Snowboard Team Takes OFSAA in SMCS First
While unseasonable temperatures, rain, and sharp winds accompanied the start of the 2024 OFSAA Snowboarding Championships, it didn’t stop St. Michael’s College School (SMCS) ‘shredders’ from making their mark and capturing multiple SMCS firsts!
“The Blue Yetis Snowboard Team dominated the 2024 season in style by capturing yet another CISAA Championship while qualifying five athletes for OFSAA,” says Adrian Spagnolo ’02, teacher and one of SMCS Snowboard team coaches. “The Blue Yetis continued their winning ways by capturing the school’s first-ever OFSAA Boys Championship.”
The team took home SMCS’s first OFSAA gold in the boys’ high school division and set an OFSAA record with five of our student-athletes in the top 50.
On February 28, while the competitors went through their morning warmup runs and course inspections, the temperature on the hill felt like spring at a balmy 13 degrees Celsius. However, just before the first rider kicked off the competition, about 20 mm of rain came down, along with a steep temperature drop well below zero and a sharp wind.
“The immense focus and preparation surely paid off as the weather was no match for the Yetis,” says Spagnolo.
The OFSAA Snowboarding Festival took place over two days on February 28 and 29 at Devil’s Glen for the main Alpine GS event and Beaver Valley Ski Club for the Ontario High School Snowboard Cross Invitational.
“Liam Minion dominated the competition and placed first overall, earning himself a ‘snazzy’ new cowbell and a gold medal, but was supported by his awesome teammates, Josh Paquin (most improved rider of the year) placing 10th, Matteo Muchalov 25th, Hayden Fraser 47th, and Thomas Duda 49th,” says Spagnolo of the first day of competition.
Minion’s first-place finish also marks the first time in the school’s history that an SMCS student-athlete has won OFSAA gold in this event.
The next morning, the team woke up to around 20 cm of snow to kick off day two of the provincial competition.
“At the end of the day, ‘CISAA Team 1’ comprised of Paquin, Minion, and fellow Lakefield College School and Greenwood College School riders placed third in the event and took home some hardware,” adds Spagnolo.
The Ontario High School Snowboard Cross Invitational featured 17 mixed boys’ teams from multiple schools competing against each other.
“All of the coaches are so proud of the season’s efforts capped off with the school’s first ever OFSAA Championship and a brand-new banner to hang in the gymnasium,” says Spagnolo.
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