‘Unreal’ basketball season at Surrey’s Holy Cross school just ended

‘Unreal’ basketball season at Surrey’s Holy Cross school just ended

Published 4:30 pm Thursday, March 12, 2026

It was a winning season of basketball at Holy Cross Regional High School, where all but one team played in provincial championship tournaments and a fancy new gym is used for games and practices.

“It’s been a good run for our senior teams, junior, Grade 9 boys, Grade 8 boys, all of them,” agreed Matt LeChasseur, athletic director at the Catholic school in Fleetwood.

“The only team that didn’t make (provincials) was our Grade 8 girls, everybody else made it,” he added. “I think all of our boys teams finished in the top 10, our senior girls won their tier. Basketball was unreal this year for both boys and girls, it was awesome.”

The school’s crowing achievement this winter was a 2A division B.C. hoops championship for the Holy Cross senior girls team at Langley Events Centre on Feb. 28. The banner was a full-circle moment for the tight-knit group, winners of three championships back in Grade 8 under coach Amy Beauchamp.

“Ten of these girls were also on that team, so it’s really fitting that they ended on a win like this,” Beauchamp told the Now-Leader.

Graduating forward Solene Jackson, Most Valuable Player of the 2A tournament, was dominant in the 81-51 win over rival St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights, pouring in 30 points and 25 rebounds.

Three of the Holy Cross basketball players (Alyssa Palma, Isla Iannuzzi and Meghan McCash) also won a volleyball provincial championship for the school in November.

In February, Holy Cross junior boys placed third at basketball provincials. The Crusaders advanced to the tournament semifinal but lost to Burnaby South Rebels, losers to Vancouver College Fighting Irish in the Feb. 24 final. Junior tourney all-stars included Holy Cross’ Isaiah German (first team) and Udhav Juneja (second team).

LeChasseur said Holy Cross successes on the basketball court didn’t develop overnight.

“It’s like hard work, a lot of coaches and players putting in a lot of time on the court,” he underlined. “This year’s Grade 12 girls, they’re a special group going all the way back to Grade 8. And we have a really strong junior girls team, too. Our girls program has been super competitive for quite a while now.

“On the boys side,” LeChasseur added, “this year’s junior boys won the Grade 8 provincials a couple years ago, and they’re a strong group, really rolling.

“Overall, a lot of kids and coaches are working hard, and we’re seeing the results.”

Everyone involved loves the new Holy Cross gym, officially opened in September. The building also includes a new weight room, classrooms, band room, choir room and other amenities, as part of phased reconstruction of the school property on 88 Avenue.

“It’s nice to have the brand-new facility, and that’s something appealing to the kids, too, because they want to spend more time in this nice new gym, you know,” LeChasseur said. “They’re getting in here and getting their shots up and putting in a little extra time because it’s a beautiful facility.

“We had our first B.C. Catholic tournament in the new facility this year and it was it was amazing, the atmosphere and the acoustics,” LeChasseur added. “I didn’t think anything can get louder than our previous gym, but I think we broke the record, that’s for sure.”

Use of the new gym signals the end of the old one, opened in the mid-1980s.

“It’s a sad day in a way,” said the athletic director and coach, “because we’re going to be tearing down our old gym in the next few months. A lot about people have nostalgia about the old gym, the character of the old gym, so it’s a weird transition to this beautiful new facility, which we’re really thankful for and happy with, but we’re also missing the character and the history of the old gym. It’s seen a lot of games over the years.

“The stands in our old gym was around 450 (capacity), and now our new facility is 700 or so. (For games) we have court-side seats and our weight room overlooks the gym, so people can be up there watching in a VIP room and stuff. It’s an amazing, top-notch experience.”