High School

Vikings, Crusaders claim provincial crowns

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Monday, Dec. 1, 2025

The Vincent Massey Vikings left no doubt that the best volleyball program in the province still resides in Brandon.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Weather

Jan. 16, 12 AM: -9°c Cloudy with wind Jan. 16, 6 AM: -13°c Cloudy with wind

Winnipeg MB

0°C, Light rain with wind

Full Forecast

St. Paul’s and Dakota to go head-to-head for boys provincial volleyball glory

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Preview

St. Paul’s and Dakota to go head-to-head for boys provincial volleyball glory

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025

Few have been able to contain the St. Paul’s Crusaders’ offence this year, and that trend continued Thursday night.

Read
Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS

Dakota Lancers’ Jordan Bagnas spikes the ball while the Steinbach Sabres’ Joseph LeClair (No. 15) goes for the block Thursday night.

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
                                Dakota Lancers’ Jordan Bagnas spikes the ball while the Steinbach Sabres’ Joseph LeClair (No. 15) goes for the block Thursday night.

Vikings on verge of championship repeat

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Preview

Vikings on verge of championship repeat

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025

If the Vincent Massey Vikings were nervous entering a pressure-packed match with a trip to a second consecutive provincial championship at stake, they weren’t apparent.

The Brandon-based juggernaut looked every bit of a squad with designs on extending its reign Wednesday evening.

The Vikings showed few cracks in their collective armour as they cruised to a 3-0 (25-23; 25-18; 25-8) victory over the Sturgeon Heights Huskies in the first semifinal of the AAAA varsity girls volleyball provincials at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

“This season, we’ve been starting pretty slow, so our goal was to have a great start, and it really showed,” said left side Hannah McGregor, who was named the No. 1 player in the province by a panel of coaches last week.

Read
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025

BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS

Vincent Massey Vikings left side Hannah McGregor bumps the ball during second set action.

BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS
                                Vincent Massey Vikings left side Hannah McGregor bumps the ball during second set action.

Mancer cruises to No. 1 on top volleyball list

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Preview

Mancer cruises to No. 1 on top volleyball list

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

Liam Mancer expected nothing less of himself.

So when the 17-year-old heard he was voted the top high school volleyball player in the province by a panel of coaches, an obvious sense of elation ensued — Mancer immediately called his mom to tell her the news — but there was also a feeling of validation. Mancer knew he was capable of receiving this distinction all along.

“I definitely did put that pressure on myself, but I tried to keep it as a second-hand thing, and ignore it,” said Mancer, a Grade 12 left side for the St. Paul’s Crusaders.

“The only thing that really matters to me is the team’s success, and then my success is second. So the pressure that I put on myself, I would say I used it in a positive way, and I didn’t really let it affect me negatively. Even if I had a bad game, I realized it happens, and I’m a good player, and I’m gonna bounce back.”

Read
Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

SUPPLIED

Liam Mancer

SUPPLIED
                                Liam Mancer

Vikings’ McGregor growing into all-around player

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Vikings’ McGregor growing into all-around player

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

Hannah McGregor went from fearful to fearless in a matter of weeks.

The 16-year-old confessed that she was timid about playing a bigger role for the reigning provincial champion, the Vincent Massey Vikings, at the beginning of the season.

With the program’s star outside hitter, Jersey Hansen-Young, graduated and off to play for the University of Manitoba Bisons, McGregor — who was already important to the Vikings’ success in Grade 10 — would command the spotlight as the go-to hitter on a team with major expectations.

“At the start of the season, I was scared because I did have moments where I wasn’t at my best, and I felt like that never really happened with Jersey,” McGregor said Friday.

Read
Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS FILES

Vincent Massey (Brandon) Vikings left side Hannah McGregor (right) spikes the volleyball in last year’s semifinals game against the Steinbach Sabres.

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS FILES
                                Vincent Massey (Brandon) Vikings left side Hannah McGregor (right) spikes the volleyball in last year’s semifinals game against the Steinbach Sabres.

