Senior Girls: Cameron Heights Dominant in Tournament Win

The Cameron Heights Golden Gaels were just that --- golden --- this past weekend at the Senior Girls' Tournament hosted by Eastwood CI in Kitchener.

In fact, the Gaels didn't just win the tournament; they dominated.  They registered an average margin of victory of 28.3 PPG, and their closest games (both the 1st round and championship final) were decided by 27.

The Gaels' dynamic duo of Nina Farkic and Hunter Johns had strong performances, particularly in the championship final against St. Benedict where Farkic nearly registered a triple-double (15 Pts, 9 Reb, 7 Ast) and Johns connected for a double-digit efforts (11 points) while adding 5 rebounds during the Gaels' 52-25 win over Cambridge St. Benedict.

Farkic averaged 14.3 PPG for the tournament.

Here's a look at the tournament results:

Friday - Round 1
Eastwood CI "A" 25, St. Mary's 23

Cameron Heights 58, Southwood 31
CHCI:  Nina Farkic, 19

St. Benedict 51, SJAM 32

Huron Heights def. Eastwood "B"

Consolation Semifinals
Southwood 50, St. Mary's 19 
SSS:  Taylor White 19, Brianne Jewell 15

SJAM 52, Huron Heights 36
SJAM:  Deri Curtin, 23

*Game note:  HHSS played an "extra game" here, taking the place of Eastwood B, in case you're confused.

Championship Semifinals
Cameron Heights 49, Eastwood 18

St. Benedict 42, Huron Heights 23

7th Place
St. Mary's 31, Eastwood "B" 9

Consolation Final
Southwood 36, SJAM 22
SSS:  Taylor White, 17

3rd Place Game
Huron Heights 38, Eastwood 37

Championship Final
Cameron Heights 52, St. Benedict 25

Senior Girls: Tournaments Set To Go For This Weekend

Well, there's one thing that rings true with regards to the CWOSSA Senior Girls' basketball schedule --- there's no time wasted when it comes to getting things moving!

That's the case this weekend as there's several local tournaments featuring a variety of CWOSSA teams.

The rundown is as follows:

WODSS Early Bird
The defending WCSSAA champions, the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders, will certainly have a different look this season following the graduation of several of their key players from a season ago, including G Maddy Horst and F Alicia Glendinning.

That said, the constant in Baden will be the hosting of their annual early-season 6-team tournament, which will take place this Friday & Saturday.

Aside from the hosts, participating teams will include Preston (WCSSAA), Woodland Christian (D8), Centennial CVI (Guelph), and non-CWOSSA teams Stratford Central and Huron Park (Woodstock).

The tournament schedule (pool-play) is as follows:

Friday
2:30pm - WODSS vs. Stratford Central
4:00pm - Preston vs. Huron Park
5:30pm - WODSS vs. Woodland Christian

Saturday
9:00am - Preston vs. Centennial
10:30am - Stratford Central vs. Woodland
Noon - Huron Park vs. Centennial

2pm - 3rd Pool A vs. 3rd Pool B
3:30pm - 2nd Pool A vs. 2nd Pool B
5pm - 1st Pool A vs. 1st Pool B (Championship)

Eastwood CI "Rebel Shootout"
This year's Rebel Shootout is (thus far) an all-WCSSAA & D8 event with one team confirmation pending.

Participating teams from WCSSAA include the host Rebels, Cambridge Southwood, Kitchener Cameron Heights, Waterloo SJAM, and Kitchener Huron Heights.  D8 schools Cambridge St. Benedict and Kitchener St. Mary's (last year's runner-up at this event) round out the field.

First round schedule is as follows on Friday:
11:30am - Eastwood vs. St. Mary's
1:00pm - Southwood vs. Cameron Heights
2:30pm - SJAM vs. St. Benedict
4:00pm - Huron Heights vs. TBD

Consolation semifinals follow that on Friday, while championship semifinals are at 9am and 10:30am on Saturday.

The tournament final goes at 4:30pm.

Brantford Schools Head to London
The Brantford St. John's Green Eagles and the Assumption Lions are among the teams taking part in a 16-team tournament down the 401 in London this weekend.

Both squads are on the same side of the draw; St. John's will open with a 5:30pm game against Strathroy (at Mother Teresa) while the Lions play the game immediately preceding (4:00pm) against London Pope John Paul II.

Assumption will play either Sainte Andre-Bessette of London (new Catholic high school there) or Holy Names in round two, while the Green Eagles will play Amherst or Waterdown.

Chuder Teny Commits to Wilfrid Laurier University

It's official.

