The Salish Secondary senior girls rugby team struck gold June 3.
The girls engineered a dramatic come-from-behind win, said head coach Angie Baumgartner.
“It was an ending made for a movie!” she exclaimed. “We were down by four in the final minute of the game when our number-8, Emma Barrett, took the ball and charged through the North Kamloops defence to score the game winning try.”
The girls garnered a 25-24 over North Kamloops in that championship final and took the provincial gold medal in the girls 15s AA Tier II division.
“This was an incredible ending to an outstanding season,” added Baumgartner. “We also came first in the South Fraser AA division.”
Baumgartner said the success of any rugby team is due to the comradery, strong leadership, and teamwork the players express. She said her girls excelled in every one of those areas this year and the veterans on the team embraced their roles in helping to bring the younger players along.
“This is in large part due to our senior players, especially our captains Amy Bolenback and Violeta Rodriguez, who not only supported and mentored our junior players, who were brand new to the sport, but also delivered game winning performances throughout the season and in provincials.”
Salish Secondary has been open for four years now, but the girls program is technically only in its second year after losing two years due to COVID.
“That makes this provincial title even more special because we, like many other teams, had to start nearly from scratch rebuilding a girls rugby program,” explained Baumgartner. “Our amazing season shows what commitment and hard work can accomplish and we are excited to keep building on this momentum next year.”
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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