It's elementary for Sudbury's Statsman

Posted by Sudbury Northern Life 

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the media spotlight directed towards high school sports in Sudbury. Some, like myself, hearken back to their own secondary school experience - a time when the athletic battles between competing institutions often garnered notable coverage.

It was a time when taking home the "Spirit Trophy" for any particular East-West game was still a pretty big deal.

Others will recall the golden era of high school sports in the 1950s and 1960s, when it wasn't the least bit unusual that the social calendar for the bulk of the student population often revolved around the schedules of their favourite varsity teams.

Well, don't look now, but the next wave of school athletics rising to prominence may just be starting to gain a foothold. Over the past few years, I could not help but note an ever-increasing commitment to a whole variety of elementary sport programs, as Sudbury and area schools fielded impressive looking squads in volleyball, basketball and track and field, just to name a few.

In fact, on most weekends throughout the school year, the local sports calendar is home to a number of tournaments and competitions for kids from Grades 4 to 8, keeping busy at venues right across the region. This past weekend was no different as I checked in on events ranging from the always-popular basketball setting to a relative newcomer to the elementary sporting scene.

The Sudbury Curling Club provided the backdrop as 26 young curling teams converged on the facility to take part in the annual elementary bonspiel - an event that attracts rinks from as far away as Blind River and Manitoulin.

As is the case with most elementary school sports, it's relatively easy to tell where the enthusiasts of that particular sport are currently teaching. Ecole Publique's Helene Gravel registered no less than four separate teams into the competition, while Felix-Ricard, Macdonald-Cartier, St. Denis, St Paul, Carl Nesbitt and Manitoulin Public had two teams apiece.

After playing three preliminary round games each, the field was whittled down to a final four, with Marymount Academy toppling Little Current Public School for the top spot, while Blind River Public knocked off Helene Gravel #3 in the three/four match-up.

Some family ties were in place for the Regals as skip Krysta Burns is the younger sibling to Kaitlynd Burns - soon preparing to attend her first national junior curling championship as a member of the Vanessa Maloney rink.

Joining Burns on the gold-medal winning team were Monica Graham, Michela Nero and Christina Mozzon, while Michael Thurston, Brittany Wall, Ben Thurston, Raegan Wilkin and Bryce Mastelko represented Little Current.

The bronze-medal encounter saw the Blind River quartet of Maddie Trottier, Alex Ambeault, Emily Pellarin and Makaila Alloway get the better of Ayden Mullock, David Gagnon, Jacob Savard and Sebastien St. Aubin, the top crew among the four rinks that represented Helene Gravel.

Out in Hanmer, it was traditional basketball powerhouse St. Francis that continued to flex their muscles as the Flames "A" team (primarily Grade 8 students) downed the St. Raphael Royals 35-14 in the championship final of the Bishop Alexander Carter SCDSB Boys Board Basketball Tournament.

Jason Picco led the way for the victors, netting nine points while Romi Baki chipped in with six. Michael Michel countered with seven points in a losing cause for St. Raphael's. As with any strong athletic program, the foundation at St. Francis is clearly in good hands - the school also fielded a "B" squad (essentially the Grade 7 team) among the eight-team field.

The "junior" Flames defeated St. Anne's 15-12 in their opening encounter but lost to St. Raphael's 28-6 in the semifinal affair. In the consolation final, St. Anne's bounced back to dump St. John's 17-8 with Cole Thomson (eight pts - St. Anne) and Tyler Scagnetti (five pts - St. John) leading the charge for their respective teams.

The 2008-09 edition of the St. Francis Flames basketball team is just the latest in a string of very impressive looking squads, that provide much in the way of upcoming basketball talent for the high school coaches around the city.

The team, which also captured the Bears Classic a few weeks back, includes: Aaron Dent, Kevin Cacciotti, Romi Baki, Brennan Boucher, Brandon Shea, Ben Pambianco, Jason Picco, Ryan Coady, Zach Prosser, Dawson Reale, Graeme Rickards, Daniel Faiella, Christian Charbonneau and Christopher Fabiilli.

And it wasn't just on the boys side of the draw that St. Francis has excelled on the hard court as the Flames' girls team, led by the one-two punch of Samantha Cooper and Julia Sosterich, took top honours at an eight-team tournament staged at St. Charles College over the weekend.