ST. PAUL – After a day on the golf course, this year's Junior St. Paul Athletic Association (SPAA) golf banner was won by the Racette Jr. High School boys team and the Glen Avon School girls team.
The junior high golf tournament took place on Sept. 20 at the St. Paul Golf Course.
According to Shaun Peters, Athletic Director with Two Hills School, participating schools at this year’s event included schools from St. Paul, Mallaig, Glendon, Two Hills, Myrnam , Kihew Asiniy, and Ashmont.
Peters said about 58 golfers participated from 15 different teams. There were two mixed teams, four girls' teams, and nine boys' teams competing for the Jr. SPAA banner.
It was “A little windy... and a little chilly temperature for sure for the participants,” said Peters. “But everyone seems to be having a great time, staying as warm as they possibly can, and there were a lot of smiles out there.”
The Racette Jr. High School coaches this year were teachers David Michaud and Cara Sosnowski. For Sosnowski, it was exciting to see the Racette teams perform. “A lot of the times, the kids are the ones putting in the effort because the golf [season] is so short,” she said, adding, the teams only had about three practices before the tournament.
“So, they really put in the effort over the summer and worked really hard on their own skills,” said Sosnowski, adding, the SPAA tournament gives the young golf players an opportunity to showcase their skills.
Despite challenges, including not knowing “that they were doing the back nine,” after practicing on the front nine at the golf course, Sosnowski said “all of our team did really well,” and stepped up to the challenge.
For the Glen Avon teams, Ryan Pashko and Patty Krekoski helped coach the athletes. Pashko said Glen Avon School is very proud of its winning team, as well as all participating players and teams from their school, including the boys team that won bronze medals.
“We’re very proud and we saw a lot of improvement and development in their abilities in the short time that we have them as a team, because the golf season is very short,” said Pashko.
Pashko echoed some of Sosnowski’s sentiments, nothing that the short golf season was among the biggest challenges athletes faced, providing a limited amount of time for players to practice.
“But, our students, our players, they enjoy golf and they’re committed to getting better,” said Pashko. “My hope for them is as they continue with golf, and when the snow melts after this winter, that they continue to grow.”
Pashko also thanked Mike Lo from Two Hills School for organizing the day at the St. Paul Golf Course.
On the boys side, Racette Jr. High School won first place, FG Miller Jr/Sr. High from Elk Point won second, and Glen Avon School won third.
On the girls side, Glen Avon School won first place, Racette Jr. High School won second, and Mallaig School finished in third.
