
Over the summer, Wallack went to a point guard college offered in Seattle at the University of Washington.
“The next day, he’s in our open gym with all of these notes written about things they discussed,” laughs Lefurgy. “This is Brian, the kind of person I can have an adult conversation with about our team, about our school’s dynamic. He has high character, he is a sounding board, and at 17, an extension of the coach.”
And Lefurgy, the former UFV Cascades player, not only sees a confidence emerging in Wallack that mirrors his current growth spurt, but he has a good idea why its happening.
“At the start he has very little success so he had to keep working at things so he was never stunted by praise,” says Lefurgy, who himself is a firm believer in everything attained being earned.
“To be a leader, a kid needs to understand what responsibility actually is,” Lefurgy begins. “It’s not something you can just download to your phone. It’s not some kind of an app. Brian has organized our rides, collected forms for travel, managed our money, and on Saturday in Kelowna, he is going to stand up at the breakfast banquet and address the room about what Semiahmoo is all about. I am nudging him to be our valedictorian.”
NO MAGIC ELIXIR
Which brings us back to the real story behind the hummus.
“Yeah it was kind of a joke,” admits Lefurgy. “I can remember visiting Israel and it was at a time when I was trying, as an athlete, to be more healthy. But I always found it hard to eat vegetables so the hummus helped.”
So that’s all it was.
Of course, within the Semiahmoo basketball community, the story has taken on a life of its own, so much so that even the mild-mannered Wallack admits it wears on him.
“It really bugs me when (Lefurgy) tells that story because in a way it portrays me as a fool,” begins Wallack in an understanding tone. “But really what it says is that I will do anything to get better, and if he said eat hummus, then I was going to do it.”
Those days have long since passed.
But almost miraculously, as if some latent remains of the dip invigorated his growth plates, he began to grow and grow and grow.
“And honestly I don’t think I’m done growing yet,” he laughs.
All Brian Wallack wanted to do was get better, and in the end that’s just what he did.
And he knows now that real magic potion was hard work and self-belief.
https://varsityletters.ca/brian-wallack-the-self-made-totem/
SURREY — Back in the winter of 2012, coach Edward Lefurgy approached one of the more eager members of his Grade 8 boys basketball team at Semiahmoo Secondary.
“He was always working on his skills and always asking for more coaching,” begins Lefurgy of point guard Brian Wallack, who at the time stood at just 4-foot-11. “One day I told him that if he wanted to grow, he needed to eat more hummus. At the end of the year, his mother came up to me and asked ‘Why does Brian always want to buy so much hummus.’”
Five years later, Wallack is still a point guard, one of the very best in the entire province, and one who now stands at 6-foot-5.
Yet this isn’t a story about unlocking your vast potential through a mash of chickpeas, olive oil and garlic.
Instead, it’s about finding the starting point that best illustrates just how badly Brian Wallack wanted to be a player.
Yes, there’s plenty of comic relief, but there has also been a ton of self-belief.
This weekend, as the No. 7-ranked Totems join the likes of the No. 1 Walnut Grove Gators, the host and No. 2-ranked Kelowna Owls, No. 3 Oak Bay Bays and No. 4 Kitsilano Blue Demons at the star-studded Western Canada Invitational, the star power at the leader guard position will be dazzling.
The Gators’ Ty Rowell, the Owls’ Mason Bourcier, Jaden Touchie of the Bays and the Blue Demons’ Luka Lizdek. All are either provincial team selections or standouts with their touring club sides.
Then there is the outlier.
Wallack has never played club basketball and he’s been cut from provincial team tryouts the last four straight years.
But he is intensely driven, he is a multi-sport athlete, and since the summer, when he was last watched by university basketball coaches at provincial camp, he’s grown between four and five inches. And believe it or not, he is still growing.
University coaches have always said ‘He’s got everything we want, if only he was a couple of inches taller.’”
Now, they have no excuse.
Before this past summer, Wallack, a 95 per cent student and a team leader with a tireless work ethic, already had everything but ther height. Now he’s almost five inches taller.
I know, right?
Mom, can you buy me some hummus?