High school football player who suffered neck injury dies

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Preview

High school football player who suffered neck injury dies

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

The family of a Winnipeg high school football player is mourning his death following a severe neck injury he sustained in a game earlier this month.

Read
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

DGN PHOTOS

Sisler Spartans lineman Darius Hartshorne, 17, died after he was injured in a game on Oct. 17.

DGN Photos
                                Sisler Spartans lineman Darius Hartshorne, 17, died after he was injured in a game on Oct. 17.

Tragedy strikes high school football player

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Tragedy strikes high school football player

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025

Doctors fear a Winnipeg high school football player will be paralyzed from the neck down after sustaining a severe neck injury during a game last Friday.

The crushing prognosis was delivered to the family of Darius Hartshorne, who underwent an emergency surgery that required a spinal fusion and decompression of his vertebrae Friday evening.

In what has been described as a freak accident, the Grade 12 student, who plays on the offensive and defensive line for the Sisler Spartans, received a short opening kickoff before awkwardly colliding with a tackling player of the Tec Voc Hornets.

Paramedics were sent to the scene and rushed him to Health Sciences Centre for an emergency procedure that lasted more than six hours.

Read
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025

Royals host historic rumble against Pirates

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Preview

Royals host historic rumble against Pirates

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025

In the days and hours leading up to kickoff, head coach Brett Delisle-Boughen harped on one message to his players: what they were doing was unprecedented at Windsor Park Collegiate.

Read
Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS

Windsor Park Collegiate Royals’ Elliot Aguilar (7) runs the ball against the Grant Park Pirates Tuesday in the Royals inaugural game. Head coach Brett Delisle-Boughen already has a succession plan to create a 12-on-12 varsity program next season.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
                                Windsor Park Collegiate Royals’ Elliot Aguilar (7) runs the ball against the Grant Park Pirates Tuesday in the Royals inaugural game. Head coach Brett Delisle-Boughen already has a succession plan to create a 12-on-12 varsity program next season.

Springfield Sabres continue tradition of midnight practice

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Preview

Springfield Sabres continue tradition of midnight practice

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 11, 2025

The Springfield Collegiate Sabres are wasting no time kicking off their 2025 football season next week.

As soon as the clock strikes midnight on Monday, Aug. 18, the Sabres — a high school team from Oakbank competing in the Winnipeg High School Football League — will take to the field for their first practice of the year under the lights of the Oakbank Community Centre.

The unique tradition, known as midnight practice, was introduced to the team by head coach Tom Walls back in 2022.

“Football is a difficult sport,” said Walls. “Not everybody gets to touch the ball. There’s a whole lot of sacrifice that goes into it. So if you’re going to run a program that attracts kids to do things that are inherently uncomfortable, you have to do things that are different or keep it relevant every year, and every year we try to do something brand new and different. And this year was the year to bring back the midnight practice again.”

Read
Monday, Aug. 11, 2025

SUPPLIED

This will be the fourth season the Springfield Collegiate Sabres kick off the high school football season with a midnight practice. The tradition was introduced by head coach Tom Walls back in 2022.

SUPPLIED
                                This will be the fourth season the Springfield Collegiate Sabres kick off the high school football season with a midnight practice. The tradition was introduced by head coach Tom Walls back in 2022.

Annual high school alumni basketball tourney tips off Friday

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Preview

Annual high school alumni basketball tourney tips off Friday

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025

Some high school rivalries never die, especially when it comes to sports.

And reigniting that fire are Calvin Diaz and Joseph Medrano, who are giving alumni from high schools across Winnipeg the chance to run it back on the court and see if their school still has what it takes.

The Run It Back Alumni Basketball Tournament, now in its third year, has already seen plenty of success, bringing together players from the graduating classes of 2022 all the way back to 1999 to face off against old rivals.

This year, 16 teams will make their way to the Duckworth Centre downtown from Aug. 8-10 to compete in the tournament.

