It's really hard to believe that the Labour Day long weekend is over and school begins this week.

It's even harder to believe that the first provincial championship of the 2017-2018 high school calendar year is just over two weeks away.

The Gilbert Plains golf course will be the site of the Provincial High School Golf Championships.

The Carman Cougars won the MHSAA girls golf championship banner in 1995.

That was one of six championship banners which Cougars teams won in 22 years prior to 2016-2017.

Then the school went out and captured an unheard of six championship banners in six months.

Cougars coaches James Ballantyne, Larisa Ens and Jacquie Metcalf had a front row seat to all six.


Banner #1   Provincial Junior Varsity Boys Cross Country Championship

The 2016 Provincial High School Cross Country Championship was to be held in Nelson House but after the northern Manitoba community received over a foot of snow just days before the start of the event, the MHSAA was forced to postpone the race and move the championship to Winnipeg one week later.

"It was disappointing to get the phone call that provincials was not going to be up north because it was going to be a first time experience for all of us, although I wasn't looking forward to that bus trip,” said Cougars coach Larisa Ens. “The kids showed a lot of resilience knowing that something was likely going to happen. They just can't cancel an entire MHSAA provincials but not knowing where or when and just continue to train in anticipation - that's what being an athlete is about. Being able to roll with the uncertainties.”

Carman Collegiate's cross country team of Scott Atkins, Joel Myerion, Dylan McLaren, Campbell Ens, Ethan Clark, Kevin Dunn, Luke Phillips and Kolton Shindle won the Junior Varsity boys championship banner at Kilcona/Harbourview Park.

That Cougars eight-man team was actually six for the provincials as Ens had a broken foot and Shindle was playing hockey in Alberta.

"These kids are awesome athletes that just do their best,” said Ens. “They're competitors, bottom line."


Banner #2   Provincial Junior Varsity Boys A/AA Volleyball Championship

Just get in and anthing can happen. That's exactly what happened to Carman Collegiate at the Provincials in Hamiota. The Cougars finished fourth in their pool and then reeled off wins over the Steinbach Christian Flames, St. Paul's Barons of Elie and the Rossburn Raiders. All three matches went to a third and deciding set.

"The guys just never gave up” said Carman coach James Ballantyne who watched his Cougars team stay alive in the final by winning the second set 31-29 over the Raiders. “It's easy to say we're not going to give up but to actually prove it on the court. That game against Rossburn, when you're down and facing game point for six points in a row and you just keep playing. I watched the video and you see some of the plays guys made - those are hustle plays. There were a couple of kids out there who were real leaders and they want to be successful. When you're down 24-17, they don't care. They're competing the same way."


Banner #3   Provincial Varsity Boys AA Volleyball Championship

There's nothing like home cooking and the Cougars proved it when they hosted the provincials the first weekend of December.

"Our boys just really rose to the challenge,” said Carman coach Jacquie Metcalf. “We did have a tough start to the tournament and every set we played we got better and better. They played well together. They had excellent sportsmanship and doing it in front of your own crowd is amazing. The gym was packed. The fans were energetic. It was an amazing feeling."

The Cougars almost failed to qualify for the playoffs. Carman, the Souris Sabres and Teulon Saints were tied for third place in their pool. A tie-breaker which counted points for and points against in all matches was used to determine who advanced to the quarterfinals. The Cougars and Saints got in and the Sabres headed home.

Carman swept Warren in their playoff opener and then defeated Niverville 34-32, 25-22 in the semifinals.

Metcalf said that back-and-forth first set with the Panthers was fun to watch.

"It's completely out of your control as a coach. You don't expect them to make no errors and that's what has to happen. These boys just did something amazing. They just kept going and going and going. They were amazing at the net, they were amazing at passing. Everything was going in. It was uplifting because as soon as we got within a point, I knew we were taking it."

The Cougars swept Steinbach Christian 25-19, 25-20 in the final.