Mariners defend volleyball crown
Roster of multi-sport athletes short in stature but long in drive and athletic ability
The Earl Marriott Mariners have put a dent in the idea of sports specialization being integral.
The No. 1-seeded boys’ volleyball team bumped off the No. 2 Kelowna Owls 3-1 (1925, 25-14, 25-11, 25-14) last Saturday at the Langley Events Centre in the triple-A provincial final. It’s the second consecutive B.C. crown for the Surrey-based Mariners and the third straight for five members of the 10-player squad that also won it all in junior boys two seasons ago.
Talon McMullin captured the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award this time around, while twin brother Takoda McMullin was named
to the first all-star team. They’re both rugby standouts who helped Earl Marriott capture the triple-A high school title last spring, and they both have Rugby Canada experience.
Talon was awarded a bursary by B.C. Rugby in September to assist him in achieving his “national and international rugby goals.”
As well, Earl Marriott’s Josh Quiring was named to the tournament’s second all-star team. He plays for the school’s basketball team and club soccer for Delta Coastal.
Other multi-sport athletes on the Mariners include: Darius Opdam Bak, a pitcher with White Rock Tritons of the B.C. Premier Baseball League; and Keegan Aves, who played rugby with the McMullin twins last spring and plays club soccer with both Quiring and Ryan Brown.
It’s a group that was short on height. While Noah Halladay is 6-foot-7, no one else on the Earl Marriott squad is taller than 6-foot-2.
Takoda McMullin and
Quiring were towered over by their fellow all-stars in the post-tournament photos.
“We were very small for volleyball,” said Josh’s father, team coach Dale Quiring said.
The team loses seven players to graduation.
HOOPS FOR HOWIE HONOURS AT LEC
While the LEC was home to high school volleyball last week, it hosted high school basketball this weekend with the boys’ hoops version of the Tsumura Basketball Invitational tournament.
The tournament is named after Howard Tsumura, the longtime Province sports reporter who now runs the varsityletters.ca website.
The championship final was played on Saturday night.
The TBI girls tournament is scheduled for Dec. 11-14 at the LEC.
As well this weekend, the No Regrets Tournament wrapped up at Collingwood School.
The tournament is run by the Quinn Keast Foundation. A star player with the Handsworth Royals, he died in June of 2006 after being struck by a transit bus while on his way to an after-grad party in downtown Vancouver. “No regrets” was one of his mantras.
RAVENS HAVE SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT
The Terry Fox Ravens of Port Coquitlam beat the Walnut
Grove Gators of Langley 77-72 to win the senior girls’ final at the Big Ticket tournament in Abbotsford.
Meanwhile, the Abbotsford Panthers bounced their crosstown rival Yale Lions 94-86 in the senior boys’ championship game.
The Big Ticket, in its second year, is looking to become the preeminent season-opening tournament. It attracted 104 teams split between junior girls, junior boys, senior girls and senior boys.
Sponsors VenueKings.com and The Onni Group gave out $1,000 scholarships to 40 players, as well.