Read
Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025

SUPPLIED

Run It Back high school alumni basketball tournament organizers Calvin Diaz (left) (Supplied)

SUPPLIED
                                Run It Back high school alumni basketball tournament organizers Calvin Diaz (left) (Supplied)

Durand, Carlos named high school Athletes of the Year

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Preview

Durand, Carlos named high school Athletes of the Year

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025

It’s all about balance for Payton Durand, who went from sport to sport in her final year of high school at Collège Jeanne-Sauvé and found success in all of them.

From juggling volleyball to hockey, with track and field, badminton and softball mixed in, it’s been a busy but rewarding high school experience for Durand, who finished off senior year being awarded this year’s MHSAA Athlete of the Year Award, announced today at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

“It’s so important,” said Durand on time management. “My last four years of high school, that’s basically all it’s been. Time management, scheduling in when I could do my assignments and when I could get an extra training or practice and all that for sports and also balancing my friendships.”

During hockey season, Durand left her mark, being named league all-star, playoff top scorer and Division 1 Most Valuable Player, on top of leading the Olympiens girls hockey team to a Division 1 MWHSHL championship.

Read
Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025

ZOE PIERCE / FREE PRESS

Awards for the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association A, AA and AAA levels were announced on Wednesday at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. From left: Payton Durand, Chael Rozdeba, Ky Solomon, Colby Darragh, Shannon Bodnarus, Kai Gaudet, Junior Martine, Magnus Carlos.

ZOE PIERCE / FREE PRESS
                                Awards for the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association A, AA and AAA levels were announced on Wednesday at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. From left: Payton Durand, Chael Rozdeba, Ky Solomon, Colby Darragh, Shannon Bodnarus, Kai Gaudet, Junior Martine, Magnus Carlos.

High school scholar athletes honoured

Joshua Frey-Sam 3 minute read Preview

High school scholar athletes honoured

Joshua Frey-Sam 3 minute read Friday, Jun. 20, 2025

FOUR graduating student-athletes were named recipients of the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s Scholar Athlete of the Year on Thursday.

Heleyna Moniz, Nico Nadeau, Ryleigh Schellenberg and Taylor Schepp stood out among a group of 51 nominees province-wide for being exceptional in the classroom, the community and sports throughout the 2024-25 school year.

Each winner was awarded a $2,000 scholarship for maintaining a minimum 85 per cent average in their academics while playing in at least two interscholastic sports.

Moniz, a student of St. Boniface Diocesan High School, finished the year with a near-perfect 99.6 per cent average in the classroom while playing five sports and being a consistent volunteer at her church.

Read
Friday, Jun. 20, 2025

Dakota Lancers basketball guard Taylor Schepp (left) was one of four graduating student-athletes named recipients of the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s Scholar Athlete of the Year on Thursday. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

Dakota Lancers basketball guard Taylor Schepp (left) was one of four graduating student-athletes named recipients of the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s Scholar Athlete of the Year on Thursday. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

Air quality warnings impacting Manitoba amateur, professional athletes alike

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Preview

Air quality warnings impacting Manitoba amateur, professional athletes alike

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 6, 2025

This year’s Manitoba High School Athletic Association Provincial Track and Field Championships have been cancelled due to ongoing air quality concerns caused by wildfires in the province, making conditions unsafe.

More than 1,500 athletes from grades 9 through 12 were set to compete in the three-day competition planned for June 5–7 at University Stadium on the University of Manitoba campus.

The MHSAA had originally postponed all scheduled events on Thursday to Friday, hoping air quality would improve, but updated at 6:15 a.m. today that the event would be cancelled entirely.

The MHSAA air quality protocol states, “Poor air quality can impact the health and performance of outdoor sport participants, including athletes, coaches and sports officials. The MHSAA recognizes the potential short and long-term health effects of engaging in physical activity outdoors when the air quality is poor, and is fully committed to reducing the risk posed to outdoor sport participants to help contribute to safer outdoor activities and events.”

Read
Friday, Jun. 6, 2025

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS

This is the first time the Manitoba Provincial Track and Field Championships have been cancelled over unsafe air quality levels from wildfire smoke.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
                                This is the first time the Manitoba Provincial Track and Field Championships have been cancelled over unsafe air quality levels from wildfire smoke.

