Lions leaving lacrosse legacy

St. Vital

The girls’ lacrosse team at Glenlawn Collegiate recently finished its season in style – and will leave a lasting legacy.

Now in its fourth year in the program, the St. Vital-based team won its first Manitoba High School Field Lacrosse League division 1 championship, beating Sturgeon Heights Collegiate 8-7 on June 14 at Shaughnessy Park Field.

Grade 12 student Vayda Rigaux, a midfielder, said as the season — which started in April — progressed, she started to believe the Lions could go all the way and win the title, adding that in the championship game the team went two goals up with a couple of minutes to go, so it was a case keeping hold of possession until the final whistle.

“It feels great,” said Rigaux, 18, who was preparing to graduate at press time. “It definitely means a lot to us to be champions at the end of the season. This honestly makes it harder to leave high school now … because of all the people I’ve met and all the fun and success I’ve had.”

Grade 12 student Heather Williams, who plays in attack, echoed the fact the championship win makes it harder to graduate with spirits flying so high, but is grateful for the experience and opportunity, and has enjoyed her time playing lacrosse at the school.

“A lot of us feel like it’s the field version of hockey,” Williams, 18, said. “It’s outdoor sport, and we all like being outside at this time of year. The lacrosse community in Manitoba is small, so there’s lots of opportunities for players to get involved.”

Both Rigaux and Williams have been on the team since the ninth grade, the year the girls’ lacrosse program started at the school, so they’ll be leaving a legacy for future players to aspire to.

Team manager for the last four years Cheryl Thacker — who is also affectionately known as “team mom” and also manages the Glenlawn boys’ team – is proud of the achievements of the players.

Thacker explained for the previous three seasons, the team comprised of six players and this season it was eight, so that was an adjustment, in terms of rules and set-up, the girls handled well and worked hard to adapt to.

“It’s been an incredible year,” Thacker said, noting that due to a communication oversight, the team went into the first game of the season learning on its feet.

“We literally started to play women’s eights in our first game … and went into that first game needing to learn how to play. We’ve had some tough losses, and some great wins.”

“I’m so proud of the girls.”