ESTEVAN — Although the 2024-25 Saskatchewan water polo season wrapped up at the end of March, members of the Estevan Sharks were back in action as they attended the Fun in the Sun Summer Provincials at the Wascana Outdoor Pool in Regina on June 21.

Despite forecasts for rain, the tournament was able to go on for most of the day with just some light precipitation. Only the few final games were affected by the weather as thunder and heavy rain rolled in.

The mini U9 Sharks teamed up with athletes from Humboldt and made it to the gold medal game. The game ended early due to thunder. The Estevan-Humboldt entry was behind by one point at the time and brought home the silver medal.

The atom U12 boys teamed up with Weyburn. They finished all their games and came home with the bronze. The atom U12 girls teamed up with Humboldt and were unable to play their final playoff game for gold. They were awarded silver.

The bantam U14 boys joined the Saskatoon team and played all their games, finishing with bronze. The open 14+ men joined a Regina team and also finished their games to bring home the bronze. 

The Water Polo Saskatchewan annual awards banquet was also held in Regina that night. The event recognizes the dedication, talent and spirit of the athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers across Saskatchewan.

Two members of the Estevan Sharks were recognized. Athlete Hudson Enns was awarded the U14 Boys’ Player of the Year Award. And Estevan Sharks coach Chad Knoll was awarded Coach of the Year.

It’s not the first time Knoll has been recognized. He was also named the Volunteer of the Year in 2022.

York’s Jimmy Conners is brought down by Loyola Academy’s Gavin King during the Class 8A state championship football game at Illinois State University in Normal.
Mark Busch/Shaw Local News Network

Editor’s note: Now that the 2024-25 high school sports year is over, it’s time to announce the top schools in the Herald Cup standings. We devised a points system based on team state finishes to measure which of the 80-plus high schools from the Daily Herald circulation area had the best athletic year. Last week we announced the top five small schools in the Herald Cup standings. This week we’re unveiling the top large schools, one per day, starting with No. 5 now through No. 1 on Friday.

There’s a theory about a high school football team’s level of success setting the tone for the entire school year.

At York High School, the entire fall season set the tone.

Both cross country teams and the girls tennis team posted top-five state finishes, leading up to the football team’s appearance in the state title game.

After more success in the spring, the Dukes finished fifth in the 2024-25 Herald Cup standings for large schools with 99 points that were calculated by weighing team finishes throughout the fall, winter and spring.

How they did it

The Dukes’ girls cross country team backed last season’s state title run with a second-place Class 3A finish in the fall. They fell one point short of a repeat. Freshman Karlin Janowski led the pack for York with a second-place individual finish.

The football team made history in November, beating Naperville Central 20-15 in the Class 8A semifinals to reach the first title game in program history. Unfortunately, the Dukes ran into a Loyola squad determined to win a third straight championship.

While the boys cross country team and girls tennis team finished in the top five at state, the boys and girls water polo teams reached the state semifinals. Girls soccer and girls lacrosse won sectional titles.

Who made it happen

Two-way senior lineman Joe Reiff, who’s headed to Notre Dame, was the big name on the Dukes’ football roster. But 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior quarterback Bruno Massel was the engine that made the team go.

Massel was the perfect dual threat in the backfield, rushing for 1,238 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing for 1,542 yards and 11 scores.

Senior tennis player Lizzie Isyanov, after losing only six games in her first five matches at the state meet, battled Plainfield North senior Jessica Kovalcik in the final but ultimately fell 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.

Still, her effort helped the team finish fourth in the team standings.

Key stats

With a fifth-place finish in the 2022 state tennis meet, Isyanov became the program’s first medalist since 2000. Her second-place finish marked the first time in program history a tennis player reached the final.

The girls cross country team has finished first or second in Class 3A for four straight seasons.

York’s football team had reached the state semifinals four times — including the previous two seasons in 2022 and 2023 — before breaking through to the title game.

