The year in local sports
Advertisement
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/12/2019 (2093 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Northeast Winnipeg is an active community, with residents competing in sports at every level. In 2019, local athletes spent their fair share of time in the spotlight. Here are a few of the top sports stories of the year.
Elmwood Curling Club rinks square off in provincial junior women’s final
On Jan. 7, Elmwood Curling Club’s Mackenzie Zacharias won the 2019 junior women’s provincial title at the Heather Curling Club, defeating fellow Elmwood clubmate Meghan Walter’s rink 8-2 in eight ends.
“It feels pretty great,” Zacharias said. “We were able to do this at the U18 level, but never at this level. It’s incredible. The final was one of the best games we played all year.”
The winning team — which includes third Lauryn Kuzyk, sister Emily Zacharias at second, and lead Caitlyn Labossiere — started the tourney ranked No. 1 before going 6-1 through round robin play.
Walter’s rink went 7-0 through the round robin until the final, playing with only three members, with second Morgan Reimer and lead Mackenzie Elias throwing three rocks each every end.
Pair from East St. Paul Figure Skating Club competed at Canada Winter Games
Jade Pilat and Emmet Dewar, 14-year-old figure skaters from the East St. Paul Figure Skating Club, competed on Feb. 25 and 27 as part of Team Manitoba at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta. The pair competed in the pre-novice division at the Canada Winter Games, a level above their proper age category (juvenile), finishing fourth.
East St. Paul striker joins Valour FC
Valour FC’s Tyler Attardo, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student at River East Collegiate, became the youngest player signed by a Canadian Premier League soccer club.
Attardo grew up playing for Winnipeg Phoenix FC and FC Northwest and competed provincially for Manitoba, on both provincial and club teams. After a few stints training abroad, Attardo appeared in 20 Valour FC games during their inaugural 2019 season, logging 998 minutes and scoring six goals.
Murdoch MacKay girls win high school hockey division banner
In March, the Murdoch MacKay Clansmen girls hockey team won the Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League’s Hire Marketing Division championship in their inaugural year in the league.
On March 12, the Clansmen beat the Springfield Sabres in two straight games to win the title.
“We were pretty proud of ourselves that we’d made it that far,” team captain Cierra Melnyk, the team’s only Grade 12 player, said of making the division final. “But we were able to do it and win the championship.”
The Clansmen finished the regular season with 33 points in 22 games, which tied them with Glenlawn Lions for third place. Glenlawn, however, had a positive goal differential of 35, while Murdoch’s differential was +30.
“We’re so happy with how the Murdoch girls have performed in the regular season,” said aid Brienna Street, a coach teacher at Murdoch. “Nobody would have expected this, based on the games we were watching in September. It just goes to show how much they wanted to grow as players.”
High school track stars win provincial medals, join the Herd
A number of northeast runners won provincial track and field medals this year while making commitments to run with the Herd going forward.
Jordan Soufi, a Grade 12 student at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, won both the boys varsity 100-metre and 200-metre races at the high school provincial meet in June. River East Collegiate students Calvin Reimer won the boys varsity 1,500-metre run with a time of 4:10.96 and placed third in the boys varsity 3000 metre with a time of 9:24.72 and Angela Kroeker won the girls varsity 3,000-metre, clocking in with a personal best time of 10:40.41.
All three athletes have committed to join the University of Manitoba track team.
Meanwhile, Murdoch MacKay Collegiate’s Preston Kull, a Grade 12 student, won gold in the boys varsity high jump, vaulting 1.89 metres and placed second in the outdoor pentathlon event; Reese Lange won silver in the 100-metre dash with a time of 13.22; and Grade 10 sprinter Jayden Bryant won gold in the boys junior varsity 200- and 400-metre dashes, clocking in at 22.86 and 51.11 seconds, respectively.
Mason Schwartz, a Grade 10 student at Elmwood High School, won gold in the inaugural 400-metre para-intellectual dash with a time of 1:16.
Elmwood Giants win back-to-back junior baseball titles
The Elmwood Giants won their second consecutive Manitoba Junior Baseball League championship, their fourth in the last six seasons.
The Giants took home the provincial AAA banner after defeating the St. Boniface Legionaires 9-7 on Aug. 1 to win the best-of-five series three games to one. Elmwood went 20-3 in the regular season before winning their semifinal series against the Interlake Blue Jays 3-1 on their way to the final.
“Starting the season, we didn’t know where we were,” manager Ed Kulyk said. “All 18 guys contributed all year to get us to where we are. All 18 guys were part of that championship.”
Kildonan East boys repeat as provincial golf champs
Kildonan-East Collegiate won their second consecutive provincial golf championship on Sept. 30 in Swan River, Man.
The team, made up of Grade 12 players Carter Johnson, Lachlan Allerton, and Landon Normand and Grade 11 golfer Trey Ross, combined for a score of 239, 13 strokes better than the runners up from St. John’s-Ravenscourt. The top three of a foursome’s scores are added together to make up the team’s tally.
“We really came together as a team, kind of made sure we were all on our game and that everyone was doing the right thing,” Landon Normand said.
Last year, Johnson, Allerton, Ross and Reed Merner-Bannman won the Manitoba High School Athletics Association provincial golf championship with a combined 242, playing through a snowstorm at Hecla Island to capture KEC’s first-ever provincial golf championship.
East Side Eagles football club three-peat at minor football championships
The East Side Eagles Football Club enjoyed the fruits of a season of hard work Oct. 26 and 27, as three of their clubs won championships at Investors Group Field.
The Eagles won the Manitoba Major Junior Football League title, defeating the St. Vital Mustangs 23-14. In minor football action, the Eagles Atom 6AA squad beat the Falcons Football Club in a tight 53-52 game, while the Eagles Atom 9AA squad beat the St. Vital Mustangs Black 40-18.
Local curlers wins mixed world championship
Two local curlers won gold at the World Mixed Curling Championship in Aberdeen, Scotland in October.
“I’ve never thought I would associate myself with being a world champion,” said Meghan Walter, a Grade 12 student at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, said. “But it is a very good feeling and something to be so proud of.”
Team Canada — made up of vice-skip Walter, skip Colin Kurz, second Brendan Bilawka (an East St. Paul resident), and lead Sara Oliver — beat Germany on Oct. 19 by a score of 6-5 to bring home the gold medal.
Miles Mac football team takes home division 2 banner
The Miles Macdonell Buckeyes football team won the Winnipeg High School Football League’s Division 2 CTV Bowl, bringing home a championship football banner for the first time since 2005.
The Buckeyes defeated the Portage Collegiate Trojans 28-6 on Nov. 16 at Investors Group Field.
“It was something we expected, we expected to be in the final because that was the expectation we set for our group,” head coach Dan Washnuk admitted.
“We were feeling confident. They had us in the first half there, but we just kind of outlasted them. The momentum continued to swing.”
The championship marks the first time Miles Mac has brought home a football banner since the Buckeyes won the CTV Bowl back in 2005. In 2011 Miles Mac made the AA finals, then reached the AAA finals in 2012.
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Advertisement Advertise With Us
Advertisement Advertise With Us