West Region filled with competitive teams

[attach]2183[/attach]It’s that time of year again.

Back to school and the Town Crier is going to give you the top three teams that have the chance to bring home gold for Bloor West’s nine secondary schools.

As students march out their front doors bright and early for another academic year, a good lot of them will have athletics on the brain.
Here are your local schools and the teams that had phenomenal 2009-10 campaigns.

Bishop Allen Academy
TDCAA

Last year the junior boys volleyball team won the TDCAA championship title after finishing second in west division behind rivals Michael Power. Look for juniors to repeat in 2010.

The girls soccer team, under Jessica Carbone’s leadership, proved to be a handful for opposing teams in the Tier 1 regular season. However the troupe lost in an upset to Pope John Paul II 2-1, eliminating them from a chance at TDCAA supremacy.

Not to end on sad note, the varsity girls hockey team won their second straight division B title.

Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton CSS
TDCAA

The soccer team, led by the on-field talent of Chris Pike, finished the regular season with a 2-1-3 record. They will look to challenge division rivals Bishop Allen and Archbishop Romero this year.

Marrocco Merton’s female athlete of the year, Meliza Marcelino scored at will for the girls basketball team, while her male counterparts Yannick Kabongo and Kahleel Walker led the boys’ cagers.

Though the boys finished with 2-10 season record they played in a division with TDCAA basketball titans Father Redmond and Father Henry Carr.

Etobicoke CI
TDSSAA

The Rams had a successful winter on the slopes, snaring two medals in the TDSSAA championships from Ian Mckenna and David Esplen. The ladies received two top 10 finishes from Liz Allan (fifth) and Natalie Kim (seventh).

Alpine skiing turned out to be more of Etobicoke’s forte as the ladies saw top performances from level 1 competitor Cait Leavitt, who finished fifth in the slalom and second in the giant slalom. Level 2 skiers Jill Semple, Shannon Schembri and Kristin Davies reached top 10 in the slalom.

The boys swim team rounds out the three picks as last year the boys claimed the TDSSAA title. Performances by Greg Gencheu, John Wells and Kurtis Bond kept the team afloat.

Etobicoke School of the Arts
TDSSAA

For a school that loves the arts, ESA Eagles certainly fly high in sports. This year saw Maddie Radvyani and Hayley Cormick finish one-two at the TDSSAA snowboarding championships.

When it came to slalom and giant slalom Madeline Robertson snagged a sixth and fourth finish in both races.

Etobicoke’s girls were also getting it done in the pool as Kayla Sommerville scored a bronze in the competitive girls 50-metre freestyle.

Humberside CI
TDSSAA

The boys hockey qualified for the AAA/AAAA OFSAA championships in St. Catharines. Though they didn’t make the quarter-finals, the team received the OFSAA Sportsmanship Award. They look to make it back to OFSAA in 2011.

Dominating in the swimming pool, Humberside Huskies’ girls were led by the strong arms of Meaghan Serjeant, Rebecca Clark, Olivia King, Vanessa Watt, Zoe Smith and Milena Vukosavic.

In unranked doubles, Humberside’s girls are the defending gold medalists as Katarina Neskovic and Masa Pilipovic defeated Victoria Park.

Richview CI
TDSSAA

Say hello to last season’s boys baseball champs. Richview Saints dominated the west and met their surprise guest, Forest Falcons, in the finals. Winning 2-1, it was the second year in three that they grabbed top spot.

Also pulling in the hardware in 2009-10 was the senior girls A/AA soccer team as they made it to the finals against Oakwood. It was 2-2 at the end of regulation, but penalty resulted in a 3-2 win for the Barons.

When it came to another, the AA senior boys volleyball team won the Citys over Parkdale, qualifying for OFSAA. They would lose in the quarter-finals to Beaver Brae SS of Kenora 2-1 (16-25, 25-22, 12-15).

Runnymede CI
TDSSAA

It was a successful campaign for the senior girls A basketball team as they qualified for OFSAA and received the OFSAA Sportsmanship Award.

The senior boys A volleyball team also made it to OFSAA after beating Bloor CI in the Citys. Leading the way was Town Crier Athlete of the Year Liam Hodge.

Hodge also represented the Ravens track team at OFSAA. Hodge scored two gold in javelin (Regionals and Citys) and two silver in discus. Shane Favit would snare a silver in midget boys 800-metre run at OFSAA, while fellow Runnymede teammate Saudia Rahamat led the girls.

Ursula Franklin Academy
TDSSAA

The Flames will look to repeat their ultimate Frisbee success they had back in 2008-09 this season.

Also expected to weather the varsity baseball storm with gusto will be the Flames boys who will be looking to Averey Bet-Payumo to take to the mound.

Seniors girls hockey also had a good season making it to the West/South region quarter-finals against Lawrence Park, only to lose in a gritty 6-5 game.

Western Technical-Commercial School
TDSSAA

Girls track and field did a great job in 2009-10 with Juanita Charlemagne and Sophie Issajenko. Issajenko made OFSAA’s track meet in the 100-metre dash for the second year a row.

The boys were not far behind, as Dimitry Issajenko and Peter Zidros also qualified for OFSAA in the 100-metre dash and shotput respectively. Both Issajenkos are children of Canadian Olympic sprinter Angella Taylor-Issajenko.

The Mustangs also look to improve on their boys rugby and girls softball seasons.