Léo-Rémillard takes title after last year’s heartbreaker final

Zoe Pierce 3 minute read Preview

Léo-Rémillard takes title after last year’s heartbreaker final

Zoe Pierce 3 minute read Thursday, Jun. 5, 2025

The Léo-Rémillard varsity girls’ soccer team came close to missing out on the Manitoba High School Athletic Association provincials altogether this year. They had one shot to prove themselves, and with a 1-0 win over Lord Selkirk, they clinched a wildcard spot.

Once they had punched their ticket, there was no stopping the future provincial champions, who claimed the title after defeating the Kelvin Clippers 3-2.

After falling just short in last year’s final in a close 2-1 match against Balmoral Hall, the group was eager for a shot at redemption.

The path to victory was not easy, according to head coach Hafeez Khan, whose team defeated the top schools in the tournament last weekend, including eventual consolation champions Vincent Massey, third-place Miles Macdonell, and a strong Clippers team in the final to claim gold on May 31.

Read
Thursday, Jun. 5, 2025

Hafeez Khan Photo

The Kelvin Clippers challenge the Léo-Rémillard Renards for the ball in the championship game.

Hafeez Khan Photo
                                The Kelvin Clippers challenge the Léo-Rémillard Renards for the ball in the championship game.

Garden City takes back high school provincial title

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Preview

Garden City takes back high school provincial title

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 2, 2025

Four years and three championships for Jackson Thiessen and the Garden City Gophers, who won yet another MHSAA Baseball Provincial Championship this past weekend.

For the Grade 12 student, Thiessen has seen his team make it to at least the semifinals four years in a row, their only provincials loss coming last year against the Garden Valley Zodiacs in a tight 3-2 game.

But the Gophers can’t seem to stay away from gold for long, defeating the Steinbach Regional Sabres 13-1 at Stonewall Quarry Park on Saturday.

“I wanted to end it on a good note,” said Thiessen. “Winning it all and to actually come out on top meant a lot more to me because it’s my last year there, and it just makes the win so much more memorable.”

Read
Monday, Jun. 2, 2025

Donnie Smith Photo

Grade 12 Jackson Thiessen has three championships with the Garden City Gophers.

Donnie Smith Photo
                                Grade 12 Jackson Thiessen has three championships with the Garden City Gophers.

Co-op team claims top prize at softball provincials

Cassidy Dankochik 4 minute read Preview

Co-op team claims top prize at softball provincials

Cassidy Dankochik 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 2, 2025

STONEWALL — La Broquerie’s École Saint-Joachim and St Pierre-Jolys’ École communautaire Réal-Bérard are a pair of small French schools from Manitoba’s southeast, but they certainly pack a punch when it comes to fastpitch.

The two schools’ co-op team blasted through the rest of the competition at the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association softball championships, hosted at Stonewall Quarry Park on Friday and Saturday. An 11-3 mercy rule victory over AAAA school Vincent Massey (Brandon) Vikings capped off an undefeated season for the Braves.

“We’re talking about maybe 250 students,” head coach Pat Tetrault said after the game. “We don’t make for quantity we make for quality… There’s some tough schools, some good teams out here.”

École Saint-Joachim and Réal- Bérard took control of the final early, plating eight runs in the first inning after a Massey home run scored two in the top half of the inning. Brynn Maynard’s double scored three, turning a 2-2 tie into a 5-2 advantage which never looked in danger of evaporating.

Read
Monday, Jun. 2, 2025

Cassidy Dankochik / THE CARILLON

The École Saint-Joachim and Réal-Bérard Braves celebrate their Manitoba High Schools Athletics Association title, capping off their undefeated season on Saturday with a dominant win over Vincent Massey (Brandon).

Cassidy Dankochik / THE CARILLON
                                The École Saint-Joachim and Réal-Bérard Braves celebrate their Manitoba High Schools Athletics Association title, capping off their undefeated season on Saturday with a dominant win over Vincent Massey (Brandon).

LOAD MORE