BISHOP KELLY GIRLS LACROSSE

LACROSSE | 5.12.09
ELISE TALBOY COMMITS TO PLAY LACROSSE AT NCAA D3 PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

Bishop Kelly senior midfielder Elise Talboy has accepted an offer to play lacrosse at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Talboy has been in the middle of BK’s success on the lacrosse field for three seasons, playing at both ends of the field and establishing herself as a scoring threat, playmaker, and aggressive defender. A three-sport athlete for the Knights, Talboy competes in swimming and basketball along with lacrosse.

Talboy has tallied 49 goals and 25 assists over the past two seasons, helping the Knights to a 16-4 mark in 2008 and a perfect 16-0 record so far in 2009.

“Leesi excels at lacrosse, in part, because the wide open space allows her to use her outstanding open field speed and stamina,” commented Head Coach JoJo Brunelle. “She has worked hard on her stick skills to complement her good strength and endurance from swimming, and strong ‘court sense’ and team-orientation from all her years of basketball. I am excited to see Leesi take on this challenge to play at the next level.”

The Boxers, an independent team in the West Region of NCAA Division III lacrosse, posted a 6-7-0 record in 2009 under third year coach Wynne Lobel. A win over East Coast opponent Washington & Jefferson was among season highlights for Pacific.

STUDENT ATHLETES | 5.12.09
THREE-SPORT ATHLETES IN SEARCH OF 50th WIN OF 2008-09

Not too many high school athletes compete at the varsity level in three sports, but at Bishop Kelly there are least four girls who can make that claim. And all four of them are striving to reach a special milestone as the spring sports season comes to an end.

The milestone? A total of 50 wins in a single school year. The four athletes are seniors Cassie Brunelle and Mariah Adcox and juniors Sarah Hassell and Michelle Violette. The four have been teammates for the entire 2008-09 school year, competing in volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse for the Knights.

As three-sport athletes for all four years of their high school careers, Brunelle and Adcox have learned to balance academics (Adcox is a 4.0 student, Brunelle carries a 3.98), student leadership positions, and the all important social lives along with the wins and losses. Hassell and Violette are following directly in their footsteps and have been alongside their senior teammates all year long.

The 3-Sport Foursome led the Knights to a 13-6 record in volleyball and a trip to the 4A State Tournament, a first for BK since 2003. An 18-5 record and 4A SIC Championship in basketball came next, though Violette missed the final five games of the season with a knee injury and Brunelle was forced to watch a stunning season-ending loss in district due to illness.

Now the Fab Four are members of the undefeated (16-0) lacrosse team, and need to run the table in postseason to become Idaho’s 2009 State Champions — and pick up their 50th win in the process. In an era of specialization, where kids pick a specific sport and play for traveling club teams rather than competing in multiple sports for their school, it’s refreshing to see BK athletes playing — and winning — all year long for their school teams.

FOOTBALL | 4.20.09
B.K. PLANS YOUTH FOOTBALL CAMP

A Youth Summer Football Camp for Boys grades 4-7 will be held at BK June 9-11. Details are available here: http://www.bk.org/Football.aspx

LACROSSE | 3.22.09
BK GIRLS LACROSSE WIN CHAMPIONSHIP AT 3-STATE, 16-TEAM TOURNAMENT

BK’s girl’s lacrosse team completed a perfect weekend of lacrosse by defeating Jordan High (Utah) in the Championship Game of the 10th Annual Beetdigger Tournament, held in Salt Lake City. The Knights rallied in the second half to overcome the host Lady Diggers and secure the championship, 10-7. It was the first time in the history of the tournament that a team outside of Utah won the title.

“It was a total team effort, everyone did their job and that’s what it took to win it all,” said Head Coach JoJo Brunelle (5th season, 54-13-1). “We played tough defense around the crease and goal, and offensively there was no single player for opponents to key on because we have so many threats.”

The Knights beat Riverton (Utah) in the semi-finals, while Jordan edged Las Vegas-based Bonanza on their side of the bracket. The 16 team tournament included select teams from Idaho, Utah and Nevada. BK is now 7-0 on the season and 2-0 in TVWLL action. Idaho’s Girls Lacrosse State Tournament is scheduled for May.

NOTES: The largest school a Bishop Kelly athletic team has ever defeated — in the 45 year history of the school — in any sport? Believed to an achievement of the 2009 BK Girls Lacrosse team, which edged Riverton High (Utah) 7-5 in the semi-final of the 10th Annual Beetdigger Tournament in Salt Lake City. The largest high school in Utah, Riverton is home to a whopping 2,491 students in just grades 10, 11 and 12! The same three grades at BK include approximately 500 students. Riverton is ranked nationally in the top 700 for school enrollment. They have more than 900 students in one class alone….The Knights run to the Championship included wins over Bingham High (enrollment 2,248 grades 10-12) and Jordan High (enrollment 1,977, grades 10-12)….BK will host Idaho’s state championship finals on Tuesday, May 19.