Bantam Spartans leaving their mark

The summer of 2016 has been a memorable one for the Soo Spartans Bantam Lacrosse team.

The team is in the midst of preparing for the bantam provincials, scheduled to open on July 29 in Whitby, ON.

The Bantam Spartans team, which is made up of players born in 2002 and 2003, has made a quick ascension up the rankings in Ontario and after a tournament victory earlier this month in Sarnia, the team is now ranked 19th among 84 teams in the province.

Thanks to three tournament victories this summer, the team has gone from playing in a D/E level tournament in London in late-May, which marked the Spartans’ first tournament win of the season, to playing in the B/C Division at the recent tournament in Sarnia.

After what Coach Rod St. John called a conservative approach to the Spartans moving up to play at a higher level for the Sarnia event, he commented on how proud he was following the victory in Sarnia.

“Not only did they do what many thought that they couldn’t, but they did so in an amazing fashion,” St. John said in a release. “While their skills were outstanding, the level of discipline and sportsmanship was exceptional. Of the five games we played, two of those games were played with no penalties from the Spartans.”

St. John went on to say he received a number of comments from tournament officials at the Sarnia event that complemented the team on its discipline and class in the tournament.

The Spartans other tournament victory was in Fergus, ON in late-June, which was a C/D level event.

The Spartans are scheduled to open the provincials on July 29 in a 1:30 p.m. contest against Oakville.