A TOTEM STANDS TALL
If you want to know just how talented and competitive Wallack is on the courts, consider that this past season he started at off-side hitter for the Totems senior varsity volleyball team and helped lead Semiahmoo to the B.C. Triple-A championship title.
Before his growth spurt, he functioned as volleyball’s version of the point guard, starring as a setter. The sport gives him transfer to basketball, he says. It also helps him say thanks to a mom who has always supported his athletic endeavours.
“My mom was a very competitive beach player and she has put so much time in for me,” begins Wallack, “that I wanted to keep the sport for her. But I also love being multi-sport because I find having different types of skills helps give me a different perspective (in basketball).”
This is inquisitivness at its finest. And Lefurgy keeps breaking out stories from back in the day.
“I gave him a basketball book a number of years ago, one I gave to our whole team,” begins Lefurgy of Wallack, who has managed to retain all of his small-man skills and morph into a big point guard who can literally play and defend any spot on the court. “The other guys might use it for a while and then it just goes away. But Brian, to this day, has just kept refreshing it.”
Over the summer, Wallack went to a point guard college offered in Seattle at the University of Washington.
“The next day, he’s in our open gym with all of these notes written about things they discussed,” laughs Lefurgy. “This is Brian, the kind of person I can have an adult conversation with about our team, about our school’s dynamic. He has high character, he is a sounding board, and at 17, an extension of the coach.”
And Lefurgy, the former UFV Cascades player, not only sees a confidence emerging in Wallack that mirrors his current growth spurt, but he has a good idea why its happening.
“At the start he has very little success so he had to keep working at things so he was never stunted by praise,” says Lefurgy, who himself is a firm believer in everything attained being earned.
“To be a leader, a kid needs to understand what responsibility actually is,” Lefurgy begins. “It’s not something you can just download to your phone. It’s not some kind of an app. Brian has organized our rides, collected forms for travel, managed our money, and on Saturday in Kelowna, he is going to stand up at the breakfast banquet and address the room about what Semiahmoo is all about. I am nudging him to be our valedictorian.”
NO MAGIC ELIXIR
Which brings us back to the real story behind the hummus.
“Yeah it was kind of a joke,” admits Lefurgy. “I can remember visiting Israel and it was at a time when I was trying, as an athlete, to be more healthy. But I always found it hard to eat vegetables so the hummus helped.”
So that’s all it was.
Of course, within the Semiahmoo basketball community, the story has taken on a life of its own, so much so that even the mild-mannered Wallack admits it wears on him.
“It really bugs me when (Lefurgy) tells that story because in a way it portrays me as a fool,” begins Wallack in an understanding tone. “But really what it says is that I will do anything to get better, and if he said eat hummus, then I was going to do it.”
Those days have long since passed.
But almost miraculously, as if some latent remains of the dip invigorated his growth plates, he began to grow and grow and grow.
“And honestly I don’t think I’m done growing yet,” he laughs.
All Brian Wallack wanted to do was get better, and in the end that’s just what he did.
And he knows now that real magic potion was hard work and self-belief.
https://varsityletters.ca/brian-wallack-the-self-made-totem/
An Inspiration to Us All!
Grade 11 student Judy Lee is passionate about sport. As an athlete with the BC Wheelchair Sports Association, Judy plays both tennis and more recently rugby. Her success on the tennis court includes a 2nd place finish in the Taipei Cup, as well as
showings in the Shinzhu Cup and the local UBC tournaments. Judy has also recently travelled to California and participated in the ITF/USTA wheelchair tennis training camps. Her goal is to be selected for this year’s provincial tennis team. In February Judy will jet off once again, but this time for rugby as she travels with her team to Calgary to participate in the 2017 Ignite Tournament. Judy hopes to continue her growth as a wheelchair rugby athlete and also be considered for provincial team selection in the future. Congratulations Judy, and we look forward to hearing about your future successes.
showings in the Shinzhu Cup and the local UBC tournaments. Judy has also recently travelled to California and participated in the ITF/USTA wheelchair tennis training camps. Her goal is to be selected for this year’s provincial tennis team. In February Judy will jet off once again, but this time for rugby as she travels with her team to Calgary to participate in the 2017 Ignite Tournament. Judy hopes to continue her growth as a wheelchair rugby athlete and also be considered for provincial team selection in the future. Congratulations Judy, and we look forward to hearing about your future successes.
