The Birch Hills high school has the reputation of producing very competitive basketball teams. The boys’ teams from 1984 to 1987, under the guidance of head coach Bill Yeaman, had some of the strongest teams to come out of the Birch Hills community. What made these teams unique was the ability to compete against the larger and more populated city schools in Saskatchewan.
Birch Hills dominated the 2A boys category in the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association by winning four straight provincial titles beginning in 1984. What made these Birch Hills teams so special was their ability to compete against the top 4A and 5A teams in the province. Having played 80% of their games against the larger schools in the province, their record was 109 wins and 31 losses. The teams went on to win 16 tournaments over that time span.
Notably, in the 1986 season, the team never played or practiced in their home gym. A major renovation of the Birch Hills school had them travel to Kinistino to use their gym. Over the course of those four years, the team had numerous accomplishments. In 1986, they defeated the number one ranked team from Regina to win a tournament. In 1987, the team was invited to play over the Christmas break at an international tournament in Bottineau, North Dakota and, that same year, defeated the third ranked team out of Saskatoon to win the tournament.
From an individual player’s accomplishments, four players from these teams were selected to play in the Saskatchewan High School All Star game – Carmen Bear (86), Darrin Rask and Kevin Foster (87) and Trevor Mitchell (88). Darrin Rask was the only player to play on all four teams and had an outstanding University career playing five years for the U of S Huskies. He was one of the leading three point shooters in Canada West. The teams had outstanding managers—Ginger Oleniuk, Alana Hounsell, Robin Getz, and Lori Hendricks. They kept game stats and did the filming which was a huge part of the teams’ success.
As much as these players accomplished on the court, they were such positive ambassadors for their own communities of Birch Hills and Muskoday. Through their play on the court, fans were able to witness the beliefs and values of the Birch Hills Marauders: hard work, excellent skills, determination and outstanding sportsmanship.
Coach Yeaman is very proud of the teams’ basketball accomplishments, but will always treasure the quality of citizens that all these players have become and what they have contributed back to their communities.
Players from 1984 to 1987 include: Tim Andvaag, Corey Apesland, Brad Bear, Carmen Bear, Kelly Bear, Wayne Berge, Jeff Balone, Warren Brownell, Paul Crivea, Kevin Foster, Darren Gronvold, Jerry Heffernan, Robin Harper, Kevin Mitchell, Trevor Mitchell, Orvin Opseth, Darrin Rask, Dobby Reid, Earl Shilling, Kelly Soyland, Cory Smith, Corey Strangeland, Duane Stangeland, Dean Thompson. Coach: Bill Yeaman Managers: Ginger Oleniuk, Robin Getz, Alana Hounsell, Lori Hendrick.
