Griffins End Season With a Gold and Silver
Wallaceburg’s intermediate men and women’s teams finished their seasons on a high note.
The Lady Griffins took home a silver medal on Tuesday August 5th in Whitby while the men’s team struck gold on Thursday August 7th.
The women’s team had a dominating performance in the tournament with five wins and zero loses before entering the finals. The Lady Griffins won their first two games on August 4th, as they defeated Kitchener 4-2 and Clarington 9-4. The ladies continued their winning streak defeating London 3-0 and Hamilton 5-0. Finally, the women’s team took one more win against Six Nations before heading to the finals to face Clarington. Unfortunately, the women could not continue their winning ways, as Clarington defeated the Lady Griffins 6-2 in the gold medal game.
The intermediate men’s team also had a commanding performance at the tournament with a 6-0 record. In their first two games of the tournament the men beat Oshawa 8-4 and Arthur 6-5. The Griffins earned their next three wins of the tournament beating Sun County 10-3, Uxbridge 5-4 and Markham 9-2. These wins solidified the men a place in the finals to face off again against Oshawa. The Griffins proved they were the top team of the tournament defeating Oshawa in the finals by a score of 6-3.
Head coach Jason Fox says this is a great accomplishment for all of Wallaceburg’s lacrosse. “It really justifies the importance of what all the coaches, trainers, managers and executive members do. It really shows younger kids that they still have a place to enjoy competitive lacrosse even if they chose not to pursue the junior level,” says Fox. “With the accomplishments both for the boys and girls intermediate teams my hope is that this really sparks interest in the game at all levels for years to come.”
Fox says these wins will help promote the Griffin’s intermediate teams. “My hope is that the publicity and exposure from both intermediate teams success will have the positive spinoff of a surge of new players next year that will enable us to continue to grow and thrive for years to come.”
In the future, Fox says he wants to continue the growth of the Griffins intermediate team. “We need to work hard and focus more in the limited time that we have compared to other age groups. Maximizing opportunities and time management for the players is key to the success of the program,” says Fox. “My work begins a few months before the season by communicating with returning players and recruiting new players to ensure the growth in the age group that we require so we can continue having success next season and years to come.”