Newspaper reporters write hundreds of stories a year. This holiday season Gazette staff writers have picked out their one favourite story from 2012 and are recounting what made it special. This is from sports editor Jeff Hansen.
On an overcast Saturday morning in the middle of March, I motored through the sleet to the bright lights of Camrose to witness history.
The odds of the St. Albert Skyhawks winning a record-breaking third-straight 3A provincial championship made the drive worthwhile. After all, who would bet against the most successful high school women's basketball program ever in St. Albert. The long list of accomplishments included:
• Two undefeated metro Edmonton premier conference campaigns in three years.
• The only St. Albert women's basketball team to win premier and provincial championships.
• Eight consecutive provincial appearances.
• Sixth straight years as the Edmonton zone champions.
It was a slam-dunk the Skyhawks would beat the McCoy Colts of Medicine Hat in the final. And I wasn't the only one who believed the Skyhawks would three-peat. The gym was packed with teachers and students from St. Albert Catholic High School, plus proud parents and the vocal Skyhawks' men's basketball team to celebrate a feat that may never be matched.
And, as expected, the Skyhawks were pure gold. The 68-64 triumph against the McCoy Colts of Medicine Hat by the 3A powerhouse was the highlight of the year in St. Albert sports.
"It's never been done in history. It's really amazing what we've done," declared co-captain Kendall Lydon as she hugged the championship plaque while surrounded by well-wishers. "I'm so excited right now. My adrenaline is pumping. This is the best feeling ever."
McCoy was seeded first in the 12-team draw on the strength of two victories by two points against the Skyhawks in the Spruce Grove semifinal and the Wetaskiwin final in consecutive tournaments the previous month.
"We've been focusing on this game and building towards it ever since we knew we were going to provincials and right from the beginning our determination set the tone for the rest of the game," said co-captain Katie Burak with a smile as wide as a basketball.
In the rematch of last year's final the Skyhawks never trailed while posting leads of 15-12 at the end of the first quarter, 34-22 at halftime and 50-42 after three quarters.
The third time McCoy tied the score was a three-pointer with 5:12 to play to make it 56-all. After that, it was vintage Skyhawks.
"We knew they're going to make runs so it's how you respond that will probably make or break the rest of the game and we showed great mental toughness to come out with the win," said head coach John Dedrick while basking in the glow of arguably the most important victory in team history.
Dedrick is never at a loss for words when it comes to trumpeting his beloved program, but during the post-game festivities he struggled to find the right words to describe why the Skyhawks are so great.
Elite program
After a long pause, he replied: "We have to be considered one of the elite programs in the province, given our success against 4A competition in league play as well as tournament play. We've built a tradition here at St. Albert Catholic High School and we hope to continue and help grow and maintain that for as long as we can."
Dredick paid homage to past and present Skyhawks for the tradition of excellence.
"It all started eight years ago with the Meghan Martynas and the Megan Hogendoorns and the Caitlin Marshalls and having those sets of parents buy into my kind of style of coaching. There are a lot of girls' teams that the parents and players would not be able to handle the way that I get on the players and some of the stuff we do in practice where we're aggressive and loud and physical. Those parents all bought into that and it's just grown from there and so have the expectations," Dedrick said. "That laid the groundwork for me to do the things I felt were right like spring league, go to Gonzaga in the summer and talk to kids that want to play basketball and say, 'Hey, I think we have a really good program and if you're interested in coming here this is what we can offer you.'"
Dedrick also saluted assistant coach Paige Gaudreau, a perennial candidate for teacher of the year honours at St. Albert High. Gaudreau, a former Alberta Colleges' Athletic Association all-star with Augustana University College, joined Dedrick on the bench three seasons ago.
"I can not underestimate the impact Paige has had. She was a point guard at an elite level and sees the game from almost a different view point than I do," Dedrick said. "We tease each other about being Yin and Yang and it truly is that because we bounce ideas off each other all the time. She has full access to anything that we do. She runs drills. She will take a time out. She will draw up plays. It really is a team effort in terms of coaching and I'm lucky to have her."
The third consecutive championship by the Skyhawks also marked the swan song for third-year players Lydon, Burak and Zoe Downing.
"Each year we've had amazing players come in. It's been the best experience I've ever had in basketball," declared Lydon, a transfer student from the Chehalis Bearcats in Washington State who was named the metro Edmonton most valuable player.
"To end off your high school career on this note is so surreal. It just feels unreal," Burak added.
"The third one feels amazing. It's the best for sure," said Downing, who celebrated her 18th birthday in the last high school game of her career. "This is the best feeling in the world. Not only to be 18, that's kind of sweet, but then to three-peat is absolutely unreal."
The icing on the cake was the 100th victory in 123 games during the Skyhawks' three-year championship reign.
"Really? I didn't know that. It's a lot, isn't it? said Dedrick after all the numbers were added up. "We're not done yet either."
