Raymond Comets 7s rugby team takes home provincial championship

Posted on May 29, 2025 by admin

By Garrett Simmons
Westwind Weekly News

When the chips are down, and a provincial title is on the line, the Raymond Comets come to play.

That has been a common theme across the board in Raymond, no matter what the sport, as championships simply mean a little more in the southern Alberta community.

The theory was tested and proven correct last weekend at the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association Rugby 7s Provincials at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.

Raymond steamrolled through pool play and the semis, as the Comets came up against a familiar foe in the final – Catholic Central.

“They are a very good team,” said Comets coach Dan Bikman, whose team narrowly escaped with a 15-14 win over CCH at zones. “They almost ended our season in that game.”

But as the teams clashed in St. Albert, the Lethbridge school bore witness to a different Raymond club, as the Comets rolled to a huge 32-0 win to capture gold.

“Our kids were just clicking,” said Bikman. “It was the communication, organization and then that psychology of the provincial title being on the line. In our school and our program, we really value winning provincials.”

That winning mindset was on full display, along with a team that oozed confidence and simply had a better flow to its game, compared to zones.

“Throughout zones, we really didn’t know who our top seven was going to be,” said Bikman, who added the Comets ran through the team’s bench and got through zones the best it could.

A solid stretch of practices solidified Raymond’s top seven, as 2-3 super subs began to emerge. That mix of talent proved too much for the teams at 7s provincials, as the Comets breezed past Henry Wisewood 35-5, defeated Charles Spencer 30-0 and earned a 32-5 win over Strathcona.

“What every other team had was 3-4 players that matched us, but we had seven players that were equal in talent to their 3-4,” said Bikman.

“We were just a little deeper and a little more organized.”

Raymond then cruised to a 30-0 win over Holy Trinity in the semifinal, to set up the CCH rematch.

“The kids kept getting better every game,” said Bikman. “They just got into a flow.”

Raymond was also able to race out to big leads and then perform wholesale lineup changes and bring in seven new bodies in those contests, to keep everyone fresh for the playoffs.

“We’d get the game in hand and then put them out there and they would hold the line and score a few tries for us,” said Bikman.

In the end, the coach added it was probably the most fun he’s had at a provincial tournament, in terms of seeing the growth in his players throughout the event.

“The communication and the unselfish play led to a really cool provincial championship,” he said.

Raymond was led by its four Grade 12 captains – Maysa Nelson, Zoe Michelson, Lesha Leavitt and Kodi Ralph, who helped bring another title south.

Now, the 15s team is set to finish its 2025 season. Raymond played in the zone semifinal Wednesday against Chinook High School (score unavailable at press time).

A win in that game would put Raymond in the zone final Monday against Lethbridge Collegiate Institute.