2014 Mike Moser Award winner (WCSSAA MVP) Chuder Teny (Grand River '14) has announced that he will be staying local and attending Wilfrid Laurier University, while suiting up as a member of the Golden Hawks.

2014 Moser Winner, Grand River G Chuder Teny (@Kid_Teny7) announces he has committed to the Laurier Golden Hawks this year. Congrats! #CIS
— CWOSSA Basketball (@CWOSSABball) September 3, 2014

It's the second straight year that the Hawks have picked up a blue-chip local recruit, having inked 6'8" Galt graduate Jack Simmons last year.  Simmons averaged double-figure scoring on the year, and was named to the OUA West Rookie All-Star team.

CWOSSA Alum Tracker - 2014-15

Do you wonder where former CWOSSA stars are suiting up this coming year?

Here's a compiled list of men and women suiting up for teams at post-secondary institutions in both the United States and Canada.

This information is based on known commitments, as well as previous roster information (e.g., if a player played on a CIS team in 2013-14, they are on this list).  As rosters become firmed up for this season, I will try to update this list.

(If you have any additions or changes, please feel free to let me know via twitter (@cwossabball) or via e-mail --- mark@cwossabasketball.com).

Players are listed with the CWOSSA school most recently attended and their graduation year.

NCAA D1 - Men (2)
Stefan Cvrkalj, Lehigh via Bluevale ('11) - SR

Brandon Busuttil, Bowling Green via Grand River ('12) - JR

NCAA D1 - Women (3)
Kelly Van Leeuwen, Niagara via St. John's ('11) - SR

Michelle Hudyn, Missouri via Eastwood CI ('12) - JR

Alex Klein, Bryant via Waterloo CI ('13) - SO

NCAA D2 - Men (3)
Marcus Jones, Gannon (PA) via North Park ('13) - SO

Cory Kenning, Palm Beach Atlantic (FL) via Resurrection ('13) - SO

Juwan Miller, Missouri S&T via Huron Heights ('14) - FR

US Junior College - Men (1)
Alex Thompson, Hudson (NC) via St. Mary's ('12) - SO

USCAA Women (1)

Tyshaine Page, Barber-Scotia College (NC) via Cameron Heights ('14) - FR

CIS - Men (22)
Mark Peterson, Waterloo via Forest Heights - 4th Yr.

Boyd Vassell, St. Mary's (NS) via Eastwood - 4th Yr.

Connor Wood, Carleton via Bishop Macdonell ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Mike Pereira, Waterloo via Resurrection ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Filip Cvrkalj, Laurier via Grand River ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Javon Masters, UNB via Forest Heights ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Mike Friesen, Guelph via JF Ross ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Dani Elgadi, Brock via Waterloo CI ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Josh Johnson, Brock via Simcoe Holy Trinity ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Jacob Ranton, Memorial via Waterloo CI ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Vladimir Matovic, Laurier via Cameron Heights ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Jack Simmons, Laurier via Galt CI ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Serge Khayipangi, Bishop's via Centennial ('13) - 2nd Yr. 

Jason Quiring, McMaster via Jacob Hespeler ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Milos Jovkovic, Waterloo via Cameron Heights ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Adam Voll, Ryerson via St. Mary's ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Jesse Kendall, UNB via Bishop Macdonell ('14) - 1st Yr.

Mitchell Wood, Carleton via Bishop Macdonell ('14) - 1st Yr.

Jon Dulmage, York via North Park ('14) - 1st Yr.

JD West, Laurentian via Walkerton ('14) - 1st Yr. 

Kristian Van de Kemp, Waterloo via JF Ross ('14) - 1st Yr. 

Chuder Teny, Laurier via Grand River ('14) - 1st Yr.

CIS - Women (28)
Mackenzie Lougheed, Waterloo via West Hill ('10) - 5th Yr.

Megan Robinson, Memorial via Resurrection ('11) - 4th Yr.

Siki Jez, Ryerson via Cameron Heights ('11) - 4th Yr.

Laura Burnett, Waterloo via Rockway ('11) - 4th Yr.

Alyssa Shortt, Guelph via Waterloo CI ('11) - 4th Yr.

Kate MacTavish, Guelph via Kitchener CI ('11) - 4th Yr.

Kayla Santilli, Brock via St. John's ('11) - 4th Yr.

Gemma Bullard, Queen's via JF Ross ('11) - 4th Yr.

