Hat High ready to host provincials

By Mo Cranker on November 21, 2017.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker

It’s been quite a busy year for Medicine Hat High School — and it isn’t slowing down quite yet.

After playing host to the 4A zone championships this past weekend, the Medicine Hat High School Mohawks and Kwahommies volleyball teams will play host to the 4A provincial volleyball finals.

“We’re really excited,” said Hat High principal Boris Grisonich. “We wanted to host at least one provincial tournament this school year. As it turns out, we’re going to host volleyball, wrestling and basketball.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to show our building off to the province a bit. We spent so much time having it built and a lot of money, and we want to celebrate what we have here with our own kids and our community.”

Games start Thursday at 2 p.m., and finish up 7 p.m. Saturday with the gold medal match. Games will be hosted at Hat High and Crescent Heights throughout the tournament, but all semi-final and medal games will held at Hat High.

“This is 4A-caliber ball, so it’s going to be very competitive,” he said. “Both of our teams placed in the semi-finals in the zone tournament., so we’re hoping we can make a push during provincials. We have two really young teams this year, so we’re hoping that they can get a lot of good experience from this year’s tournament, and then they can translate it to next year when they’re a year older — I think that teams will need to play their best against us, or we’ll be able to beat them.”

The tournament will showcase 12 boys and 12 girls teams, three from Edmonton, three from Calgary, two south teams and two north teams. Grisonich says there is a buzz around the school heading into provincials.

“The kids are so excited,” he said. “We have over 200 volunteers helping out for the weekend. A lot of our kids are going to be volunteering. There’s also a lot of kids from Crescent Heights helping out. We also have a lot of adults from out community that are giving some time during the tournament.”

Grisonich says he is hoping to see the stands full during Hat High’s games.

“This is really good volleyball and it’s great for the kids when the stands are full,” he said. “A lot of these kids will bypass college and go on to play very competitive volleyball. There’s going to be some scouts here, so I really think anyone interested in volleyball should come check some games out.”

It will cost $10 for a day pass or $20 for a tournament pass for adults, and a $5 day pass and $10 tournament pass for students.