HALL-OF-FAME HOOPS COACH 'JUST WANTS TO HELP'
By NICK GREENIZAN - PEACE ARCH NEWS
February 7, 2017 · 8:37 AM
To hear Allison McNeill tell it, she is simply helping out where she can at Semiahmoo Secondary, giving a pointer or two to a Grade 8 girls basketball team already loaded with young talent.
But talk about the legendary hoops figure – longtime bench boss of the Canadian women’s team and a member of both the Simon Fraser University and B.C. sports halls of fame – with her co-coach at Semiahmoo, Lori Pajic, and the truth comes out.
“She’s pretty humble, so if she’s playing it down, she definitely has more of an impact than she says she has,” Pajic told Peace Arch News last week, moments after an early-morning shoot-around ended and students scurried off to class.
“It’s a pretty nice addition… needless to say, we’re pretty lucky to have someone of her calibre working with our girls here at Semi, let alone our Grade 8 girls – the beginning development level.”
McNeill, a 57-year-old South Surrey resident, has a coaching resumé as impressive as any in the province. She began coaching high-school basketball – from Revelstoke to Langley’s W.J Mouat and Seaquam secondaries – before moving to the university ranks. She was the head coach of SFU’s women’s team for 13 years, while also coaching Team Canada to a number of world championship and Olympic appearances, the most recent being the 2012 Summer Games in London, after which she retired.
Throw in a stint as an assistant coach with the NCAA’s University of Oregon Ducks, and there’s few basketball courts she hasn’t seen since beginning her career in the early 1980s.
And now here she is, at a South Surrey high school at 8 a.m. on a Friday, teaching a handful of girls the fundamentals of the game.
“When I left Oregon (in 2005) and then left the national team, I did really want to get back into youth basketball,” McNeill explained.
“I just want to help, and I like coming here in the morning because it’s early and I’m going to the gym anyway.”
She’s also quick to admit that many of her young charges “have stolen my heart.”
Despite being retired, the longtime coach has never quite left the game. In the late-2000s, McNeill said she would periodically lend a hand with Elgin Park’s senior girls hoops team, which was then coached by Stu Graham, a friend of McNeill’s. She has coached in a part-time capacity with Basketball BC and a few Lower Mainland club teams, including the Vancouver Sports Club, where a number of current Grade 8 Totems also play.
“That was one of the draws to coming out – I’ve known some of these kids a long time. I just thought it would be fun to get involved, and now I’ve gotten to know the other kids, too, and I love them. It’s been great.”
McNeill has stayed involved in the game in other ways, too, and in recent years has travelled across the globe – from Spain to Lithuania – to speak at coaching seminars. She left last Saturday for Japan, where she was slated to speak at another basketball workshop.
“I’ve never completely left it. That’s gotta happen at some point, I guess, but not yet,” she laughed.
Though she has chosen to slow the pace of her career down in recent years, McNeill said she looks back fondly at her time with both Team Canada and her university squads.
“Coaching the national team was an all-encompassing job. You become obsessed with it – you have to be. And I miss it – I miss the excitement of it. But I was ready to do something else,” she said.
“I was with the national-team program for 16 years… it was time for someone else to have the opportunity.”
Since 2012, McNeill said she has had to tailor her coaching style to better suit younger players, but relatively speaking, says sees the same amount of passion for the game in youth players as she did with players at much higher levels.
“I loved coaching the national team – those women are so driven, so hard-working – but I love this too because these girls are also really driven, they’re just younger,” she said.
“I was probably more of a yeller when I was younger, but I’ve grown to where I’m more of a teacher now. My dad made a comment to me one time that young kids haven’t built up their armour yet, so you don’t want to be too harsh with them.
“As they get older and stronger, then you can be a little tougher on them. But I think both Lori and I have a good balance of being able to push them but also encourage them.”
