Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

GOOSE TAKES FLIGHT – Vanier Crusaders power Angus Newell maneuvres a ball past two Porter Creek Rams defenders during a senior boys round-robin matchup at Vanier Catholic Secondary School last Thursday. Vanier won 2-0.

Everyone’s a winner at Yukon volleyball finals

Parity reigned at the 2015 Yukon volleyball championships, with each of the territory’s top four high schools bringing home gold.

By Marcel Vander Wier on November 19, 2015

Parity reigned at the 2015 Yukon volleyball championships, with each of the territory’s top four high schools bringing home gold.

All three Whitehorse high schools earned one gold medal, with the fourth going north to Dawson City.

The F.H. Collins Warriors A team won the senior boys title over the Vanier Crusaders, with the Porter Creek Rams finishing third.

Porter Creek earned gold in the senior girls division over F.H. Collins, with Vanier claiming bronze.

Vanier took gold in the junior boys category over F.H. Collins’ A team, with Porter Creek earning bronze.

And Dawson’s Robert Service School Knights struck junior girls gold over Porter Creek’s B team, with F.H. Collins taking bronze.

The four different gold-medal winners marks a distinct change from the last major tournament in Dawson City, which saw F.H. Collins take three of four division titles.

Shockingly, the Warriors senior boys team that won the Yukon championships Saturday was not the same one that took gold in the Klondike.

After dropping the semifinal in Dawson to their inter-school rivals, the Warriors A team rekindled their inner fire and began playing like men on a mission.

Last week, the F.H. Collins senior and junior boys teams worked on their craft at tournaments in southern B.C.

Those games helped prepare the senior boys for their undefeated run at Yukon championships.

The Warriors senior team got several standout performances last weekend, with setter Jordan Runions taking home MVP honours.

Captain Tim Schirmer was named a tournament all-star at power, while middle Anshil Kumar also got a nod.

F.H. coach Nathan Bingham pointed to the fine work of libero Adrian Robinson – a Grade 10 student – as the starting point for the team’s offensive success.

Other members of the champion Warriors were Skyler Bryant, Brody Ryckman, Malcolm Muir, Tristin Rentmeister and Luka van Randen.

Bingham said Bryant was a game-changer in the final, demolishing several balls at power that demoralized the runner-up Crusaders in a three-set win.

A handful of teams from community schools also took part in the three-day volleyball tournament, including Carmacks, Haines Junction, Mayo and Watson Lake.

Now, the volleyball spotlight shifts to the 2016 Arctic Winter Games, set to happen in Greenland in March.

Be the first to comment

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.