A dominant showing on the rugby pitch, continued success in badminton, and resilient performances across soccer and track and field highlighted another busy week for SMUS athletes. From decisive wins to strong individual results in challenging conditions, the Blue Jags continue to build momentum as league play and competition intensify.
Senior Boys Rugby
The Senior Boys Rugby team turned in an impressive performance last Thursday afternoon, beating the Royal Bay Ravens 59-12 in an Island League contest at SMUS.
Tristan Mo ran for two tries to pace the Blue Jags in the win, while singles came from Jordan Martin, Roberto Borge, Jack Harris, Quinn McMeekin, Nick Lee, Declan Longridge, Santi Flores, and Drew McLeish-Shaw. Des Grant went nine-for-10 on conversion attempts for SMUS.
In what was a busy week for the Blue Jags, the team also hosted Lycée Bellevue, a touring squad from Toulouse, France. On Sunday, the two teams took part in a mixed clinic at SMUS before meeting in a 30-minute exhibition game. The French side showcased its speed, skill, and use of the entire field to cross for multiple tries in the contest.
The Blue Jags, ranked No. 8 among BC AAA teams, will play an important exhibition game against sixth-ranked Carson Graham of North Vancouver this Friday at SMUS. That match will kick off at 2:30 pm.
Junior Boys Rugby
The Junior Boys Rugby team also recorded a win over visiting Royal Bay on Thursday, beating the visiting Ravens 33-22.
Graeme Shanks scored a pair of tries and Jasper Dingle kicked four conversions to lead the Junior Jags. Single SMUS tries came from Parker Benson, Bruno Chen, and Steffen Wang.
The Junior Boys will host Fleetwood Park of Surrey this Thursday, beginning at 4 pm.
Senior Girls Rugby
The SMUS Senior Girls Rugby 7s team recorded its first win of the Lower Island season on Monday, beating St. Margaret’s 20-12 at Claremont. Rieko Hara scored a pair of tries in the win for SMUS while singles came from Valentina Elizalde Olea and Lily Ford.
In their other game of the day, the Blue Jags fell 36-0 to Esquimalt.
The Senior Girls will meet Glenlyon Norfolk School in a league matchup this coming Friday at 3 pm.
Badminton
The SMUS Badminton team continued its winning ways last week in Lower Island league play.
On Tuesday, the Blue Jags travelled to Belmont. The SMUS Girls team dominated and won 7-0, while the Boys took their match 6-1.
On Thursday, the teams played more road matches at Claremont. Both the Girls and the Boys teams won by 6-1 counts.
“The Girls have been consistently strong, with YouLan Li leading the team and doubles Nicole Meng and Janette Ooi providing a strong backbone,” said SMUS Coach Lawrence Wong. “The Boys also performed well as a young team with 10th-Graders Justin Zhao and Carl Sham showing strong results in their respective singles games.”
Senior Girls Soccer
The Senior Girls Soccer team went 1-2 in the annual Vikes Invitational tournament at UVic this past week, wrapping up the event on Friday afternoon with a 3-2 win over Esquimalt.
Manon Denux and Grade 9 call-up Lauren Arndt scored for the Blue Jags in regulation time, which ended in a 2-2 draw. SMUS then prevailed in the shootout.
Earlier Friday, the Blue Jags fell 3-0 to Oak Bay. SMUS opened the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Mark Isfeld of Courtenay on Thursday afternoon. In Lower Island play last Tuesday, visiting SMUS dropped a 2-0 decision to Reynolds.
The Senior Girls will play host to Oak Bay in a league match this Tuesday, beginning at 3:45 pm.
Junior Girls Soccer
The SMUS Junior Girls Soccer team split its Lower Island league games last week, beating visiting Lambrick Park 5-1 on Monday before losing 5-3 at Oak Bay on Thursday.
Clara Pressello and Fiona Davison scored two goals apiece in the win over Lambrick, while Arndt added a single.
“Excellent defending was provided by Ella Buckley, Eleanore Fairhurst, Piper Geddes, and Letizia Gruen and great goaltending by Pyper Tuohy,” said SMUS Coach Samantha Butler.
Pressello, Andy Teran, and Nola Taylor scored for the Junior Jags against Oak Bay.
The Junior Girls will play two road games this week – taking on Spectrum on Monday, 3 pm at Layritz, and playing Stelly’s on Thursday, 3:30 pm at Centennial.
Track and Field
Despite experiencing torrential hail and rain, the SMUS Track and Field team put in an impressive showing at the third Lower Island league meet of the season last Wednesday at UVic.
Parker Sheehan placed first in the Senior Boys 200 metres while SMUS teammate Amelie Menzebach finished third in the Senior Girls long jump. Natalie DiFelice-Oinonen placed eighth in the Junior Girls 800 metres.
Several SMUS athletes are well-placed in the ongoing Lower Island league standings, including Will Hamilton, who remains first in the Junior Boys 300-metre hurdles, and Declan Ross, currently third in Junior Boys long jump.
Others include: Tommy Hong, fourth in Senior Boys long jump; Finlay Hlannon, fifth in Senior Boys long jump; Piper Geddes, fifth in Junior Girls shot put; Caitlyn Chen, fifth in Senior Girls long jump; Andy Pan, sixth in Junior Boys long jump; Kevin Yin, sixth in Senior Boys long jump; and Henri Jungkind, seventh in Senior Boys long jump.
SMUS athletes will compete in the fourth Lower Island meet of the season this Wednesday at UVic, beginning at 4 pm.