Skye Johns, Ryerson via Kitchener CI ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Kaitlyn Schneck, Laurier via St. Mary's ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Lindsay Lessard, St. Francis Xavier via Waterloo CI ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Katie Polischuk, Regina via St. John's ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Claire Endicott, Queen's via Lourdes ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Julia Robertson, Ryerson via JF Ross ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Jacqui Rodrigues, Waterloo via Resurrection ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Lindsay Taylor, Memorial via Waterloo CI ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Maddi Lougheed, Trinity Western via West Hill ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Julia Pavlik, Waterloo via Waterloo CI ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Andrea Priamo, Queen's via Bishop Macdonell ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Nicole Barnard, Queen's via Southwood ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Brook Wright, Memorial via Jacob Hespeler ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Jerika Baldin, Lakehead via Assumption ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Liz McLellan, McGill via Cameron Heights ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Ashley White, Bishop's via Preston ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Hilary Ferguson, Waterloo via St. Benedict ('13) - 1st Yr.

Sarah Schulz, Western via Resurrection ('14) - 1st Yr.

Maddie Horst, Western via Waterloo-Oxford ('14) - 1st Yr.

Alicia Glendinning, Ryerson via Waterloo-Oxford ('14) - 1st Yr.

Canadian Colleges - Men
TBD

Canadian Colleges - Women (6)
Nikea Worrell, Seneca via Preston HS ('12) - 3rd Yr.

Jaime Janssen, George Brown via CWDHS ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Alex Van Dyk, George Brown via Assumption ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Jessica Grant, Mohawk via North Park ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Abby Heron, St. Lawrence (K) via Assumption ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Courtney Harley, Durham via Southwood ('13) - 2nd Yr.

Senior Girls: Eastwood Seeks Team To Fill Out Tournament Roster

Eastwood CI in Kitchener is seeking one team to round out their early season Senior Girls' Tournament, which will take place the second week that school is back (September 12th - Friday, and September 13th - Saturday).

Interested coaches can contact ECI coach Mike Reinhart for further details --- michael_reinhart@wrdsb.on.ca.

U16 TIDP Take Ontario Games Gold

Recently, the U16 TIDP team from Tri-County (essentially the CWOSSA area) took home the Gold Medal at the Ontario Summer Games hosted by St. Clair College in Windsor.

The squad went 2-1 in pool play with wins over St. Clair (69-59) and Centre East (94-70) and a loss to Kawartha (71-66).

The semifinal went in the books as a 77-69 win over South Simcoe, before Tri-County clicked on all cylinders in the final, rolling over Capital Region 91-66.

Team members included:  Jake Chaput, Nick Marquis, Jeff Morales, Keegan Feeney, Justin Hardy, Zane Whelan, Curtis Gordon, Chris Jin, Devon Gallivan, Nick Rankin, Yanna Kawe and CISAA player Simon Chamberlain.

Tri-County was coached by Nick Pankerichan and Nick Rusick.

CWOSSA Alums: Burnatowski Signs Pro Deal in Poland

Former SJAM Highlander (and recent Colgate University Athlete of the Year and Graduate) Murphy Burnatowski has signed his first professional contract, according to his agent:

Murphy Burnatowski signs his rookie deal with #Slask in Poland
— Keith Kreiter (@Edge_Sports) July 11, 2014

Burnatowski will be playing with Slask Wroclaw, of the Polish League (top division in Poland).  Slask finished 8th in the 12 team league this past year.

There's a slew of former NCAAers in the league, led by this past year's regular season MVP, JP Prince (Tennessee).  Marcus Ginyard (former North Carolina Tarheel from a couple years ago) is another name that NCAA fans would certainly recognize.

FIBA U17: Van Leeuwen, Canada Finish 6th at Worlds

The FIBA U17 World Championship for Women took place over the past 10 days in the Czech Republic, and the Canadian team came away with a very respectable 6th place finish among the 16 countries in attendance.

Kendra Van Leeuwen (Brantford St. John's) had a very nice tournament for Canada, averaging 8.7 PPG, 4 RPG and 0.9 APG in 7 tournament games.

Van Leeuwen's best game came in pool play against the host Czech Republic, where she poured in 20 points (7/9 FG, 3/3 3PT), and added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.  The Czechs would go on to finish 4th overall.

You can rewatch her performance for that game here:

Guelph CYO Knights U16's Take Amateur Basketball Syndicate Championship

This past weekend, the Guelph CYO Knights took the title of the Amateur Basketball Syndicate Championship (absbasketball.ca) by defeating the Etobicoke Thunder 64-44.  The win was made more impressive when you consider their "regular season" records in the league --- Guelph went 8-3 while Etobicoke posted a perfect 11-0 mark.

