Weekend Recap | Feb 14-16
Women’s basketball sweep Rattlers, men finish regular season strong
Without a doubt, this could be one of the best basketball teams in SAIT Trojans history.
Riding a 12-game winning streak heading into the weekend, the Trojans women’s basketball team took on the last-place Medicine Hat College Rattlers on Friday, Feb. 14, in Medicine Hat and Saturday, Feb. 15, in Calgary.
On Friday, the Rattlers hosted the Trojans.
A close first half saw the Trojans leading 39-33 at halftime.
In the final two quarters, the Trojans put up 52 points to secure a 91-70 win.
Vlada Hozalova shone for the Trojans, scoring 25 points and grabbing four rebounds.
Kitawna Sparks recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 assists.
On Saturday, the Trojans continued their offensive dominance at home.
They remained consistent throughout the game, cruising to a 99-61 win over the Rattlers.
Veteran Brook Baker led the way with 25 points and was named player of the game.
With the sweep, the Trojans remain atop the ACAC women’s basketball South standings with a 20-1 record.
Next up is a trip to the 2025 ACAC women’s basketball championship from Feb. 28 to March 2.
Hosted by The King’s University Eagles in Edmonton, the Trojans will face the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder in the first round at 3 p.m. They will look to secure a championship banner and a spot at nationals.
The Trojans men’s basketball team ended the regular season on a high note with two straight wins over the Rattlers.
On Friday, Feb. 14, the Trojans started strong in Medicine Hat.
A steady first half gave them a 50-34 lead at halftime.
They maintained their consistent scoring in the second half, coming away with a 98-83 win.
Jaden Matthews led the Trojans with 26 points.
Killian Yopa also had a standout performance, recording a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
On Saturday, the Trojans needed a second-half comeback to overcome the Rattlers.
Trailing 43-33 at halftime, they outscored the Rattlers 61-40 over the final two quarters to win 94-83.
Yopa once again led the offence, notching his second double-double in as many games with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
With the two wins, the Trojans clinched third place in the ACAC men’s basketball South standings with a 13-8 record.
From Feb. 27 to March 1, the Trojans will travel to Briercrest College for the 2025 ACAC men’s basketball championship.
They will take on the NAIT Ooks in the first round on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. and aim to bring a championship banner back to Calgary.
Women’s volleyball sweep Rattlers, men narrowly miss playoffs
After winning two straight matches against the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens last weekend, the SAIT Trojans women’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to four games.
The Trojans faced the Medicine Hat College Rattlers in a two-game series, with Game 1 on Friday, Feb. 14, at Rally Pointe in Calgary.
The Trojans took the first two sets 25-19 and 27-25.
The Rattlers responded with a 25-20 win in the third set, forcing a fourth.
In a back-and-forth battle, the Trojans edged out a 25-23 win to take the match 3-1.
Both teams travelled to Medicine Hat the next day for a rematch.
The Trojans won in straight sets, taking the match 25-19, 26-24 and 25-19.
With the weekend sweep, the Trojans remain in fourth place in the ACAC women’s volleyball South standings with an 11-8 record.
Next up is the ACAC women’s volleyball championship.
Hosted by the University of Alberta Augustana, the tournament runs from Thursday, Feb. 20, to Saturday, Feb. 22.
The Trojans will face the Lakeland College Rustlers in the first round on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 3 p.m.
For the Trojans men’s volleyball team, a playoff spot was just out of reach.
The Trojans faced the Rattlers on Friday, Feb. 14, at Rally Pointe.
A dominant first set saw the Trojans win 25-16.
Back-to-back 25-20 wins in the second and third sets secured a 3-0 sweep over the Rattlers.
Jaxson Thys led the Trojans with 10 kills.
In a rematch the next day in Medicine Hat, the Trojans once again controlled the play.
They took the first two sets 25-19 and 25-21 and looked to be in control of the match.
The Rattlers fought back with a 25-21 win in the third set to stay alive.
The Trojans responded with a dominant 25-16 win in the fourth set to take the match 3-1.
Thys continued his strong form, recording 14 kills in the match.
Despite the two wins over the Rattlers, the Trojans finished fifth in the ACAC men’s volleyball South standings, just missing out on a playoff spot.
