Sports

**School Athletes to Race Cross-Country Championship** by Kristine Howie The Leo Hayes High School Cross Country Team is ready for a showdown with their cross city rivals and all of the other high school teams across the province that are competing in the NBIAA X-Country Championships on October 17th.

Various male and female Leo Hayes athletes have been preparing for races and competing against other runners since the season began in early September. Practices have been ongoing and run by Lions Coach and teacher Tim Randall, in order to have a well-prepared team for the end of the season NBIAA event, which is considered one of the major meets.

According to Nathalie Cecire, a sophomore and a runner in her first year for Leo Hayes, the meet is important because “it’s the provincials” for the sport, meaning that the top high school runners from all areas of New Brunswick will be there. This is also why the race is so well-attended, with 484 students altogether finishing in last year’s NBIAA Cross Country Championships.

Last year, the Lions placed 2nd as a team in the Junior Girls (grades 9 and 10) category, and ranked 5th out of the Junior Boys (grades 9 and 10) teams. Leo Hayes had one female runner, Victoria Brewer, then a sophomore, place 5th in the Junior Girls run. Meanwhile, Fredericton High School claimed all four provincial titles: 1st in the Junior Girls, Junior Boys, Senior Girls (grades 11 and 12) and Senior Boys (grades 11 and 12) categories.

The meet, which takes place annually at Odell Park, consists of different distances for the different groups based on grade and gender. The Junior Girls race is 3000m, while the Junior Boys and Senior girls run 4000m, and the Senior boys compete in a 5000m race. For the Lions, this will be the last meet of the cross country season, with track and field officially beginning sometime in the spring.

Star on the Rise by Eric McGarry She’s cool, calm, collected and she’s also only 14! Sierra Blenkhorn is the only freshman on this year’s Lady Lions’ Softball Team. “It’s a good feeling and I enjoyed the challenge,” Blenkhorn said when asked how it felt to be the only grade 9 student on the varsity team.

Varsity sports can be quite time consuming and Blenkhorn is witnessing that earlier than most. “It hasn’t really interfered with my grades yet, but does give me less time for homework.” Everyone knows that grade 9 is a big stepping-stone for grades 11 and 12 but she doesn’t seem too worried. “It gets a bit hectic at times but it’s not like I’m unable to balance school and softball.”

Now, everyone in Grade 9 is usually afraid of the big bad Grade 12s, but imagine having to play on a sports team with them. “At first I was very intimidated, but as the season wore on I got familiar and enjoyed going everyday,” Sierra said. This seems like a pretty special group of girls that love the game and everyone they play with to take in the only grade 9 and teach her what she needed to know. “It’s great how everyone gets along with each other, and how the coaches are always willing to help,” Blenkhorn said when asked about her opinions of teammates and coaches.

Softball isn’t the most popular sport with the population of Leo Hayes High, but it should get more recognition than it does. It takes players that are good and makes them better each and every year. “High school softball could get me to a higher level of ball because in the short season I learned so much and improved to lengths I didn’t expect to reach,” Blenkhorn stated. Starting with the team in grade 9, Sierra has three more years with the Lions, and she expects to play every single one of them. “I plan on coming out until I graduate and expect to improve greatly each year.”

Unfortunately the Lady Lions season came to a crashing end on October 3rd with a depressing 8-1 loss to the Saint John High Greyhounds in Saint John. Although Blenkhorn had big hopes going into the playoffs, her hopes were no match for the dogs of Saint John. “I think we will do well in the playoffs considering our improvement from tryouts to now,” says Blenkhorn. "There is always next year, and with this young prodigy on the rise, there is no telling how far the lions can go."

BOYS RULE THE FIELD by Katie Boudreau   Over the weekend of October 2nd, our Varsity Boys Soccer team traveled to Moncton to play in the Mathieu-Martin tournament where the boys placed second. So far, the season has been going very well for the boys; plenty of good competition has lead the team to a 2-2-3 record which gives them a good chance in Regionals this year, where they will need to place first or second in order to go to Provincials. There to lead the team to victory are grade twelve students Devan Gunaseelan, Alex Stewart and grade eleven student Alex Frederics as team captains. With many different assets, the three boys have done a great job so far this year in the leading of their team mates. Although, Gunaseelan was in Calgary for other school issues during the Mathieu-Martin tournament, the team still pulled together and brought the silver medal back to the Lions’ Den. Every team has their injuries and obstacles to get over, and with Frederics having severe migraines, Stewart says the team had weakened without their team mate during the past few games.

“The team gets along very well which helps us communicate even better,” Stewart says. With strong and co-operating team mates, our Lions seem to have a very good chance against rivalries ESA and FHS this year. The boys have high hopes for themselves and are committed to bringing home the name of Provincials champs.