Coaldale Christian Titans win gold at 3A Provincial Basketball Championships

Sunny South News Photo by Kristine Jean. GOLD: (Above) A The Coaldale Christian Titans senior boys basketball team battled their way to a gold medal at the SSA 3A Basketball Provincial Championships on March 2 narrowly defeating the Brooks Composite Buffalos 80-79 in the gold medal game.

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

The Coaldale Christian Titans are your 2026 SSA 3A Boys Provincial Champions.   

The Titans added another gold medal and banner to their impressive collection, after defeating the Brooks Composite Buffalos 80-79 in the School Sport Alberta (SSA) 3A Basketball Provincial Championships March 19-21. 

Coaldale Christian Titans head coach Mark Veldjesgraaf was thrilled with his team’s effort on Saturday, and noted while this was the team’s fifth straight provincial championship – with four at the 1A level, it was their first provincial victory at the 3A level. 

“It was incredible. It was the best game I’ve ever been a part of,” said Veldjesgraaf. “We hit incredible three-pointers and we had some incredible rebounding at the right time. A difference (was) our defence in the third quarter.”  

Veldjesgraaf also noted some other key factors in Saturday’s gold medal win including the team’s size and talented shooters.  

“By half-time we were down 58-49 and then (with some) good defence in the third quarter, they only scored six points on us in the third quarter and were leading by two going into the fourth quarter,” he said. “We went up by 10 half-way through the fourth quarter and they came back and they were actually leading by one point with 16 seconds left (in the game).” 

As the clock ticked down, the Titans were able to get the ball back to the Buffalo’s end, got a rebound and scored with just four seconds remaining in the game. 

Veldjesgraaf also noted the Titans successful season that included winning Zones, but it didn’t come without some adversity earlier in the year, when their point-guard went down with a dislocated shoulder and was out with an injury for several weeks. He returned to the lineup in time for the Zones championships. 

“When we decided to opt up to 3A this year, making provincials was our only goal. We didn’t really care about winning at first, we just wanted to make it because we’re a super small school,” explained Veldjesgraaf, pointing out the school’s 50-some students. “We’re competing against teams with 600 in high school. So it just makes provincials a really huge achievement for us and to pull it off and winner the banner is just incredible.”     

This year’s championships took place in Coaldale and was hosted by Coaldale Prairie Winds Secondary School, who welcomed a total of 24 teams from across the province. The Prairie Winds girls team finished in second place, earning a silver medal after falling 60-22 to the W.R. Myers Rebels from Taber, while the Coaldale Prairie Winds boys team finished in eighth place Saturday afternoon after losing 82-74 to Holy Rosary School.  

The Wild girls team found themselves behind early in their gold medal game Saturday afternoon, and could never seem to catch up to a tough Rebels team from Taber. 

Wild Head coach Nicole Hanna said the girls gave it their all Saturday and should be proud of their hard-earned silver medal. 

“This is one of our best showings in a long time so the girls should be really proud at finishing second in the province,” said Hanna, post-game. “It’s no easy feat.” 

She pointed to the girls successful season and provincial tournament.  

“The girls had a really great year. They played two great games (at Provincials), and the ball just didn’t fall in the basket for us today,” she said. “It’s unfortunate it happened in this game, but it happens and they should be really proud of how hard they worked and how they played.”       

W.R. Myers Rebels head coach Chad McClenaghan, said his team’s gold medal victory was the result of a full team effort. 

“We play as a team. There’s 10 players, they’re connected, they work together, they move the ball, they trust each other and they trust their coaches,” said McClenaghan. “That’s what we’ve been preaching all year is, next play, next play, doesn’t matter what happened if you scored, go to the next play, if you miss, the next play. We are just so connected as a team. I’ve coached for 25 years and this is the most connected team I’ve ever had.”        

The Rebels near-perfect season included 34 wins with one loss at a tournament, noted McClenaghan. 

“I’m so proud of the girls and the way they played. It’s due to their connectivity,” he added, noting Saturday’s gold medal was only the fifth Provincial Championship Banner in the schools’ history. “This is big. It’s a huge accomplishment for these girls.” 

Coaldale Prairie Winds Secondary School Principal Chad Jensen was pleased with how the provincial tournament went and praised the efforts of both the boys and girls Prairie Winds Wild teams. 

“Very proud of both the boys and girls teams – they both had very successful seasons,” said Jensen. “This week has been phenomenal. A big thank you to all of our volunteers. Clayton Ressler, our organizer has done an amazing job,” he added. “It’s been really cool to see the community come out and support our athletes and it’s been a really nice week to showcase our school.” 

The SSA 3A Basketball Provincial Championships organizer Clayton Ressler, said the provincial tournament was a great success.  

“It’s been really awesome. We’ve got a couple of local teams finding a ton of success,” said Ressler. “Overall the tournament’s just been a big success. It’s run really smoothly … so many hours go into this with tons of volunteers. Kudos to our organizing committee and all the people that have made this possible.”   

Ressler noted the huge accomplishment just to make it to Provincials. 

“You got to win your Zone, you’re the best out of a lot more than just the 24 teams, but at this tournament, you’ve found lots of success as well,” said Ressler. “For every athlete here our goal was to provide a special experience for them …we just wanted this to be a lasting memory for kids so that when they look back on their high school career, it’s a really positive one.”