Women’s hockey sweep Broncos
Looking to secure a playoff berth, the SAIT Trojans women’s hockey team took on the Olds College Broncos in a two-game series.
The Trojans travelled to Olds on Thursday, Feb. 13, for the first game of the weekend.
Late in the first period, Paisley Arntsen opened the scoring on the power play to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead.
Just over three minutes into the second period, Trojans forward Mackinley Whalen received a two-minute minor penalty for bodychecking, sending the Broncos to the power play.
Klara Mattey set up Jerk Pashniak on the man advantage to extend the Broncos’ lead to 2-0.
Just two minutes later, Lily Roberts responded with an unassisted goal for the Trojans to make it 2-1.
Midway through the second period, Trojans forward Lindsey Goncalves scored to tie the game 2-2.
In the third period, both teams played cautiously, hesitant to make a mistake.
With five minutes remaining, Roberts scored her second goal of the game, assisted by Sydney Hollman and Sarah Hoppins.
The Trojans held on for a 3-2 win over the Broncos on Thursday night.
On Friday night at WinSport Arena, the Trojans looked to complete the sweep.
After a scoreless first period, Alia Wik opened the scoring for the Trojans on the power play midway through the second.
The Trojans doubled their lead in the third period, as Hoppins and Goncalves set up Mikayla Loewen to seal a 2-0 victory.
With the two wins over the Broncos, the Trojans clinched the final playoff spot in the ACAC women’s hockey standings.
They will face the first-place Lakeland College Rustlers in a best-of-three series in the opening round of the ACAC women’s hockey championship.
The Rustlers will host all three games in Lloydminster, with Game 1 on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m., Game 2 on Saturday, March 1, at 7 p.m., and, if necessary, Game 3 on Sunday, March 2, at 4:45 p.m.
Trojans build on strong indoor track season
After a dominant showing in their first indoor track meet of the year in January, the SAIT Trojans looked to make another statement.
On Saturday, Feb. 15, Red Deer Polytechnic hosted the second Running Room Grand Prix at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.
In the men’s 1,000m, Moktar Said finished second with a time of 2:36.79.
In the women’s 1,000m, Kerigan Frampton claimed first place for the Trojans with a time of 3:05.83.
The Trojans men’s 4x200m relay team—David Adesegun, Daniel Olufowobi, Myles Sonom and Jonah Amper—finished second with a time of 1:38.02, less than a second behind the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks.
In the men’s 600m, the Trojans placed two runners in the top five.
Silas Iyuke finished fourth with a time of 1:30.18, while Chase Chambers followed closely in fifth at 1:30.70.
Frampton secured her second victory of the meet, winning the women’s 600m in 1:40.31—more than two seconds ahead of the runner-up.
In the men’s 1,500m, Willem Grant placed fifth with a time of 4:38.22, followed by teammate Max Reisinger in sixth at 4:39.48.
The Trojans men’s 4x400m relay team—Chambers, Adesegun, Iyuke and Sonom—finished third with a time of 3:45.51.
The next ACAC indoor track meet is set for Saturday, March 1, hosted by Lethbridge Polytechnic.
Trojans compete at ACAC badminton championships
After a solid badminton season, the SAIT Trojans aimed for a strong finish at the 2024-25 ACAC Badminton Championships.
Hosted by Concordia University of Edmonton, the championships took place on Saturday, Feb. 15, and Sunday, Feb. 16.
Men’s singles
The Trojans had three representatives in men’s singles.
George Cho opened with a first-round matchup against Sam Chauhan of the Concordia Thunder. Cho cruised past Chauhan, winning 21-11 in two straight games to advance to the quarter-finals.
Gurmanjot Singh faced Caelen Mah of the NAIT Ooks in the first round and won 21-14 and 21-10 to move on.
Daniel Chu took on James Pulido of The King’s University Eagles and made it three straight wins for the Trojans, advancing with 21-11 and 21-16 victories.
In the quarter-finals, Cho faced top-seeded Hossein Ahmadi of the Eagles but fell 21-15 and 21-13.
Singh dominated Vivek Kodi of the Eagles, winning 21-9 and 21-8 to advance to the semifinals.
Chu took on second-seeded Smit Patel of the Ooks but was defeated 21-9 and 21-12.
