Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

Top teams from Dufferin County elementary schools met for championship games in the gym at Westside Secondary School in Orangeville on Monday, December 9.

Girl's game

In the girl's final, the Centennial Hylands Elementary School Huskies were up against the Laurelwoods Elementary School Lady Lighting in the final.

Both teams had solid records this season. In the final, Centennial Hylands came out on top to win the championships.

The girl's were coached by Natalie Middlehurst, Holly Benningotn, and Alyssa Nevills.

“We won our semi-final game against Credit Meadows last week, which led us to come to the final,” Ms. Middlehurst said. “We played 12 games and we only lost one of them.”

The team had a surprising number of rookie players who were playing their first season in the sport.

Centennial Hylands player, Anna Camilleri, was playing her first year on the team.

“We were calling the ball, we learned how to block it, we learned how to help out teammates,” Anna said of how the team worked together to be a success.

Grade seven teammate, Aijah McFarlane, is also a first year player.

“We just drive each other and trust each other a lot,” Aijah said after the game. “If we lost a game we don't think of it as a downfall but as an opportunity to learn what we need to do stronger.”

Boy's game

The boy's championship pitted the Primrose Elementary School Puma's against the East Garafraxa Public School Raiders in the final match.

The Pumas managed to with the match in two straight sets.

Coach, Erika Williamson, said she was proud of how the team played the season.

“This is our second year in a row,” Ms. Williamson said. “We were champs last year too. We played a semi-final against Island Lake (public school) and before that we won a tournament in the north (division). There's a north, west, and east division in Dufferin County. East Garafrax won the west but they had a bye to the final. We had an awesome season. The whole season was winning.”

The Primrose boys claimed the title after two close sets that showed a lot of skill and talent from both teams on the court.