LAKELAND - High school students from across the region took part in Northeast Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (NEASAA) zones on Sept. 18, heading south to Mundare and north to Fort McMurray. Many of those players will also be taking part in the upcoming ASAA provincial championship.
3A/4A results
Students who took part in the 3A/4A golf zones championship travelled to Fort McMurray to compete at the Fort McMurray Golf and Country Club.
The men’s side was won by the team from Cold Lake High School. The team grossed a score of 260.
In the individual awards on the men’s side Cold Lake’s Jeremy Poirier took home the top spot, shooting an 81.
The coach of the Cold Lake team, Emerson Quiambao, was proud of his team’s effort.
“Our Cold Lake High School golf team played very well through windy, cold, and smoky weather during the 3A/4A Northeast Zone Golf Tournament, hosted by Fort McMurray Golf Club,” Quiambao stated.
“They kept their composure throughout the day and played according to the course conditions as we had discussed during the practice round the day before. In the end, we are very proud of how every member contributed to the team’s final overall gross score of 260.”
Quiambao added, “We also would like to congratulate Jeremy Poirier for finishing first place against all the golfers from the eight teams that participated.”
After their trip to zones, the team continued to golf, preparing for Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) provincials.
On the girls’ side, the St. Paul Regional High School team will be heading to provincials after coming in first at zones. The boys’ team from SPRHS also played well, coming in second at the Fort McMurray event.
St. Paul Regional also saw success in the individual results, as Addison Graling had a total gross score of 110, coming in first over all other female players. SPRHS athlete Coral Roche came in second with a gross score of 117.
Provincials are scheduled for Sept. 25 and 26 in Lloydminster.
1A/2A
In the 1A/2A category, which makes up the smaller schools across the region, athletes travelled to Whitetail Crossing in Mundare. The top men’s team came from École Notre Dame in Bonnyville, while the second placed team came from St. Jerome’s in Vermilion.
On the ladies’ side, École Notre Dame once again took the top spot and Two Hills School would finish in second place.
“This is the third year in a row that both our boys and our girls are going to provincials,” said Jeff Cey, a coach with the École Notre Dame high school golf teams.
The girls were fortunate to win provincial bronze last year, he noted, adding, two of the girls on this year’s team are returning from last year’s team, offering some experience on the links.
A couple boys on this year’s team also went to provincials in 2022, and this year they’re “Hoping for a medal,” according to Cey.
Expanding on why be feels the high school has seen such success with their golf teams, Cey says the Bonnyville Golf and Country Club has been extremely open to working with the high school to get students reduced memberships, which encourages the young athletes to golf more without added costs.
Cey believes the golf club has placed a high priority on getting youth involved in the sport. Since the school has been more intentional with creating a relationship with the local golf course, the interest from students who want to get involved has increased too.
This year, there was a playdown between about a dozen boys who wanted to play on the Notre Dame golf team. And while there was not quite as much interest on the girls’ side, the school still had no problem making a female team filled with capable golfers.
Aside from team results, top individual results were also awarded. On the men’s side Peyton Houle from Bonnyville Centralized High School had the best score of the day, and Callum Mulsberry from St. Jerome’s finished in second.
On the ladies’ side, Holly Feland from Glendon finished as the top female golfer, while Jorja Nikiforuk from Two Hills finished with the second-best individual score.
