Leaside High School’s girls standard team buoyed by Sabrina Adair at OFSAA
Leaside High School’s Sabrina Adair had her eye on the gold prize at the Ontario High School Archery Invitational Tournament, May 18-19.
Unfortunately, that medal eluded the 17-year-old. Still, the anchor of the Lancers girls’ standard team, did not leave Richmond Hill, Ont. without a medal, as she claimed bronze with a score of 399.
For her, it’s not about the physical reminder of her great memories.
“The great thing about archery is it’s such a great community,” she said, in an early June phone interview. “It’s a small group of friends who go out to the competitions, so at the end of the day it’s more of an experience rather than the actual medals you come home with.”
That’s not to say she didn’t earn a gold during her time. At the Citys, held at John Polanyi CI in May, scored a 408 for top spot.
In addition to her individual bronze at OFSAA, she also earned a second in the girls standard, who won bronze with a total score of 1191.
Members of the troupe included Maya Fang (15th), Rachel Hill (20th), Maria Botos (21st) and Maggie Chang (31st). Representing the boys at OFSAA for Leaside were Stephen Choi (9th), Matthew Gehring (11th) and Hyunil Kwon (14th).
Coach Michael Griffin lauded his team for their hard work, and chalked the team’s success up to popularity within the students.
“On any given day, where I say there’s going to be a practice, there will be 25 kids in the gym. The sport is really popular these days.” he said, adding Adair filled the shoes of former top archer, Vicky Huang who won gold in 2014.
The squad uses school supplied bows, thus competition in the standard class.
For the 2017 season, Griffin would like to see his boys team grow in order to compete with midtown rivals, John Polanyi CI.
“What I need to do is get more guys to come out and participate in the sport,” he said. “I think a lot of the guys in our school are probably more interested in chemistry and physics.”
As for Adair, she hopes to keep up with archery in her next adventure in life. The senior will be graduating school and heading to the University of Guelph come September. She’s planning on taking animal biology, and hopes to turn it into the foundation for veterinary science.
“I really like archery, so I’m hoping I can do it at university next year, though I know it’s not a super-popular sport,” she said, with a laugh.