A strong mix of standout individual performances and team success marked a busy week of competition for SMUS athletes. From podium finishes on the track to high-scoring rugby victories and dominant play on the soccer pitch, the Blue Jags continued to build momentum across multiple sports as the spring season gains pace.
Track and Field
Five SMUS Track and Field athletes earned either outright first-place honours or a share of top spot in their events during the second Lower Island meet of the season last Wednesday at UVic.
Will Hamilton finished first in the Junior Boys 100-metre hurdles while SMUS teammate Jaiden Daniels topped the Senior Boys triple jump.
Tying for first place in their events were SMUS athletes William Low and Declan Ross, who shared top honours in the Junior Boys high jump, and Tommy Hong, who tied for first place in Senior Boys high jump.
Other top-five finishers for SMUS last week included: Rhys Beare, second in Junior Boys high jump and third in triple jump; Piper Geddes, third in Junior Girls discus; Harry Lynch, third in Senior Boys triple jump; Sophie De Launiere, fourth in Senior Girls 2000-metre steeplechase; Parker Sheehan, fourth in Senior Boys 100 metres; Finlay Hlannon, fourth in Senior Boys triple jump; Kevin Yin, fifth in Senior Boys triple jump; Ella Buckley, fifth in Junior Girls triple jump; and Caitlyn Chen, fifth in Senior Girls triple jump.
The SMUS Track and Field team practices this week on Monday and Thursday and will compete in the third Lower Island meet on Wednesday at UVic.
Senior Boys Rugby
Fresh off their spring break tour of Australia, the SMUS Senior Boys hit the road last Thursday for an important Island league match at Brentwood College. The Blue Jags prevailed 49-41 over their hosts.
“It was a scrappy game with lots of passages of scoring,” said SMUS Coach Oliver Nott. “However, SMUS showed good fight to claw out a win.”
The man of the match for the Blue Jags was Desmond Grant, who Nott said “showed great composure with his kicking abilities for crucial points needed to seal the victory.”
The Senior Boys will host Royal Bay this Thursday in a game beginning at 4:45 pm.
Junior Boys Rugby
The SMUS Junior Boys Rugby team also returned home from Brentwood College with a victory last Thursday, beating the host squad 36-19.
Fullback Bruno Chen scored three tries for the Junior Jags while wing Yusuke Tomita had a single try. No. 8 Jamie Johnston was a standout with 18 tackles.
The Junior Boys will also play host to Royal Bay this Thursday in a 3:30 pm kickoff.
Senior Girls Rugby
The Senior Girls Rugby team began its season with a Lower Island Division 2 play date at Esquimalt on Friday.
The Blue Jags put forward a good effort but came out on the short end of scores against Edward Milne (15-5) and Belmont B (22-5).
The Blue Jags will take part in another play date this Monday at Claremont, beginning at 3:45 pm. They will meet Esquimalt and St. Margaret’s in their two games. SMUS will also play host to Spectrum on Friday at 3 pm.
Junior Girls Soccer
The SMUS Junior Girls Soccer team recorded a pair of shutout wins in Lower Island league home action this past week.
The Junior Jags got three goals from Clara Pressello to beat visiting Esquimalt 5-0 on Tuesday with Fiona Davison also adding a pair of goals in the win. Pyper Tuohy recorded the clean sheet in goal.
Davison scored twice again on Thursday as SMUS defeated Vic High 6-0. Kayleigh MacKay, Elena Conde Coll, Mehak Jagopotra, and Pressello added singles. Tuohy and Ellie McQueen combined for the shutout in the Jags’ net.
The Junior Girls have a busy week upcoming with home games against Lambrick Park on Monday and Claremont on Tuesday. They will also travel to Oak Bay for a game on Thursday. All three contests will kick off at 3:45 pm.
Senior Girls Soccer
Missing a number of key players, the SMUS Senior Girls Soccer team had a tough week, losing a pair of 5-0 road contests to Royal Bay on Tuesday and Spectrum on Thursday.
The Blue Jags will play a road game on Tuesday vs. Reynolds beginning at 3:15 pm at Braefoot Turf.
International Field Hockey
Rebecca Stone ‘23, Wynn Brown ‘24 and current Grade 12 student Mackenna Brown ‘26 are currently in Santiago, Chile representing Canada's women's field hockey program at the Junior Pan American Cup (Apr. 6-18). Wynn Brown is also the team’s captain as this U21 National Team play some of the world’s best teams with a spot to Junior World Cup on the line. To date, Canada has losses to Argentina, the USA and Uruguay but the resilisent squad tied Chile (who later beat USA).
