Dittmer, Richards athletes of the week

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Junior Sesay

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Emily Tuttosi

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FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2012, file photo, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in New Orleans. Coming off a 13-3 campaign in 2011 and a narrow loss to San Francisco in that season�s playoffs, the Saints went into the offseason figuring they would be contenders again this season. Then came the NFL�s probe of the Saints� cash-for-hits program and numerous sanctions, the most severe of which was the full-season suspension of coach Sean Payton. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File) (CP)

FIFTH-YEAR forward Tyler Dittmer of the University of Manitoba Bisons men's hockey team is the Canada West and the Smitty's Bisons male athlete of the week.

Dittmer scored five goals in two games, including the game-winner in one game and four goals in the second game to help lead the Bisons to a 2-0 win over the Regina Cougars in the best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series over the weekend.

The Smitty's Bisons female athlete of the week is second-year track and field athlete Melissa Richards, who placed fourth in the pole vault at the Nebraska Tune-up meet over the weekend.

Bisons stampede to Regina

A team of 49 Manitoba Bisons track and field athletes will head to the Canada West championships in Regina this weekend with the top two finishers in each event qualifying for nationals in two weeks.

Freshman Wyatt Eyford of Warren is ranked No. 2 in Canada West in the pentathlon while third-year runner Wilfred Samking is ranked No. 2 in the 60-metres race and freshman Alhaji Mansaray is ranked second in high jump but has qualified for nationals by jumping the standard height.

"I'm very excited to be going into CanWest ranked No. 2," said Eyford, who was a four-time high school provincials champion in hurdles and holds the Manitoba records for junior and senior hurdles. "Hurdles has been my big event. I just want to have a couple of personal bests and keep the rest of my events very consistent."

Pentathlon includes five events: the 1,000-metres run, the 60-metres hurdles, long jump, high jump and shot put.

Manitobans on roster

FOUR Manitobans have been selected to Ringette Canada's senior national team.

Lindsay Burns of Starbuck and Amy Clarkson of Winnipeg along with sisters Ainsley and Andrea Ferguson of Winnipeg are among the 27 players who will train and be evaluated for the 2013 World Ringette Championship, being held in North Bay, Ont., at the end of December.

A Ringette Canada press release stated a playing roster of 22 athletes will be named just prior to the event. Finland, the defending world champion, beat Canada 6-3 at the 2010 World Ringette Championship in Tampere, Finland.

Brees to speak here

DREW BREES, the 2009 Super Bowl MVP and winning quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, will be the keynote speaker on June 13 at the 41st annual "Y" Sports Dinner at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

Brees will headline the dinner, which is the annual major fundraising event for the Rady Jewish Community Centre.

You can call 204-477-7513 to purchase tickets.

Badminton champions

IN badminton at the 2013 Yonex Winnipeg Winter Club Invitational tournament over the weekend, No. 2 seed Ryan Giesbrecht won the men's singles title with a 21-18, 21-17 upset of the top-seeded Andrew Harrison.

In the women's singles final, Haley Nakonechny defeated Kristin Szuminsky 21-15, 21-19.

Harrison was part of the men's doubles champion team with Sean Chawla as they beat Giesbrecht and Justin Friesen 21-18, 21-18 in the final.

Gaudet player of week

JON GAUDET of the Dauphin Kings has been named the Recycle Everywhere-Manitoba Junior Hockey League player of the week after he registered nine points (seven goals, two assists) in three games last week.

Gaudet, a Winnipeg native, now leads the MJHL scoring race with 81 points.

They're the top hoopsters

UNIVERSITY of Winnipeg Wesmen basketball players Stephanie Kleysen and Andrew Cunningham are the Wesmen Pizza Hotline players of the week.

Kleysen, a third-year guard, ended her season with a double-double, 20 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Wesmen women defeat the Manitoba Bisons 65-63.

Fourth-year guard Cunningham scored 33 points in last week's final regular-season win for the Wesmen men, 89-85 over the Manitoba Bisons. Cunningham, who had seven assists in the game, broke the Canada West single-season assists record with 163, breaking the old mark of 162.

-- Ashley Prest

High school stars

Junior Sesay of the Oak Park Raiders varsity boys basketball team and Emily Tuttosi of the Souris Sabres varsity girls basketball team have been named the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association's athletes of the week.

Sesay, a 6-2 guard, is this week's Home Run Sports urban high school athlete of the week. He has led his team to an undefeated league record so far this season, has been the MVP at two tournaments and an all-star at two other tournaments.

The 5-9 Tuttosi, a Grade 12 guard, was chosen as the Tri-Star rural high school athlete of the week.

She was an all-star at two tournaments and is averaging 10.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 steals per game.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 20, 2013 C8