Crusaders capture AAAA varsity boys volleyball title

Manitoba’s high school volleyball championship tournaments in all boys and girls classifications wrapped up over the past couple of weeks.

The final events of championship season were the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s varsity AAAA finals, played Dec. 1 at Investors Group Athletic Centre at the University of Manitoba.

In the boys’ final, St. Paul’s High School’s Crusaders cruised past Dakota Collegiate’s Lancers in straight sets (25-14; 25-19; 25-18), behind 6-7 hitter Liam Mancer’s 18 kills.

Crusaders Oluwafisayomi Sofoluwe and James Zang were named to the tournament all-star team, while Mancer was named the tournament MVP.

Lancers, Olympiens fall in AAAA volleyball finals

Manitoba’s high school volleyball championship tournaments in all boys and girls classifications wrapped up over the past couple of weeks.

The final events of championship season were the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s varsity AAAA finals, played Dec. 1 at Investors Group Athletic Centre at the University of Manitoba.

In the girls final, Brandon’s Vincent Massey High School Vikings defeated the Collège Jeanne-Sauvé Olympiens in four sets (25-15, 26-24, 23-25, 25-17) to win the school’s second straight championship. The Vikings were led by tournament MVP Hannah McGregor, a 16-year-old, Grade 11 hitter who led all players with 25 kills.

Although the Olympiens were defeated in the final match, three of their players earned individual honours. Linnae Johnson won the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba players’ choice award, while teammates Celeste Pelletier and Amara Shams were named to the tournament all-star team.

Sports in brief — week of Dec. 10, 2025

Winnipeg Rifles players named to all-star team, win awards

A number of Winnipeg Rifles players were recognized for their exceptional play in the Canadian Junior Football League this past season.

Receiver Jarome Penner and quarterback Riley Element were named to Prairie Football Conference’s offensive all-star team, while linebacker Kyler Banfield and punter Gabriel Yaipen were named defensive all-stars. Receiver Simon Leckie and defensive back Nigel Reader were named to the all-rookie team. Penner also won the PFC’s outstanding receiver award, Element the outstanding quarterback award, while Banfield was named both outstanding linebacker and outstanding defensive player.

Penner and Banfield were also recognized as first-team All-Canadians by the CJFL.

Railer Express on track so far

The Transcona Railer Express are rolling through the competition so far this season.

At the start of December, the Railer Express held a 15-2-1 record, good for second place in the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League, only one point back of defending champions the St. Boniface Riels, ahead of a Dec. 5 game between the two clubs (the result was unavailable at press time).

“They’re really fast and transition well, especially through the neutral zone,” longtime coach Derek Gagnon said ahead of the Riels matchup. “They don’t spend a lot of time in their zone. So when we do get in there, hopefully we can make it count.”

The Railer Express had scored the most goals per game at 4.83, while earning the second-best goals against average at 1.89 and the league’s second-best penalty kill, operating at 90.4 per cent. Starting goaltender Sage Delaronde held a 1.74 GAA and 0.941 save percentage, second only to top ’tender Owen LaRocque of St. B.

School water polo champions crowned

The waters at Pan Am Pool were a-churning recently, and the stands were bumping as the Manitoba Water Polo Association’s school league champions were crowned following an intense weekend of playoff and final action on Nov. 29 and 30.

In the end, St. Mary’s Academy won the girls high school championship, Vincent Massey took home the boys high school title, and teams from École Viscount Alexander were the middle school winners and runners-up.

“It was a very exciting weekend of water polo,” said Lisa Cuppels, past-president of the MWPA. “For us, the true success story is St. Mary’s Academy, as this is only their third year in the league. Most of their athletes came from competitive swimming and were convinced to give water polo a try. Many of them have since joined the Vortex club in Winnipeg, and at least one of them is playing at the highest level of competition that we have in water polo for club players.”

“We’re feeling great,” said James Villa, teacher and water polo coach at St. Mary’s. “It was a really long season, with lots of effort. The girls played their hearts out and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Baseball HOF names 2026 class

The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame announced its induction class for 2026 last month, and the country hardballers dominate. Seven individuals will be honoured and just one, Ed Kulyk, is from Winnipeg. In the minor team category, Winnipeg is represented by the South Chiefs AAA peewee/bantam teams for the three seasons from 2008 to 2010.

