Blue Jags teams are heading into the final stretch of the fall season, with field hockey and Senior Boys Soccer securing top spots in their leagues and Junior Boys ‘A’ Soccer advancing to the Lower Island final. Volleyball teams tested themselves in tournament play, while 10 squash players earned top-three finishes at home and cross country runners prepared for the Island championships.
Senior Girls Volleyball
The Senior Girls Volleyball team travelled to Vancouver for the Tier 1 Independent Schools Athletic Association (ISAA) Championships this past weekend.
On Friday, the Jags fell to York House (4-25, 11-25), Southridge (23-25, 16-25), and host Crofton House (15-25, 22-25). On Saturday morning, SMUS played well in a crossover loss to West Point Grey.
“The girls played five tough games [on the weekend] and put together their best performance of the season in the 7th/8th-place match against Southridge, coming up just short,” said SMUS Head Coach Melanie Bendfeld.
“Outstanding defensive play from Ali Brooks and Angelina Accad in the backcourt and some serious blocks from middle Mikaela Dubé will set the squad up well for their final regular-season league matches this Tuesday at Esquimalt.”
SMUS will meet Vic High and Stelly’s in that league action. Play begins at 6 pm.
In league play last Tuesday at Lambrick Park, the Blue Jags fell 25-16, 25-15 to the host squad and 25-11, 25-14 to Parkland.
“The team heads into playoffs next week,” Bendfeld said. “Stay tuned for a very exciting run for this group.”
Junior ‘A’ Girls Volleyball
The SMUS Junior ‘A’ Girls also participated in the ISAA tournament at Crofton House, placing fifth in the Junior draw.
The Junior Jags beat Shawnigan Lake School in three sets on Saturday, before finishing the tournament with a strong 2-0 win over West Point Grey.
In action Friday, the Juniors beat Brentwood, split with Southridge, and lost to both Mulgrave and York House.
Kate Turnbull enjoyed a strong tournament for SMUS, as did Ella Buckley.
In Lower Island league action on Thursday, the Blue Jags recorded two wins and four losses while playing Vic High, Reynolds, and Claremont.
This coming Thursday, the team is at Lambrick Park for league play, including teams from the host school, Spectrum, and Oak Bay. Play starts at 4 pm.
Junior ‘B’ Girls Volleyball
After finishing second in their pool on Friday, the SMUS Junior ‘B’ Girls Volleyball team placed third in the Grey Ghost Bracket as the annual Bumpkin Pumpkin Tournament concluded at Oak Bay.
The Junior ‘B’ Jags also won three of their four sets as they hosted Lower Island Division 2 action last Monday. SMUS swept St. Margaret’s (25-13, 25-22) and split with Brookes Westshore (20-25, 25-16).
“Highlights included some great serving runs from Chloe Gao, Miffy Tang, and Sarah Evans, and some strong hits from Anna Taylor, Kayleigh MacKay, and Katheryn Sun,” said SMUS Coach Samantha Butler.
The team will travel to Belmont for more league action this Monday, beginning at 4 pm.
Field Hockey
The SMUS Competitive Field Hockey squad locked up top spot among Lower Island AAA teams with a key 1-0 win over Oak Bay in the final game of the regular season last Wednesday at UVic.
Elspeth Rodger scored the game’s lone goal in the second quarter, taking a nice pass up the middle from Anna Beaudry and calmly sliding the ball past the Oak Bay keeper.
“We had a lot of the attack and our players coming off the bench did well,” said SMUS Head Coach Ali Baggott. “We were missing Olive Winters and Farah Sinclair, so we relied on the legs of Lauren Arndt and Linn Kuepper. Reese Trumpy and Madeleine Howard were solid on the right side for us.”
The win moved SMUS into the annual May Tully Shield game this Monday at UVic against Glenlyon Norfolk School (the top Lower Island AA team). That game begins at 4 pm.
The Blue Jags also now advance to play Quw’utsun this Thursday in Duncan at 4:15 pm for the Island AAA title and seeding for the provincial tournament.
Senior Boys Soccer
The SMUS Senior Boys Soccer team wrapped up its Lower Island regular season with a 1-1 home draw last Tuesday against Glenlyon Norfolk. Milann Wenham scored the SMUS goal on a corner.
The Blue Jags finished first among the league’s AA teams with four wins and a tie and will be the Lower Island’s top seed and host for the Island AA tournament, Nov. 9 and 10 at UVic. Three teams from the Island will qualify for the BC AA Championship tournament, which goes Nov. 23-25 at Burnaby Lake.
SMUS will also host a Colonist Cup quarterfinal this Tuesday against Royal Bay – the fourth-seeded Lower Island AAA team – beginning at 3:45 pm. Winners meet in semifinals this Thursday with the championship game set for Nov. 3.
Junior ‘A’ Boys Soccer
The Junior Boys ‘A’ team enjoyed an amazing week of playoff soccer, qualifying for this Monday’s Lower Island Tier 1 championship game.
The Junior Jags will travel to Spectrum for that final, beginning at 3:15 pm.
SMUS started last week by hosting Belmont in a Monday quarterfinal and managed to hold on for a 3-2 win. Avery Mavrikos, Santiago Rankin, and Woody Carswell scored for the Jags as they earned a spot in last Wednesday’s semifinal against visiting Reynolds.
That semifinal was another tough fight in the first half, which ended scoreless after both teams battled for every loose ball and didn’t surrender many chances. SMUS exploded for four second-half goals in an eventual 4-0 win.