That strategy certainly seems to have worked with the Totems this year. With playoffs expecting to begin this week, the Grade 8 squad remains undefeated, and the margins of victory have routinely been of the double-digit variety.
And true to form, McNeill lays most of the credit at the feet of Pajic, the players and their parents.
“I’m the beneficiary of their hard work,” she said.
Pajic, however, knows how much McNeill has meant to her players’ development this season.
“Allison’s really good at teaching the fine, technical features of the game – the little things that, a lot of the time, people don’t notice,” she said.
“Those are the things that really translate into the success they’ve had as a team… I hope our girls realize how lucky they are to have someone like Allison coaching them.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/hall-of-fame-hoops-coach-just-wants-to-help/
February 7, 2017 · 8:37 AM
To hear Allison McNeill tell it, she is simply helping out where she can at Semiahmoo Secondary, giving a pointer or two to a Grade 8 girls basketball team already loaded with young talent.
But talk about the legendary hoops figure – longtime bench boss of the Canadian women’s team and a member of both the Simon Fraser University and B.C. sports halls of fame – with her co-coach at Semiahmoo, Lori Pajic, and the truth comes out.
“She’s pretty humble, so if she’s playing it down, she definitely has more of an impact than she says she has,” Pajic told Peace Arch News last week, moments after an early-morning shoot-around ended and students scurried off to class.
“It’s a pretty nice addition… needless to say, we’re pretty lucky to have someone of her calibre working with our girls here at Semi, let alone our Grade 8 girls – the beginning development level.”
McNeill, a 57-year-old South Surrey resident, has a coaching resumé as impressive as any in the province. She began coaching high-school basketball – from Revelstoke to Langley’s W.J Mouat and Seaquam secondaries – before moving to the university ranks. She was the head coach of SFU’s women’s team for 13 years, while also coaching Team Canada to a number of world championship and Olympic appearances, the most recent being the 2012 Summer Games in London, after which she retired.
Throw in a stint as an assistant coach with the NCAA’s University of Oregon Ducks, and there’s few basketball courts she hasn’t seen since beginning her career in the early 1980s.
And now here she is, at a South Surrey high school at 8 a.m. on a Friday, teaching a handful of girls the fundamentals of the game.
“When I left Oregon (in 2005) and then left the national team, I did really want to get back into youth basketball,” McNeill explained.
“I just want to help, and I like coming here in the morning because it’s early and I’m going to the gym anyway.”
She’s also quick to admit that many of her young charges “have stolen my heart.”
Despite being retired, the longtime coach has never quite left the game. In the late-2000s, McNeill said she would periodically lend a hand with Elgin Park’s senior girls hoops team, which was then coached by Stu Graham, a friend of McNeill’s. She has coached in a part-time capacity with Basketball BC and a few Lower Mainland club teams, including the Vancouver Sports Club, where a number of current Grade 8 Totems also play.
“That was one of the draws to coming out – I’ve known some of these kids a long time. I just thought it would be fun to get involved, and now I’ve gotten to know the other kids, too, and I love them. It’s been great.”
McNeill has stayed involved in the game in other ways, too, and in recent years has travelled across the globe – from Spain to Lithuania – to speak at coaching seminars. She left last Saturday for Japan, where she was slated to speak at another basketball workshop.
“I’ve never completely left it. That’s gotta happen at some point, I guess, but not yet,” she laughed.
Though she has chosen to slow the pace of her career down in recent years, McNeill said she looks back fondly at her time with both Team Canada and her university squads.
“Coaching the national team was an all-encompassing job. You become obsessed with it – you have to be. And I miss it – I miss the excitement of it. But I was ready to do something else,” she said.
“I was with the national-team program for 16 years… it was time for someone else to have the opportunity.”
Since 2012, McNeill said she has had to tailor her coaching style to better suit younger players, but relatively speaking, says sees the same amount of passion for the game in youth players as she did with players at much higher levels.
“I loved coaching the national team – those women are so driven, so hard-working – but I love this too because these girls are also really driven, they’re just younger,” she said.
“I was probably more of a yeller when I was younger, but I’ve grown to where I’m more of a teacher now. My dad made a comment to me one time that young kids haven’t built up their armour yet, so you don’t want to be too harsh with them.
