BARRHEAD-The Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) Senior Boys Gryphons punched their ticket to 3A provincial championships after finishing second at the Alberta North Central Zones tournament hosted by the school on Nov. 17 and 18.
The Gryphons opened up the tournament by going undefeated in the round-robin, finishing first in their pool with wins over Morinville, Whitecourt's Hilltop High School, and Devon's John Maland High School.
The Gryphons defeated Hilltop in three sets in the playoff round, setting them up against Athabasca's Edwin Parr in the gold medal matchup, where they lost in two sets.
Head coach Steven Montgomery said usually, only one team gets to move on to provincials from zones, but due to Barrhead's long history of success under recently retired Gryphon head coach Rod Callihoo, the North Central Zone captured one of the wildcard slots available, which Barrhead earned by capturing second.
On the girls' side, the Gryphons finished fourth in the Alberta 3A North Central Zone tournament hosted by Westlock's R.F. Staples High School.
