LAKELAND - Following some good competition out on the fairways of two local golf courses, two Lakeland high schools swept the 1A/2A and 3A/4A north east zone golf championships.
École Notre Dame High School out of Bonnyville walked away with both the boys' and girls' banners for the 1A/2A category, after a day of competition in Cold Lake on Sept. 13.
“The students have been working exceptionally hard and we are so proud of their success,” said Jeff Cey, supervising teacher for the École Notre Dame teams.
St. Paul Regional High School (SPRHS) had similar success in the 3A/4A category, beating teams from much larger centres, such as Lloydminster and Fort McMurray, to claim both banners in that category. The St. Paul teams welcomed the other competing teams to the St. Paul Golf Course on Sept. 13.
SPRHS coach Corey deMoissac said much of the credit for the athletes' success is the fact the youth who make up the teams play the sport throughout the summer months on their own. He noted there is often a lack of time to prepare for the golf season since it falls at the start of the school year, but the Regional High School athletes showed up and played very well at zones.
While he acknowledged it's a benefit to have "home field advantage," deMoissac believes the boys' and girls' teams are capable of playing well on any course.
The top teams have earned spots at the upcoming provincial competition. Both École Notre Dame High School teams and SPRHS teams will head to Whitecourt and Entwistle golf courses Sept. 27 and 28, as Mayerthorpe Jr/Sr. High School hosts this year's ASAA Provincial Golf Championship.
In addition to zone banners being handed out, there were also individual winners at the zone competition, with some heading to provincials also.
For the 3A/4A category, full results include:
Girls
Gold - Jessie Kurek (St. Paul Regional High School) - 100
Silver - Felicia Ramsay (Holy Trinity High School, Fort McMurray) - 101
Bronze - Brittney Cole (St. Paul Regional High Schoo) - 111
Zone Banner: St. Paul Regional High School - Jessie Kurek, Brittney Cole, Coral Roche, and Kylie Yaskow - 315
Individual players heading to provincials include Felicia Ramsay of Holy Trinity High School, and Kyrah Wheaton Holy Rosary High School (Lloydminster).
Boys
Gold - Colin Pasitney (St. Paul Regional High School) - 72
Silver - Seth Cobourne (Cold Lake High School) - 78
Bronze - Caleb Gratton (St. Paul Regional High School) - 92
Zone banner - St. Paul Regional High School - Colin Pasitney, Caleb Gratton, Monty Dallaire, and Liam Boyko - 231
Silver - Cold Lake High School - Seth Cobourne, Cleveland Stabbler, Carter Thorne, and Jeremey Poirier - 259
Bronze - Holy Rosary High School - Keenan Cambell, Grayden Garrett, Ethan Flasch, Brady Hill - 303
Along with the St. Paul Regional High School team heading to provincials, Seth Cobourne (CLHS) and Jeremey Poirier (CLHS) also earned berths at the upcoming competition.
For the 1A/2A category, full results include:
Girls
Individual Winners: Gold – Jasmine Lo (98), Two Hills; Silver – Justine Kononchuk (106), Plamondon; Silver – Jada Kozicky (106) BCHS
Zone banner: Notre Dame High School - Sydney Park, Samantha Cey, Mia Landon, Kaitlyn Welsh - 356
Silver: École Mallaig - Kiera Dubeau, Kiana Devlin, Brooklyn Kelley, and Alayna Dechaine - 385
Bronze: New Myrnam School - Hannah Saruk, Jaeanna Saskiw, and RaeBecca Pashulka - 462
Boys
Individual Winners: Gold – Xavier Sylvestre (84) Notre Dame; Silver – Aydon McLean (85) E.H. Walter School; Silver – Parker Hopf (91) Notre Dame.
Zone banner: Notre Dame High School - Xavier Sylvestre, Parker Hopf, Loui Bouchard, Devin Goodheart - 265
Silver: Two Hills - Brayden Kereliuk, Evan Hasiuk, Caiden Lo, Dawson Toma – 286
Bronze: FG Miller (Elk Point) - Sam Rogal, Landon Malachowski, Cash Capjack, and Kade Fontaine – 291
Along with both top teams heading to provincials, individual players Jasmine Lo (Two Hills) and Justine Kononchuk (Plamondon), along with Aydon McLean (EH Walter) and Sam Rogal (FG Miller) will also be heading to provincials.