ATHABASCA – Athabasca’s newest sports team is continuing its upwards development in its third ever season, bringing home its first-ever tournament win after a weekend trip to Grande Prairie.
The Edwin Parr Composite (EPC) Predators Sr. High rugby sevens squad overcame an early defeat to win its first tournament of the season, held at Grande Prairie Composite School, finishing the weekend with a 4-1 record.
“This was the first big tournament where we were playing against all bigger schools, and we weren’t in any sort of developmental pool,” said coach David McLenaghan.
“It was phenomenal, I’m super happy for the boys. This is a massive reaffirming of their skill level and their commitment to the game. Most of these boys have been playing together for two seasons and now they’re really starting to see how good they’ve become.”
The win comes at the start of the programs third season, and the coaches and players are taking it as a positive sign for the season to come, which will see the team attend tournaments across the province as they try and qualify for the end-of-season provincials.
“They’re taking on teams with high school populations well over a thousand students. They ‘re taking on these teams and they’re showing how good they are,” said McLenaghan.
The team won multiple games in bonus points, meaning they scored four or more “tries” — rugby’s equivalent to a touchdown in football — in their 14 minute games.
Athabasca beat a Drayton Valley squad that had given them problems in their first two seasons twice en route to the final, winning the first game by a single try, and the rematch by five, and triumphed in the final game 17-12.
“They have the experience now and the skill level to have a great shot at winning provincials. That’s the goal,” said McLenaghan.
“In their early play, if they continue to play like this as a the season goes and even get better, they have a strong opportunity to make provincials, which would be huge for the program.”
One of Athabasca’s players came home with the personal hardware to accompany the team’s first place finish. Grade 11 student Wyatt McKinnon was named the tournament’s best player, an honour he attributed to his growing experience on the pitch.
“I feel a lot better about my passing ability and game sense as well. I’ve gotten better at understanding the game and knowing what’s happening on the field. The whole team has improved as well, especially with some of the stuff all the boys have been bringing back,” said McKinnon.
“Three years ago we didn’t even win a game, and now look at where we’re at.”
McKinnon said the team’s success came from all across the field — the wings and backs spaced out the field on offence, and the team committed to its tackles on defence.
“We really came up a lot on defence, and we’re keeping the ball alive. We didn’t let anyone tackle us and our tackling really improved,” he said.
Once last year’s season ended, some of the students went down to Edmonton to try out for provincial teams, or to work with larger programs including Edmonton Gold. McKinnon earned a spot on Team Alberta, travelling to Manitoba for a tour that gave him some valuable experience, and lasting memories.
“We went out there and we beat Manitoba over three different games. We were trying to get the U18 team to play us but nobody wanted to,” said McKinnon.
“We had a lot of fun as a team together, going to the pool and out for dinner, and just touring around and seeing a new part of Canada.”
