The metro Edmonton division one Paul Kane Blues and St. Albert Skyhawks are among the top-10 teams in 4A women's basketball after the Alberta Schools' Athletic Association released its first rankings of the season.
Paul Kane is No. 6 and the Skyhawks are No. 8 as a 3A high school team in its fourth season at the 4A level.
Paul Kane is 12-5 overall and the Skyhawks are 11-8 overall.
The top-10 rankings include the No. 1 Jasper Place Rebels (metro Edmonton), No. 2 Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams (south), No. 3 Western Canada Redhawks (Calgary), No. 4 Spruce Grove Panthers (metro Edmonton), No. 5 Centennial Coyotes (Calgary), No. 7 Raymond Comets (south), No. 9 St. Francis Browns (Calgary) and No. 10 Cardston Cougars (south).
The 3A rankings list the division two Sturgeon Spirits at No. 7 as the fourth metro Edmonton team in the women's top 10 and the division two Skyhawks are an honourable mention for the men.
The next ASAA rankings are Feb. 17.
A pair of St. Albert high school football players huddled up with Team Alberta U16 at last week's International Bowl VIII in Arlington, Texas.
Russell Dixon, quarterback for the 2016 junior Paul Kane Blues, and Brett Yost, linebacker for the 2016 senior Bellerose Bulldogs, contributed to Team Alberta's 37-19 victory over the United States U16 Select All-Stars at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. It was 23-13 at Halftime.
The Alberta roster of 37 players were selected from the 2016 Alberta Summer Games tournament in Leduc and Dixon and Yost played for the second-place Zone 5 (Black Gold/Yellowhead) team.
The third win in five games for the St. Albert Merchants was recorded Wednesday at Grant Fuhr Arena.
Matt Havens and Cam Mazur potted two goals apiece in the 6-5 decision against the Spruce Grove Regals (7-25-3).
Mazur's second power-play tally of the night made it 6-3 with 22 seconds left in the second period.
Brenden Passek (shorthanded) and Andy Barr also scored.
Passek, Havens and Mazur finished with three points apiece and Liam Mowatt had two helpers.
The Merchants were outshot 18-4 in the first, 13-9 in the second, 15-4 in the third and 46-17 overall. In net was Ryen Papirny (9-10, 4.58 GAA).
The second goal for Havens was his team-leading 24th. He was also tied for sixth in league scoring with 55 points in 34 games before Friday's home game against the Leduc Riggers (7-25-2). The score was unavailable at press time.
Wednesday the Merchants visit the Beverly Warriors (20-13-1) at 8 p.m. at Clareview Arena.
Plans are in the works for the establishment of the St. Albert Boxing Academy.
Brad Hortie, an experienced coach registered with the Alberta Amateur Boxing Association who recently moved to St. Albert, is interested in creating a comprehensive boxing program. Sessions would run Saturday mornings at Sir George Simpson School but the academy is not related to the Simpson school or the school district.
Hortie's father was the legendary Paul Hortie. The 1991 Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductee was a national level coach who held executive positions for the Canadian and Alberta amateur boxing associations and Edmonton Boys' Cougar Boxing Program.
For more information on the boxing academy, contact Brad at [email protected].
