Richmond Midget A2 Roadrunners completed an outstanding season with a bronze medal finish at B.C. Lacrosse’s provincial championships in Coquitlam.
Richmond had rolled to three straight victories in round-robin play — defeating Surrey (10-2), Kamloops (10-6) and Peninsula (5-2). Following an 8-2 loss to eventual silver medalists Coquitlam in the semi-finals, the team rebounded with a resilient effort to beat Peninsula once again 8-6.
Diesel DeGuzman, Forrest Wheeler, Jaden Atkinson, Hunter VanHest, and Evan Brusse received game MVP awards over the weekend. The future looks bright as only five of the 21 rostered players will age up to Intermediate A lacrosse - Connor Dimmick, Van Hest, Wheeler, Yates and DeGuzman.
“All five without question really can play and they will be missed,” said Richmond coach Stu Ruttan.
Returning Roadrunners will include Jaden Atkinson, Liam Birch, Jake Hothi, Eric Hawthorne, Ian Ryder, Mikhail Khataw, Jordan Fenske-White, Ryan Bayley, Justin Morishita, Chad Lore, Evan Brusse, Dillon Maher, Teagen Docherty, Brandan Fagan, and Ben Spare.
It was the second time this season the Roadrunners had earned a spot on the podium, having captured gold at their own tournament back on Victoria Day Weekend. That event featured 20 teams competing in three divisions — A1, A2 and B.
Richmond produced wins over Juan de Fuca (6-4) and Campbell River (6-0), while also playing Surrey to a 6-6 tie in round-robin play. A rematch with Surrey in the semi-finals saw the hosts prevail 6-4, before defeating Kamloops in the championship game.
Yates led all Richmond scorers with four goals and five assists over the tournament. Spare, Brusse, Birch and Hothi were also regular contributors.
“The boys found their mojo over the May long weekend and it was good to see. They really showed signs of growth engaging in the process.” added Ruttan, “but shortly after that success they slipped back into inconsistent habits and forgot a bit about the process over the remainder of league play.”
Following the completion of an up-and down regular season, the Roadrunners began their road to the bronze medal playing seven tough playoff games. It turned out more than any other team that advanced to provincials.
The Roadrunners battled and won a hard fought three game series against the North Shore Eagles. Following 8-4 in the opener and their backs against the wall, they responded with 4-3 and 11-10 wins.
The boys then went into a tough away game and lost against eventual provincial champion Burnaby Lakers 5-2. Richmond had to travel to beat Semiahmoo in three games losing 8-7, and soundly winning the final two — 9-4 and 10-4 to finally earn their spot at the B.C. championships.
While 2016 season for the Roadrunners was a great success, Ruttan says there were plenty of key support people that contributed including — “our manager Sheri Morishita, three assistant coaches Gregg, Luke and Kevin, and a truly amazing parent group.”
“It truly was a blast of a season. On to next year!”