“As they get older and stronger, then you can be a little tougher on them. But I think both Lori and I have a good balance of being able to push them but also encourage them.”
That strategy certainly seems to have worked with the Totems this year. With playoffs expecting to begin this week, the Grade 8 squad remains undefeated, and the margins of victory have routinely been of the double-digit variety.
And true to form, McNeill lays most of the credit at the feet of Pajic, the players and their parents.
“I’m the beneficiary of their hard work,” she said.
Pajic, however, knows how much McNeill has meant to her players’ development this season.
“Allison’s really good at teaching the fine, technical features of the game – the little things that, a lot of the time, people don’t notice,” she said.
“Those are the things that really translate into the success they’ve had as a team… I hope our girls realize how lucky they are to have someone like Allison coaching them.”
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/hall-of-fame-hoops-coach-just-wants-to-help/
Semiahmoo's Jessica Williams set to run in family footsteps, as well as create her own.
Semiahmoo’s Jessica Williams is hesitant to tag herself as a soccer player who happens to run a little track or a 400-metre specialist who happens to play a bit of soccer on the side.
She admits that others make assumptions, considering her family background.
“I do get people who say, ‘Why don’t you just quit soccer and give track a try full-time?’ ” explained the Grade 12 daughter of Canadian Olympic runners Paul Williams and Lynn Kanuka-Williams. “And I tell them, ‘Why can’t I have both?’ When I’m playing soccer, all I want to do is play soccer. When I’m running track, all I want to do is run track.
“My parents have been very supportive about soccer, and especially my mom. She was the one who usually was driving me all over to games and practices.”
The younger Williams, who’s running the 300 m at the Harry Jerome Indoor Games on Saturday at the Richmond Olympic Oval, has found a couple of coaches who agree. She’ll compete in both soccer and track-and-field starting next September at the University of B.C.
“They approached me with the idea. I didn’t even think it was a thing,” Williams said of UBC soccer coach Jesse Symons and track counterpart Laurier Primeau. “I talked to schools about soccer and I had talked to schools about track, and I could never fully get fully excited. I would come home and think about it and say to myself, ‘Yeah, but what about soccer?’ or ‘Yeah, but what about track?’ ”
Williams’ dad represented Canada at three Olympics, starting with the Los Angeles 1984 Games. He was a four-time national champion in the 5,000 m.
Williams’ mom wore the Maple Leaf at two Olympics. She won a bronze in the 3,000 m in 1984. Her brother, Jack, previously ran for UBC, competing in the 800 and 1,500 m.
“There’s some cool stuff around,” she said of mementoes of her family’s achievements, “but no one really makes a big deal of it. My mom keeps all of her stuff in a box, and brings it out when she has to go give a talk or something.”
Jessica has learned to appreciate her parents’ abilities and accomplishments as she’s grown older. She’ll be shooting to achieve a certain time, and she’ll ask her mom what she ran at that stage.
“She’ll tell me, and I’ll be like, ‘Are you kidding?’ or ‘That’s unreal,’ ” Williams said. “She’ll say that (2016 Canadian Olympian) Melissa Bishop called her and she’ll talk about what a nice person she is. It’s weird to think about, but the way I look at Melissa Bishop is the way people like Melissa Bishop look at my mom and my dad.”
Williams has a personal best of 41.83 in the indoor 300 m, which she set last year at the Jerome. It’s the under-18 meet record. She also holds the under-18 meet record in the 600 m in a time of 1:38.75.
She battled through injuries most of the track season last year. Williams has the junior girls provincial championship record in the 400 m, with her 56.34 clocking, in a 2014 victory.
https://theprovince.com/sports/high-school/semiahmoos-jessica-williams-set-to-run-in-family-footsteps-as-well-as-create-her-own
She admits that others make assumptions, considering her family background.
“I do get people who say, ‘Why don’t you just quit soccer and give track a try full-time?’ ” explained the Grade 12 daughter of Canadian Olympic runners Paul Williams and Lynn Kanuka-Williams. “And I tell them, ‘Why can’t I have both?’ When I’m playing soccer, all I want to do is play soccer. When I’m running track, all I want to do is run track.