In the semifinals, Singh faced Ahmadi in a tough battle. After a narrow loss in the first game, Singh fell 21-12 in the second to just miss the final.
Singh took on Om Patel of the Ooks for bronze. After dropping the first game 21-16, he bounced back with 21-12 and 21-16 wins to claim the medal for the Trojans.
Women’s singles
The Trojans also had three representatives in women’s singles.
In the first round, Astrea Borromeo defeated Anya Caingles of the Ooks in straight sets, 21-15 and 21-16.
Third-seeded Taylor Burton faced Lauryn Psutka of the Thunder and advanced comfortably, winning 21-12 in both games.
Second-seeded Sienna Pricca earned a first-round bye and defeated Samantha Richards 21-9 and 21-8 in the quarter-finals.
In an all-Trojans quarter-final matchup, Borromeo upset Burton 21-12, earning a spot in the semifinals against Pricca.
Pricca defeated Borromeo 21-16 and 21-17 to advance to the final against top-seeded Emma Tran of the Thunder.
Tran edged Pricca 21-19 in the first game and secured gold with a 21-17 win in the second. Pricca finished with silver, while Borromeo defeated Caitlin Sullivan of the Eagles in straight sets to claim bronze.
Men’s doubles
The Trojans had two men’s doubles teams.
Cho and Chu faced third-seeded Milkias Birhane and Kodi of the Eagles in the first round but were eliminated in a close match, 21-16 and 21-18.
Top-seeded Carl Canillo and Paul Ouano earned a bye and defeated Mah and Ray Wang 21-12 and 21-18 in the semifinals.
In the gold medal match, Canillo and Ouano defeated second-seeded Raphael Motel and Jonathan Su of the Thunder, winning 21-19 and 21-15.
Women’s doubles
The Trojans had two women’s doubles teams.
Top-seeded Ziyu Kong and Archelle Ouano defeated Jillian Slaght and Abigail Wegner of the Eagles 21-5 and 21-10 in the first round.
Fourth-seeded Borromeo and Burton beat Keira Brouwer and Sullivan 21-12 and 21-13 to set up a semifinal against Kong and Ouano.
In an all-Trojans semifinal, Kong and Ouano won 21-14 and 21-10 to advance to the gold medal match against second-seeded Noel Do and Tran of the Ooks.
Kong and Ouano secured gold with consecutive 21-13 victories.
Mixed doubles
The Trojans had two teams in mixed doubles.
Chu and Borromeo defeated Luis Conde and Psutka of the Thunder 21-11 and 21-12 in the first round.
Fourth-seeded Singh and Burton earned a bye but were upset in three games by Wang and Chan of the Ooks. After dropping the first set 21-19, Singh and Burton won the second 23-21 before losing 21-11 in the deciding game.
Chu and Borromeo were eliminated in the quarter-finals, falling 21-15 and 21-15 to Patel and Do of the Ooks.
Trojans shine once again in NACE Esports
On Thursday, Feb. 13, the SAIT Trojans returned for another night of Valorant action in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE).
The Trojans Red Team took an early lead in their series but ultimately fell 2-1 after dropping the final two games.
The Green Team dominated their matchup, winning 13-4 in the first game and 13-3 in the second to secure a 2-0 series victory.
The Yellow Team battled through a tight 16-14 win in Game 1 before sweeping their opponents 13-0 in Game 2 to claim the series.
The Trojans are back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 19, for more NACE competition.
Trojans Rugby 7s kick off to a great start
Trojans Women’s Rugby kicked off their 7s tournament season on the weekend, after an undefeated championship winning 15s season in the fall. The Trojans found themselves in second place at the tournament in Moose Jaw on the weekend, narrowly missing out on the Gold, which was won by the host school, University of Regina.
Trojans Men’s Rugby had a brilliant showing on the weekend, despite facing tough competition during the fall 15s season. The Trojans finished off their UofA 7s tournament in Edmonton on the weekend with a very strong Bronze medal finish, which is the highest our men’s team has found themselves so far- going 4 for 6 on the weekend. This bodes well as our teams look towards more successes this season and next.
Article written by Alec Wells, Trojans Men's Soccer athlete and SAIT journalism student