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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 25 | Friday, January 16, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Breakthrough season earns McEachran X Games invitation By Herb Garbutt Burlington Post staff Undefeated Raiders improve to 6-0 but coach says many teams will contend for title by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Depth key to STA's volleyball success St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders players Olivia Wilson (left) and Jessie Nairn go up to block a hit by Assumption's Magee Bailey Monday in Burlington. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver St. Thomas Aquinas coach Peter Szpakowski doesn't consider his Raiders to be the best senior girls' AAA volleyball team in Halton, but it certainly seems they're the deepest. Aquinas is carrying 20 players on its roster this season, and it has relied on contributions from nearly all of them on its way to a 6-0 start in league competition and earning some notable victories in tournament play, including a win over last year's provincial AAA champions, the Abbey Park Eagles. "If someone's not having a good day, we'll turn to someone else. They've all got roles, whether it's to play defence or put up a big block," Szpakowski said. "On many teams, those kids would be on the court the whole time, but sometimes here they have to accept a limited role." All 20 Aquinas players -- including star hitter Juhl Henricksen, who hasn't even played a game this season as she recovers from a torn ACL suffered last May -- have rep experience, and many of them were part of the Raiders' junior program that went 79-0 over the previous two seasons. That depth has come in handy at tournaments when the Raiders have been missing large parts of their team due to other school or work commitments. In their 18-25, 25-23, 15-8 victory over Abbey Park, which came at the Sheridan Cup tournament last month, the Raiders had just three of their regular starters available and eight players overall. Earlier that day, Aquinas defeated the T.A. Blakelock Tigers with a six-player team. Monday in Burlington, Szpakowski had 16 players at his disposal during the Raiders' 25-20, 22-25, 15-6 win over the 5-2 Assumption Crusaders. He substituted players in and out of the match so often that he had to check with the official scorer to ensure he wasn't exceeding the 12 substitution maximum per set. The Raiders' final points in Monday's back-and-forth contest included a nice tip by Natalie Lakostik, a hard kill by Lauren Duffy and a game-clinching ace by Sarah Grazadeia. "(In that win) especially, everybody who was playing played a role," Szpakowski said. "A lot of kids contributed with the scoring." In addition to the Sheridan Cup, Aquinas has also won tournaments hosted by McMaster University and Garth Webb. The Raiders lost to the Corpus Christi Longhorns in the semifinals of their own tournament, but avenged that defeat two days later in league play, 25-17, 25-11. Still, Szpakowski feels the AAA league is wide open, and considers 7-0 Abbey Park -- led by Penn State-bound Tori Gorrell and Sarah Williams -- the favourite. The Raiders and Eagles aren't scheduled to face each other in league play until Feb. 9. "Abbey is an amazing team... they have a lot of good players and maybe we caught them at a bad moment. We have the utmost respect for our opponents," Szpakowski said. "Only six teams make the playoffs in our league, but I think there are seven that could win the whole thing. They're all good. Garth Webb and Blakelock both took us to three games, and one of those teams might not make the playoffs." Szpakowski added he is optimistic that Halton will receive two berths in this year's provincial AAA championships as a result of Abbey Park's OFSAA gold last season. The question caught him by surprise. "Are you Evan McEachran?" The 17-year-old slopestyle skier was enjoying some skiing in Collingwood when the two kids approached and popped the question. Being recognized was a little strange. After all, he didn't compete in last year's Olympics, the kind of exposure that can make you a household name. He hasn't competed in the X Games, the type of event that can raise an athlete's profile in a sport still on the fringe of mainstream. With the slopestyle still years away from joining the Olympics, it was through the X Games that McEachran learned the tricks and the names of those he hoped to emulate. In some ways, McEachran might have more in common with those kids now recognizing him on the slopes. It was just four years ago when McEachran won a bronze medal at the Canada Games -- in big air, still just having a blast at anything on two skis. "I remember being that exact kid, just being really stoked about skiing," he said. But after last year's breakthrough season, McEachran is actually much closer to those he once looked up to. He started the season on the national development team but by the end of the year was not only outperforming those on the national squad, he was challenging the sports' biggest names. At last April's Association of Freeskiing Professionals World Championships in Whistler, McEachran shared the podium with Bobby Brown, the American skier he listed as his role model on his Canada Games bio. Except McEachran, standing on the top step after his victory, wasn't looking up any longer. · · · · Evan McEachran McEachran was on his way to the airport in November when he got a Facebook message asking for his e-mail address. The message was from a member of the X Games selection committee. McEachran suspected what was coming next but he refused to believe it, for fear of getting his hopes up. But shortly after, the much-anticipated message arrived inviting him to the X Games in Aspen. "It's a pretty big dream come true. The Olympics weren't around until the fourth or fifth year I was doing this so I dreamed about going to the X Games," McEachran said. "It's a crazy feeling, more than I ever dreamed of. It's all See X Games on pg. 26