“My parents have been very supportive about soccer, and especially my mom. She was the one who usually was driving me all over to games and practices.”
The younger Williams, who’s running the 300 m at the Harry Jerome Indoor Games on Saturday at the Richmond Olympic Oval, has found a couple of coaches who agree. She’ll compete in both soccer and track-and-field starting next September at the University of B.C.
“They approached me with the idea. I didn’t even think it was a thing,” Williams said of UBC soccer coach Jesse Symons and track counterpart Laurier Primeau. “I talked to schools about soccer and I had talked to schools about track, and I could never fully get fully excited. I would come home and think about it and say to myself, ‘Yeah, but what about soccer?’ or ‘Yeah, but what about track?’ ”
Williams’ dad represented Canada at three Olympics, starting with the Los Angeles 1984 Games. He was a four-time national champion in the 5,000 m.
Williams’ mom wore the Maple Leaf at two Olympics. She won a bronze in the 3,000 m in 1984. Her brother, Jack, previously ran for UBC, competing in the 800 and 1,500 m.
“There’s some cool stuff around,” she said of mementoes of her family’s achievements, “but no one really makes a big deal of it. My mom keeps all of her stuff in a box, and brings it out when she has to go give a talk or something.”
Jessica has learned to appreciate her parents’ abilities and accomplishments as she’s grown older. She’ll be shooting to achieve a certain time, and she’ll ask her mom what she ran at that stage.
“She’ll tell me, and I’ll be like, ‘Are you kidding?’ or ‘That’s unreal,’ ” Williams said. “She’ll say that (2016 Canadian Olympian) Melissa Bishop called her and she’ll talk about what a nice person she is. It’s weird to think about, but the way I look at Melissa Bishop is the way people like Melissa Bishop look at my mom and my dad.”
Williams has a personal best of 41.83 in the indoor 300 m, which she set last year at the Jerome. It’s the under-18 meet record. She also holds the under-18 meet record in the 600 m in a time of 1:38.75.
She battled through injuries most of the track season last year. Williams has the junior girls provincial championship record in the 400 m, with her 56.34 clocking, in a 2014 victory.
https://theprovince.com/sports/high-school/semiahmoos-jessica-williams-set-to-run-in-family-footsteps-as-well-as-create-her-own
Totems Meet the Mayor
Our Senior Boys Volleyball and Basketball team were honoured for their athletic accomplishments on Monday, January 30 at the City Council Meeting. Well done boys on willing the Volleyball Provincial Championships and the Basketball Surrey RCMP Tournament.
Totems Senior Boys Volleyball 2016 BC Provincial Champions!
By Bob Carter
Langley — Michael Dowhaniuk was a killer shark for most of the night, a racehorse at the very end. When his final hit rocketed to the floor, untouched, the Semiahmoo standout sprinted from the net to the end of the gym in glee with teammates in chase. The second-seeded Totems had beaten season-long No. 1 Kelowna in a tense, well-played, five-set thriller (16-14) for the AAA title at the Big Kahuna BC Volleyball Championships. “It was the best feeling in the world,” said the grade 11 attacker.
Saturday’s match was all the near-capacity crowd could have expected: two skilled, hustling teams playing at a high level. Both teams got high-calibre performances from several players in a match that left many drained. Dowhaniuk admitted that he felt weary midway through the final set, when the team’s changed sides with Semi up 8-7. “I just kept breathing for a minute,” he said, “then I was ready to go again.”
With the game tied at 14, Dowhaniuk scored his seventh and eighth points of the set to bring Semi the win. He was quick to point out that he got plenty of help, that the victory was a full team effort.
“Our defence and blocking was really important,” Semi coach Maggie Knight said. “Our defence was shifting around the block, and our libero came up big.”
