Wildcats Climb Into Provincial Elite
The Chatham-Kent Wildcats are continuing to prove why their teams are considered amongst the best in Ontario. This past weekend, the U10 Novice, U11 Atom, and U12 Major Atom Chatham-Kent Wildcats all participated in the Ontario Cup Provincial Championships. The Wildcats ended up winning a bronze in the U11 Division I level, and a silver in the U12 Division V.
The U10 Novice tournament, which was hosted in Chatham at the Pines, St. Clair College, and John McGregor, drew thousands of athletes, family members, and fans into Chatham over the weekend. Playing in Division III, the Chatham-Kent Wildcats lost their first game Friday night 22-18 to the Toronto Triple Threat. Saturday, the U10 Wildcats lost a pair of nailbiter games, 22-18 to the St. Catherines Rebels, and 24-20 to Brantford CYO.
In the U11 Atom age group, the Chatham-Kent Wildcats entered the tournament as the 4th ranked team in Ontario, in the top, Division I category. Chatham-Kent opened the tournament Friday night defeating the Blessed Sacrament-Hewitt team 35-23. Saturday, the Wildcats continued their winning ways, defeating the Dundas Dynamo 41-33. Later in the day, Chatham-Kent would suffer their first loss of the tournament, dropping a 39-30 decision to Transway.
The 2-1 record for the U11 CK Wildcats however would be enough to advance the team to the semi-finals Sunday facing a tough Blessed Sacrament-Nardini team. Blessed Sacrament-Nardini was too strong for the Wildcats however, sending them to a 34-29 loss, and a berth in the bronze medal game.
With little rest, the U11 Chatham-Kent Wildcats took to the court against Toronto Triple Threat, beating Toronto 34-20 to grab the bronze medal.
Playing in Division V, the U12 Chatham-Kent Wildcats dominated their first Ontario Cup game Friday evening winning 37-6. Saturday morning, the Wildcats would drop a game to the Windsor Valiants 19-15 before battling to an important win over the Brampton Warriors 37-31. With a 2-1 record, the Wildcats would advance to the semi-finals Sunday morning against the Ottawa Shooting Stars.
In the semi-final, the Chatham-Kent Wildcats continued their winning ways defeating Ottawa 22-13, to advance to the Ontario final. In the final, facing the Windsor Valiants, the Wildcats battled to the end, but eventually fell by the narrow margin of 28-24, to win a Division V Provincial Silver Medal.