Key fact

All five postseason matches played by York’s girls soccer team were decided in a shutout. The Dukes outscored playoff opponents 14-0 before losing 1-0 in penalty kicks to Lane in the Class 3A supersectional.

They said it

“I just wish I could have been out there more.” — running back Jimmy Conners, who scored on a 74-yard first-quarter run in the state title football game but went down with a second-quarter foot injury.

“Our only goal was to beat our score from the last game. We did that and I am very proud of our girls on how far we have come.” — girls lacrosse player Bricelyn Daniel after a 16-8 supersectional loss to Loyola — a team the Dukes lost to 20-1 only three weeks earlier.

“I wore a brace for two months. Pretty tough.” — Isyanov, who missed her junior season because of a stress fracture in her back.

ZAGREB (Croatia) – Bojan Bogdanovic has announced his retirement from basketball at the age of 36.

Having made his senior team debut in 2010, he represented Croatia on the international level at two FIBA Basketball World Cups and five FIBA EuroBasket tournaments, as well as playing at the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament in 2016.

“

Above all, I had the honor of wearing the Croatian crest on my chest.

He was named to the FIBA EuroBasket 2013 All-Star Five, having led Croatia to the Semi-Finals of the competition.

During his NBA career, he played for the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons and, most recently, New York Knicks.

Bojan Bogdanovic shared the following message on his social media channels:

Sometimes in life, you don’t choose the moment. The moment chooses you.

After 14 months of battling a foot injury, two surgeries, and countless efforts to get back on the court, the time has come to close a chapter.

After more than two decades in the game, the moment has arrived to say goodbye to basketball. Not just as a sport, but as a part of who I am.

It’s hard to put into words everything this game has given me. It shaped me as an athlete, but even more as a person.

From my childhood in Mostar and my early steps in football and water polo, this journey has been anything but ordinary.

I’ve had the privilege of playing for clubs that left their mark on both European and NBA basketball.

From Mostar and Zrinjski, to Real Madrid and Murcia, then to Cibona and Fenerbahçe, I wore every jersey with pride.

The NBA brought a whole new level of challenge and experience. I had the honor of wearing the jerseys of the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons and finally the New York Knicks.

Every stop left a mark. Every jersey carried its own weight.

Above all, I had the honor of wearing the Croatian crest on my chest.

Playing for the national team was never just a responsibility. It was pride, emotion and identity.

Representing my country from youth levels all the way to the senior team was the greatest honor of my career.

Thank you to all the coaches, teammates, medical staff, fans and clubs who were part of this journey in any way.

A special thank you to my family. You were the foundation through every high and every doubt.

I’m closing this chapter, but my love for the game remains.

I didn’t reach the end. I’ve reached the other side of the beginning…

FIBA

A Vermillion County volleyball team is national champions.

Stateline Pride, an AAU 17 program, traveled down to Florida, and took home first place.

“Those girls are a tremendous group of girls that made history for Vermillion County and really just themselves,” said head coach Emily Franklin.

Despite being in Orlando, Florida, this was a business trip for the volleyball program.

“The girls do long hours in the gym, even if they’re in the afternoon wave, they will only probably get a little bit of time out in the sun before they got to come in and they got to get rest and get acclimated to the gym and preparing,” said Franklin.

The team was loaded with talent.

Franklin said, “We had three all Americans named which is a big accomplishment for nationals in your volleyball career, and those would be Gwendolyn Bennett, she’s from Westville, Illinois. Madeline Doggett, she’s from Westville, Illinois, and Reese McFarland was the tournament MVP.”

But the talent isn’t top heavy — it’s loaded top to bottom.

And they could be even better next season if there’s retention.

“I hope all of them return. They’re all 17 or younger. We have a couple 16 year olds on the team,” said Franklin. “

“You know, when an NFL team wins a Super Bowl, they say, ‘We’re going to Disney World!” I said. “Is that going to happen for your volleyball team?”

Coach said, “I think maybe some families are doing it, but I think some of the other families are deciding to either travel back or just relax, because it is a lot to commit to, and so I appreciate all the family’s commitment as well.”