Brian Wallack, Adam Paige and Braxton Campbell were among those who delivered key blocks. “They were a huge momentum thing for us,” Dowhaniuk said. KSS started slowly, falling behind early and never recovering in the first set. “We were really tight,” said Owls coach Mike Sodaro. “Game 1 was not pretty to watch.” The Totems looked loose at the start. “Their movements were so fluid,” Knight said, “and every hit had a purpose.” The match got tougher for Semi soon after as the Owls’ Justin Peleshytyk, Connor White and Spencer Doody got in a better hitting flow.
KSS took the fourth set after it turned a 12-12 tie into a 22-12 lead with a 10-point run. The Owls then jumped ahead 4-1 in the fifth before Dowhaniuk finally prevailed. “It came down to just a few points,” Sodaro said. “It was a good battle.” Unfortunately, the battle ended like his previous three title games (2012-14), in a loss. “I can’t believe it happened a fourth time.” Knight’s reaction to Sodaro’s plight was simply one word: “Brutal.” But Sodaro made no excuses. “You set a high goal, but it’s pretty easy to set them. A lot harder to meet them.” He said the Owls tried plenty of moves to slow Dowhaniuk, but in the end nothing worked good enough. “We tried to serve away from him, we tried to serve to him,” Sodaro said. “But he responded very well, right up to the last hit.”
Langley — Michael Dowhaniuk was a killer shark for most of the night, a racehorse at the very end. When his final hit rocketed to the floor, untouched, the Semiahmoo standout sprinted from the net to the end of the gym in glee with teammates in chase. The second-seeded Totems had beaten season-long No. 1 Kelowna in a tense, well-played, five-set thriller (16-14) for the AAA title at the Big Kahuna BC Volleyball Championships. “It was the best feeling in the world,” said the grade 11 attacker.
Saturday’s match was all the near-capacity crowd could have expected: two skilled, hustling teams playing at a high level. Both teams got high-calibre performances from several players in a match that left many drained. Dowhaniuk admitted that he felt weary midway through the final set, when the team’s changed sides with Semi up 8-7. “I just kept breathing for a minute,” he said, “then I was ready to go again.”
With the game tied at 14, Dowhaniuk scored his seventh and eighth points of the set to bring Semi the win. He was quick to point out that he got plenty of help, that the victory was a full team effort.
“Our defence and blocking was really important,” Semi coach Maggie Knight said. “Our defence was shifting around the block, and our libero came up big.”
Brian Wallack, Adam Paige and Braxton Campbell were among those who delivered key blocks. “They were a huge momentum thing for us,” Dowhaniuk said. KSS started slowly, falling behind early and never recovering in the first set. “We were really tight,” said Owls coach Mike Sodaro. “Game 1 was not pretty to watch.” The Totems looked loose at the start. “Their movements were so fluid,” Knight said, “and every hit had a purpose.” The match got tougher for Semi soon after as the Owls’ Justin Peleshytyk, Connor White and Spencer Doody got in a better hitting flow.
KSS took the fourth set after it turned a 12-12 tie into a 22-12 lead with a 10-point run. The Owls then jumped ahead 4-1 in the fifth before Dowhaniuk finally prevailed. “It came down to just a few points,” Sodaro said. “It was a good battle.” Unfortunately, the battle ended like his previous three title games (2012-14), in a loss. “I can’t believe it happened a fourth time.” Knight’s reaction to Sodaro’s plight was simply one word: “Brutal.” But Sodaro made no excuses. “You set a high goal, but it’s pretty easy to set them. A lot harder to meet them.” He said the Owls tried plenty of moves to slow Dowhaniuk, but in the end nothing worked good enough. “We tried to serve away from him, we tried to serve to him,” Sodaro said. “But he responded very well, right up to the last hit.”
Aidan Cowell "A True Totem"
Congratulations to Aidan Cowell for his great accomplishment winning "TOP BOYS AGGREGATE GYMNASTICS" at the Fraser Valley Championships. His hard work and dedication in his training has resulted in this great accomplishment. TOTEMS Athletics is proud of you Aidan!
Semi Rugby Girls Repin'
Berlyn Sesejla, Kate Richards, and Hera Sifkas (graduated) played on the U18 Team BC girls rugby team this summer. The girls helped the team place 1st at the National Championships this summer in Toronto. Well done girls! We are excited to see you on the field competing for Semi this Spring!
