It was a banner season for athletics at St. Albert Catholic High School.
SACHS celebrated a provincial championship in varsity women’s 3A basketball for the fourth straight year by the 39-1 Skyhawks.
The lady Skyhawks also repeated as metro Edmonton premier conference basketball champions for the second consecutive undefeated season in senior.
The junior women were also victorious for the second year in a row in premier hoops while compiling a 13-2 record.
The men’s volleyball team also won the city conference crown for the first time since 2006 to finish 13-1 (36 GW/7 GL).
The football team wrapped up one of its best seasons in team history as the Carr conference finalists and Tier III (450 to 749 students) provincial silver medallists. The 9-4 Skyhawks were the first St. Albert football team since the 1997 Tier I Storm to play in an Alberta Bowl final.
“We had a pretty incredible year in athletics,” said Evan Holstein, the first-year SACHS athletic director. “I’m really proud of what our athletes and coaches have been able to accomplish this year.”
At the annual Edmonton Journal high school all-star luncheon Tuesday, five Skyhawks were recognized for their athletic accomplishments. They were Paige Knull and Cam Vilcsak in basketball, Amber Easthope and Ryan Beztilny in volleyball and in football quarterback Keith Zyla, the only Grade 11 of the five Skyhawks to be honoured.
In total, 10 female and 10 male volleyball players, 10 female and 10 male basketball players, including J.P. Leblanc of the Sturgeon Spirits, and nine football players, in addition to Ben Graunke of the Bellerose Bulldogs, were selected by coaches from metro and Edmonton public league teams for all-star status.
Norma Smith, the longtime metro athletic coordinator, couldn’t remember the last time that one high school had a representative in every category, let alone from one of SACHS’s size.
“I’m extremely proud of our five athletes who were named to the Journal all-star teams,” said Holstein.
He estimated five per cent of the graduating student population at SACHS was awarded post-secondary athletic scholarships.
They include Knull (MacEwan University Griffins in basketball), Vilcsak (Augustana University College Vikings in basketball), Easthope (MacEwan in basketball), Matt Clark (Alberta Golden Bears in football), Haley François (University of Victoria Vikes in track and field), Sarah Karasiuk (Concordia University College Thunder in volleyball), Kate Lumley (University of Calgary Dinos in hockey), Charity Price (University of Manitoba Bisons in hockey), Sara Rubuliak (Concordia in volleyball), Brendan Thera-Plamondon (Dinos in football and track and field) and Becky Wall (NAIT Ooks in hockey).