Here's a release that was passed my way regarding the game; you'll note many familiar "CWOSSA names" particularly from Bishop Mac and Guelph Centennial:

The Guelph CYO Major Midget Boys Basketball U16 squad are the Amateur Basketball Syndicate champions.  The Knights claimed the title with an impressive 64-44 win over Ontario Basketball Association Division 1 champions Etobicoke Thunder.  Guelph entered the game as underdogs but quickly established that they were focused and prepared to compete with the taller Thunder.  After a close first quarter the Knights use of a variety of zone defenses began to limit the Thunder’s inside game and Guelph held the edge at halftime, 31-27.  Guelph’s defense stepped up the intensity in the second half and the Knight’s got out in transition, using their team speed and passing to convert Etobicoke turnovers into fast break points.  The fourth quarter saw Guelph navigate through the Thunder’s pressure defense to build a 20 point lead and secure the championship.  Guelph was led by the scoring of Jake Chaput who netted 19 and was later named game MVP.  Chris Poloniato capped off an impressive season by scoring 19 of his own.  Poloniato was recognized for his efforts throughout the season, earning ABS League MVP.  Also scoring for Guelph were,  Evan Hosker 11, Jasmer Brar 10, Mark Shinouda 3 and Simon Chamberlain 2.  Contributing on the defensive end were Marcus Penaloza-Abankwah and Andy Ly.

The league featured several other CWOSSA teams and talents.  The Cambridge Centaurs finished with an 8-3 mark, while the KW Vipers posted a 4-7 mark during the campaign in the 12-team league.

Here's a link to the league stats page; Chris Poloniato was the league's leading scorer with an 18.3 PPG clip, while a couple other CWOSSA players were also in the top 5 --- Zubair Seyed (St. Benedict, 16.2); Justin Hardy (SJAM, 14.4) & Alex Douglas (SBCSS, 13.7).

CWOSSA Alums: Burnatowski Works Out For Raptors

(Via @MBurnatowski Instagram)

Former SJAM Highlander Murphy Burnatowski was among those who participated in pre-draft workouts for the Toronto Raptors today, continuing the strong presence of Canadians involved in the process.

While the start to his pro career is likely overseas, it shows the strong strides Burnatowski has made since his grade nine year at SJAM --- a feature on him in the recent Ontario Cup Program mentioned that he went from "riding the bench on his OBA club team to the Canadian National Senior Men's team through hard work and determination."

Burnatowski averaged 14.2 PPG this past season at Colgate University (NCAA D1), while adding 4.2 RPG and 1.6 APG.  He's a solid shooter from the outside, connecting on 37.9% of his attempts.

He averaged 17+ PPG in the 2012-13 campaign, which was accented by two noticeable scoring efforts against quality opposition in non-conference play --- 24 points & 12 rebounds against Marquette, and 23 points against Illinois.

Burnatowski was also named as Colgate's 2013-14 Male Athlete of the Year.

Here's a look at his video highlights from his time as a Colgate Raider:

Video Vault: Javon Masters 2013-14 CIS Highlights

Here's an awesome highlight video from former WCSSAA MVP Javon Masters' first season in CIS play with the University of New Brunswick:

Basketball Ontario Tri-County TDIP U16 Girls: Tryout Information

Here's the tryout schedule for the Basketball Ontario Tri-County TDIP U16 Girls' team, which takes place this week in Guelph:

Tuesday, May 27th
Location:  JF Ross (Gym 2)
6:30pm (Registration); 7:00-9:00pm (Tryout)

Thursday, May 29th
Location:  Our Lady of Lourdes CSS
7:30pm (Registration); 8:00-10:00pm (Tryout)

CWOSSA Alums: Cvrkalj Receives Scholar Athlete Award; Achonwa Picked 9th in WNBA Draft

Cvrkalj Named Scholar Athlete Award Winner
Stefan Cvrkalj (Bluevale CI '11), who just finished up his junior year at Lehigh University (NCAA D1) in Bethlehem, PA, was named as Lehigh's Scholar-Athlete Award Winner during their annual awards banquet recently.

According to the release, "As an Accounting major, he owns a cumulative GPA of 3.81. Cvrkalj has been named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll every year. He has also excelled on the court, playing in 23 games last season and averaging 4.5 points per game. Cvrkalj scored 14 second-half points at both Navy and vs. Bucknell to lead the Mountain Hawks to key Patriot League wins."

Achonwa Selected 9th Overall by Indiana Fever
Despite a torn ACL that will force her to miss the entire 2014 season, Guelph native Natalie Achonwa was selected 9th overall in the WNBA draft earlier this week.