“Unfortunate injuries created opportunities for players to step up,” said Blue Jags Coach Kevin Mennie. “SMUS players worked together to win the ball back when needed and continued to show they were up for the challenge.”
Ten minutes into the second half, SMUS broke the deadlock with Oliver Ely scoring a free kick. Soon after, Rankin was the first to react to a rebound and scored to make it 2-0.
SMUS continued its strong effort and was awarded a free kick on the edge of the 18-yard box. Declan Ross stepped up to score a beautiful goal into the top corner. With under 10 minutes to go, Rankin scored his second from a corner kick sent in by Jerome Chan. Reynolds had several chances of its own, but Isaiah Pereira was strong in goal and able to hold on to all shots he faced.
“Although every player on the team played well, it was the confidence of Isaiah that held on for the 4-0 win,” Mennie said.
Mennie added that he and fellow Coach Kelsey Boudreau “could not have been more proud of the effort. It was a well-deserved win.”
In addition to Monday’s Lower Island final, the Blue Jags have also qualified for the Island Junior Championship tournament, Nov. 2 and 3 in Courtenay.
Junior ‘B’ Boys Soccer
The SMUS Junior ‘B’ team ended its Lower Island Tier 2 season with an impressive comeback in a 4-4 home draw with Oak Bay ‘B’ last Wednesday.
“The Killer B’s fought back from an early three-goal deficit to finish 3-1 [down] at the half,” said SMUS Coach Gregor Klenz. “We scored three goals in the second half to go ahead 4-3 but then conceded to end up tying 4-4.”
Julius Wagner scored twice to lead the Blue Jags, while Danny Perrins contributed a goal and three assists and Kevin Hernandez Chavez had the other SMUS goal.
The Junior ‘Bs’ opened the week with an 8-1 home win over Victor Brodeur. Hernandez Chavez and Leander Pfister each scored three times in the victory while Matias Blackmore Nuñez and Seb Divoky Buritica added singles.
Cross Country
Twelve SMUS runners are expected to race in the Vancouver Island Cross Country Championships this Wednesday at Arbutus Meadows in Nanoose Bay, beginning at 1 pm.
The top runners from the Islands will advance to the BC Championships on Nov. 7 at Clearbrook Park in Abbotsford.
Senior Boys Volleyball
The Senior Boys Volleyball team finished sixth in a tournament hosted over the weekend by Highland Secondary in Comox.
The Blue Jags played well on Saturday, including a very competitive match against Highland, BC’s top-ranked AA team. SMUS dropped the first set 25-15 but was up 19-18 in the second before eventually falling 25-21.
The Jags went on to defeat Timberline of Campbell River 25-22, 25-18. After losing its setter due to injury and having to rearrange its lineup as a result, SMUS was edged by Vanier (19-25, 25-21, 13-15) in the 5th/6th game.
On the tournament’s opening day, the Blue Jags dropped close three-set matches to Vanier (25-16, 22-25, 13-15) and Brooks (22-25, 25-16,15-17) but then beat Dover Bay (25-21, 25-21) in their crossover match to advance to the Gold playoff draw.
The Senior Boys also won three of their four games as they hosted Lower Island league play last Wednesday night. The Blue Jags beat Esquimalt 25-17, 25-17 and split with Stelly’s 25-27, 25-12.
SMUS is back in league action this Wednesday at Vic High, facing teams from Edward Milne, GNS, and the host school. Play begins at 6 pm.
Junior Boys Volleyball
The Junior Boys Volleyball team played six matches Friday and Saturday as Vic High hosted a play day for local teams.
The Junior Jags split with Vic High Black, Vic High Gold, and Claremont – the No. 1 team in the league. SMUS also beat Spectrum and lost to both Stelly’s and Lambrick Park.
In Lower Island league play on Thursday at Stelly’s, the Junior Boys beat St. Andrew’s in straight sets, split with Stelly’s, and lost to Spectrum.
“Highlights include Shep Stooksbury’s incredible serving runs, Preston Yu’s back-to-back-to-back blocks, Louis Lu’s pinpoint setting, and Zeke Liu’s phenom digs,” said SMUS Coach James Rees.
The Blue Jags are at home for their final league action this Thursday, facing Oak Bay and Esquimalt. Play begins at 4 pm.
Squash
Ten Blue Jag athletes earned top-three finishes as the SMUS Squash team hosted its first tournament of the season this past weekend.
Topping their divisions in the SMUS Silver #1 Event were Noah Jun in Tier 4, Sion Hsieh in Tier 5, and Ismail Laghari in Tier 7.
Elliot Judson of SMUS finished second and Carsten Rodger third in Tier 1. Teammate Vince Schachter was second in Tier 2, while Charlie Chae placed second and Evan Margawang third in Tier 3. Finishing second and third, respectively, in Tier 7 were Azaad Gill and Max Wang.
Junior School Cross Country (Grade 3-5)
by Gerald Thompson.
What a fantastic cross-country season! As the fall running season comes to a close, we couldn’t be prouder of all our junior school athletes for their dedication and energy throughout the five-race series. From our opening run at Windsor Park to Beckwith, Lambrick, Henderson Park, and wrapping up at Beaver Lake, the students truly gave it their all.
Fortunate to enjoy beautiful weather every step of the way, the runners consistently pushed themselves—setting personal bests, hitting major distance milestones, and striving for excellence with every stride. Beyond the clock, what stood out most was the incredible team spirit—athletes cheered each other across every finish line and lifted one another up through every tough stretch of trail. A huge thank you to our incredible coaches, teachers, host schools, and parents whose support made this season possible. Congratulations to all of our runners for an extraordinary season of grit, growth, and togetherness!