The other individual inductees are Nate Andrews from Brandon; Darrell McElroy from Darlingford; Larry Nicholson, who grew up on a farm near Neepawa; Garth White from Neepawa; Guy Yerama from Gilbert Plains; and Lorna Robertson of Hamiota.

Kulyk is described as an organizer and builder of the Elmwood Giants, one of the top baseball organizations in the province. Between 2016 and 2025, his Giants 22U AAA team reached the Manitoba Junior Baseball League final every season and won six championships. In 2023, the Giants won the national title and in 2024 the Western Canada championship. His individual awards include being named Baseball Manitoba high performance coach of the year and MJBL manager of the year both on two occasions.

Kulyk served on the Giants’ board of directors and as chief administrator of Koskie Field where the team plays its home games. In that role, he was in charge of diamond scheduling, field maintenance, capital projects and upgrades, insurance, field security, and revenue collection. I wonder if his revenue collection duties included passing the hat between innings to collect donations from fans.

‘Like the sun on a rainy day’

Isla Taylor is 10 years old and attends Sansome School in Westwood.

“My favorite class is gym,” she said. “My teacher, Ms. Paul, makes the day exciting and I love seeing my friends, doing sports council, and being a patrol.”

Isla loves school and she also really, really likes sports.

“I play hockey, swimming, tennis, golf, softball, and handball and I want to start ultimate and volleyball next,” she said.

Living the dream

Keylyn Filewich is living her dream.

The southwest Winnipeg native and basketball player has signed a contract with Östersund Basket in Sweden’s premier women’s basketball league, SBL Dam, marking her fourth season as a professional player.

Prior to her move to the Scandinavian nation, the former University of Winnipeg forward (who has also played centre during her career) spent time in Germany’s second tier with VfL VIACTIV-AstroLadies Bochum, where the team won the championship in her last year, when she also finished the season as MVP.

“When I finished in Germany, I wanted another chance to experience a different culture, and I had a teammate in Bochum who had played in Sweden and spoke very highly about the experience and bought into (head coach Max Tandberg Vall’s) vision,” Filewich, 27, said.

Defending MMJHL champs off to red-hot start

The St. Boniface Riels are sending a message to opponents: watch out!

The defending Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League champions were undefeated in regulation time through the first 14 games of the season to sit atop the 10-team loop with a quarter of the 2025-26 schedule played. The Riels lost 4-3 in a shootout neighbourhood rivals the St. Vital Junior Victorias on Nov. 18, then lost 3-1 to the Charleswood Hawks on Nov. 21. The Riels were back in the win column again with a decisive 8-3 win over the Fort Garry/Fort Rouge Twins on Nov. 23.

“It’s been a great start for us,” coach Paul Kastes said ahead of the Nov. 21 game. “It’s something we’re really proud in, and a lot has to do with the foundation we built last year. If you throw the playoffs in, that’s 25-1-1. It’s been an interesting run.”

At press time, the Riels held first place in the MMJHL with 29 points, two up on second place Transcona Railer Express, eight points ahead of third place Charleswood.

Packing a punch

Eric Marshall leans back on one of his custom-built springers in the dim light of a private shop. Underneath the brim of his baseball cap, a painful-looking shiner darkens his right eye.

Marshall is a boxer — one of 16 Manitobans who will fight in Boxing Canada’s 2025 Elite National Championships, set for Nov. 26 to 30 at the Sport Manitoba building (145 Pacific St.), the first time in 30 years that Boxing Canada’s elite competition has been held in Winnipeg.

Elite nationals are for amateur boxers over 18 years old, with each provincial association allowed to enter two fighters in each male and female weight class.

When he’s not training, Marshall builds custom motorcycles and owns and operates his own business, Northern Springers. The bikes are put together at his shop and typically sold to buyers in the U.S.

Sport Manitoba scholarships awarded

Sport Manitoba recently awarded $24,450 in academic scholarships to 21 high school students, six university students, and six Manitoba coaches.

“Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients,” Janet McMahon, president and CEO of Sport Manitoba, said in a statement. “We’re proud to support such dedicated student-athletes and coaches who are striving for excellence both in sport and in the classroom. We wish you continued success as you pursue your goals and the new opportunities ahead.”

Local winners of Manitoba Foundation for Sport high school scholarships, valued at $750, include: Winnipeggers Isabella Johnston (J.H. Bruns Collegiate, soccer); Jacob Yee (Vincent Massey Collegiate, tennis); Jayden Del Camp Bucklery (Kelvin High School, water polo); Mila Kerr (Balmoral Hall, disc, soccer, volleyball); and Avery Au (J.H. Bruns Collegiate, volleyball, ringette).

Oakbank’s Ireland Tymchak (Churchill High School, hockey, ball hockey); Narol’s Izabella Mann (Miles Macdonell Collegiate, hockey, athletics) and Headingley’s Delaney Groot (Westwood Collegiate, volleyball) also earned scholarships.

Sporting tales explore our history

This columnist could be described as a book collector, but a more accurate description might be book accumulator. For example. The Society for International Hockey Research maintains a publication database for its members and my list currently shows 1,534 books.

Have I read every one? Of course not.

If you go to the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame website and search under the History tab, you will find a bibliography I produced that lists more than 175 publications and videos with a connection to hockey in our province. I guarantee you will be surprised by some of the subjects and individuals covered. If you search library catalogues and online, you will find books about Manitoba baseball, boxing, cricket, curling, cycling, figure skating, football, golf, horse racing, paddling, rugby, skiing, softball, track and field, and volleyball, as well as books on local subjects such as Indigenous, Jewish and Ukrainian sports organizations and personalities.

The advent of self-publishing in recent years has led to budding authors publishing books on subjects and people that would have been of interest to traditional publishers. The majority can best be decribed as labours of love; perhaps written to relate to a specific event or timeline. For example, in 2005 when The Pas TeePees were being inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame, I wrote and self-published a small book titled Baseball in The Pas, the Polar League and The Pas TeePees. A copy was presented to every team member at the induction in Morden and copies have been placed in related libraries.

Giants win AAAA Tier 2 football championship

The Giants brought a championship football banner home to Elmwood.

In the Winnipeg High School Football League AAAA Tier 2 final, Elmwood defeated the West Kildonan Wolverines 35-6 on Nov. 10. The Giants went 6-1-0 in league play this season, capping the season off with victory in the final at the Fort Garry Lions Football Club field.

In AAAA Tier 1 action, Oak Park defeated Dakota 22-17 on Nov. 6, while Oak Park’s junior varsity 12-player squad beat Dakota 48-21 earlier in the month.

Football champions crowned

Oak Park has another championship banner.

The Winnipeg High School Football League’s AAAA Tier 1 final between the Dakota Lancers and Oak Park Raiders was held on Nov. 6 at Princess Auto Stadium, with Oak Park earning the championship banner with a 22-17 win over Dakota.

The victory was Oak Park’s first championship in 11 years and stymied Dakota’s attempt to three-peat. Earlier in the week, Oak Park also won the junior varsity 12-man crown with a 48-21 decision over Dakota.

St. Norbert defeated Dryden 10-0 to win the AAA division crown, also on Nov. 6 at Princess Auto Stadium. In the AAAA Tier 2 final, Elmwood Giants defeated the West Kildonan Wolverines 35-6.

Meet an up-and-coming rugby star

Tylie Fraser is an 18-year-old rugby player who graduated from Collège Jeanne-Sauvé in June.

Tylie played hockey in high school, but she absolutely loves rugby and even helped revitalize and recruit a team at CJS, leading the Olympiens to a second-place finish in the Winnipeg High School Rugby development league.

“I love rugby because the moment I step onto the field, everything else fades away… the stress, the noise, the chaos of everyday life. It’s just me, my teammates, and the game,” she explained.

“There’s something special about the rugby community, it’s more than a sport, it’s a family,” she said. “No matter where you go, there’s always someone ready to back you up, cheer you on, or just share a laugh after the game.”