Achonwa was selected by the Indiana Fever, meaning that those who followed her career at Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana) will be able to keep tabs on her at the professional level, as well.

Achonwa averaged 14.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists for Notre Dame this past season, prior to being injured in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Women's Tournament.  Notre Dame eventually lost in the national championship game to UConn.

"I was just ecstatic that a team took that chance on me on being hurt and not being able to play this season, that they really had faith that I would come back in 2015 and be able to improve and help their team," said Achonwa in an interview with the Guelph Mercury.

The Record: Grand River's Teny Wins Moser Award

Photo via Twitter; @ThalerMade

Article By:  Mark Bryson

WATERLOO — He is one of the hardest working players in Waterloo Region, a vocal leader who pushes his teammates to be the best they can be.
                          

But when Grand River Renegades head coach Tolly Henderson is asked about Chuder Teny's greatest on-court strength, it's his single-handed ability to take over a game that impresses him most.

                          

"He's just an explosive scorer. When he gets on a roll, I don't want to say he's unstoppable, but he can put up big numbers very quickly, and that frees up space for the rest of the team," said Henderson.

"I still don't think he gets the recognition he deserves, but that's changing."

                          

Teny's recognition level received a significant boost on Wednesday night when he was named this year's winner of the Mike Moser Memorial Award as the most valuable player in the Waterloo County senior boys basketball league. The announcement was made during halftime of the WCSSAA boys-girls all-star doubleheader at Waterloo Collegiate Institute.

                          

The Moser award caps a memorable season for Teny, a fifth-year guard who led the Renegades to a berth in the WCSSAA final and a strong showing at the Central Western Ontario championship. He scored a season-high 37 points against the Galt Ghosts in January and scored 20-plus points in nine of 12 WCSSAA regular-season games.

                          

"It's a great honour. I didn't expect to get this but I did put in a lot of work this year, so it's a great feeling," Teny said while clutching his Moser plaque. "It's a great achievement, obviously. Only one player wins it every year and to do it in my final high school game is special."

                          

In addition to being a standout basketball player, Teny is one of the most popular students at Grand River because of his upbeat demeanour and ever-present smile.

                           

"He's just so happy-go-lucky and I've never heard anyone say anything negative about the guy in the five years I've known him. He popular with both teachers and students," said Henderson.

                          

Teny, who came to Canada from Sudan in 2001, is also something of a star in the classroom.

                          

After spending his first-year at Grand River in the fast-forward program that helps students make the transition from the classroom to the workplace, he is now taking university level courses and posting impressive grades.

                          

Several Canadian university basketball programs have expressed an interest in Teny, who hopes to continue his studies and playing career at a post-secondary school.

                          

Teny's award comes just a week after his cousin, Tesloth Simon of the St. Mary's Eagles, captured his second consecutive MVP award in the District 8 league.

 

Retrieved From:  http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/4445047-grand-river-s-teny-wins-moser-award/

GoKnights.ca: Women's Basketball Add Courtney Banham

Photo Courtesy Niagara College Athletics

Retrieved From:  http://goknights.ca/sports/wbkb/2013-14/releases/201403286eazro

The Niagara College department of athletics & recreation is pleased to announce the addition of Courtney Banham to the women's basketball program. Banham attended Waterloo Collegiate Institute and competed as a member of Ontario Basketball Association's KW Lightning.

Niagara College women's basketball head coach Mike Becarria commented "Courtney projects as a talented shooting guard for us. She has good shooting mechanics, a great work ethic, and is exceptionally competitive. She will be a strong addition to our program."

The five-foot-eight Banham will bring the Knights experience and athleticism beginning in September of 2014. The Waterloo native added that her reason for electing to pursue a post-secondary education at Niagara College included "the team and the people. Everyone around the women's basketball program has been great, and the atmosphere and education just seemed right to me."

The Knights will graduate two key members of their 2013-14 back court in second-team OCAA all-star Tara Giallonardo and veteran Katie Beaucock. Looking to fill the void left by the departure of his experienced guards, the recruitment of Banham was a 'key focus' said Beccaria.

Banham will enroll in the Niagara College pre-health sciences program, but has the goal of graduating from multiple Niagara College programs in years to come. She continued "I want to succeed in my program right away, and transition that success into the college's Dental Hygiene program down the road."

The Knights enjoyed a strong season in 2013-14, finishing with a record of 11-7. Banham continued "on the court, my goal is to grow as a player and I feel like Coach Becarria can help me achieve that. I really want to help build on the team's success."