Marsch to have familiar target at Bisons camp

QUARTERBACK Ryan Marsch and receiver Matthew Lariviere will be reunited for the 2012 football season.

The two former Winnipeg Rifles junior players have committed to the University of Manitoba football team. Lariviere was one of six former Rifles announced on Wednesday as having committed to the Bisons. Marsch, who set a Canadian Junior Football single-season passing record of 3,030 yards with the Rifles last season, officially joined the Bisons last week.

Also joining the Bisons are receivers Derek Dean and Alex Vitt, fullback Bryan Giesbrecht, and offensive linemen Nevin Gamblin and Alex McKay.

Besson finalist for award

ALLAN Besson, who retired last fall as a sportswriter at the Free Press, has been selected as a finalist in the Outstanding Newspaper Story category of the Jockey Club of Canada's annual Sovereign Awards.

Besson's story published on Aug. 26, 2011 with the headline "Hard work no problem, mon" is one of three finalists. Besson won the award in 2007.

Coaches recognized

HOCKEY coaches William Hudson and Kali Leary have been selected as the 2011 Manitoba Aboriginal Coach Awards recipients by the Manitoba Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Council.

The awards recognize NCCP-certified aboriginal coaches for their commitment in helping the development of aboriginal athletes.

Sports hall expanding

LAWN bowler Clarice (Lawton) Fitzpatrick, basketball guard Terry Ball and the 1960 and 1962 national rugby champion St. Vital Bulldogs will be inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum on April 30 at Sport Manitoba's Night of Champions at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

Fitzpatrick has won 20 medals at the national level and three more on the international scene. During his career with the University of Manitoba Bisons in 1966-70, Ball was the league scoring champion three times and was named a Western all-star four times and an all-Canadian four times.

Soccer stars honoured

MACKENZIE Neufeld of the Portage Trail Timberwolves (under-16) and Laura Carroll of Winnipeg's SC Northwest Nitro Starz (under-18) have been named the Manitoba Soccer Association's outstanding youth male and female players of the year, respectively, for 2011.

The outstanding senior male and female players are Ivan Garcia of the WSA Winnipeg club and Aisha Alfa. These and the other individual award winners will be honoured at the MSA's annual awards banquet on March 3 at the Viscount Gort Hotel.

'Toba players to compete

SIX Manitoba players are gearing up for the 2012 World League international men's volleyball tournament, which will include games at Toronto's Ricoh Coliseum May 18-20.

Justin Duff, Jason DeRocco, Dustin Schneider, Toon Van Lankvelt, Steve Brinkman and Dan Lewis are members of Team Canada, which will take on Finland, Brazil and Poland in the Canadian leg of the event.

Team Canada, based in Gatineau, Que., is currently ranked No. 18 in the world.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 16, 2012 C4