The year in local sports

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This article was published 30/12/2019 (2411 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

West 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.

Blues sold to 50 Below

The owners of the Winnipeg Blues signed a letter of intent to sell the team to 50 Below Sports & Entertainment Inc. in the early months of 2019. At the time, Tom Kleysen, vice-president of operations, director and MJHL governor for the Winnipeg Blues, stated the sale was intended to make the team’s operations more sustainable.

West wins big in Denmark

Charleswood swimmer Mia West took part in a national competition in Denmark with the Esbjerg Swim Club and came away with gold in the relay event, as well as hardware in six other categories. West, whose parents were also successful swimmers (her mother, Riley, competed in the ‘96 summer Olympics) said she was grateful for the opportunity. “I’m thankful that I got to go there and just to swim in a different country, it was kind of weird because the starter spoke a different language,” she told the Metro after her return home.

Golden gift for Langelaar

St. James speed skater Tyson Langelaar brought home a special birthday present from the Canada Winter Games on Feb. 17: a gold medal. Langelaar, who turned 20 that day, won the medal in the 500-metre long track event at the games, held in Red Deer, Alta.

Warriors win city banner

The Westwood Warriors defeated Sturgeon Heights 5-4 on June 2 to win the city championship for the first time in a decade. Coach Ryan Price told The Metro, following the win, that the school had seen far more support for the lacrosse program than in previous years. “The whole culture in the school has improved,” Price said. “The first year we had to kind of beg kids to come out and play… and this year we actually had to make a bunch of cuts.” The final game was a back-and-forth nailbiter. The score was tied 4-4 until the last two minutes when Westwood player Easton Grieve got a breakaway and passed to Troy Borthistle, who scored the winning goal. “We all celebrated hard, we were all jumping around and throwing our arms up,” Grade 11 midfielder and co-captain Jackson Klewchuk said.

Johnson takes mound for Goldeyes

St. James’ own Ryan Johnson was the first homegrown player to play for the Winnipeg Goldeyes since 2006 when he took the mound this year. Johnson had previously played for the St. James A’s and had just recently wrapped up a career stateside with Lubbock Christian University in Texas. He was on track to continue his career on the diamond in Ontario when home came calling. Johnson led the Goldeyes to a 3-1 victory over the Gary SouthShore RailCats at Shaw Park on May 29, pitching six and two-thirds shutout innings.

Speed skaters tune up at outdoor oval

The 400-metre outdoor oval located behind the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex is the only long-track speed skating rink in Winnipeg and skaters took to the ice for the first time this winter during an annual training camp hosted by the Manitoba Speed Skating Association on Dec. 27 and 28. Thirty-five skaters took part in the camp, including many of the Team Manitoba athletes headed to the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta., in February. “It’s a great way for the kids to get back on the ice and get comfortable on long track again because they’ve been skating short track predominantly so far,” said MSSA executive director Elizabeth Williamson Derraugh.

Archer to rep Manitoba in Red Deer

In February, The Metro profiled a Grade 9 Westwood Collegiate student who represented Team Manitoba at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta. Cleo Wermann-Thorn was drawn to archery because of the calm and focus it requires. “It isn’t a super fast-paced sport like hockey… everybody is focusing on shooting their best and it’s very quiet,” she said of the atmosphere on the range. She was one of the  four archers representing Team Manitoba at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta. While Wermann-Thorn has participated in large provincial tournaments — including at the 2018 Manitoba Winter Games in Thompson — this was her first time competing at a national level.

Great showing for Westwood curlers

In March, Westwood Collegiate had two teams to cheer for at the provincial curling championships this year. The girls team, skipped by Grade 10 Emily Ogg, won the West Winnipeg Athletic Conference with a 6-0 record, earning them a spot at provincials. The boys team, skipped by Grade 12 Matthew Bijl, ended up at the tournament in a more roundabout way. Finishing third in the WWAC with a 5-2-1 record, the boys had to play the Morden Thunder for the wildcard draw. The Warriors were down by four after the first end of the game, but came back to win it 9-8. “My mindset was I was just going to take it one at a time and we ended up winning and stealing an extra end, so that first game even to get to provincials was a lot,” Bijl said. This was Bijl’s second time representing Westwood at provincials, but his first time as skip.

Huskies hockey programs capture city titles

Later on in March, both of Sturgeon Heights Collegiate’s varsity hockey teams became city champions.
The girls team defeated St. John’s Ravenscourt 3-1 on March 12 to become the 2019 Division 2 champs of the Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League. On the boys’ side, the Huskies beat the Garden City Gophers two games to one on Feb. 27 in the best-of-three final series to win the Winnipeg High School Hockey League’s Division 1 banner. They then moved on to the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s provincial tournament, where they lost 3-0 in the final to the St. Paul’s Crusaders on March 11.

New home for boxing club

In May, Westside Boxing 204 found a new home. The St. James boxing club was started six years ago by Leonard Serada in the basement of Sturgeon Creek United Church. When the church welcomed two other congregations into the building through amalgamation last fall, Serada lost his training space. Serada thanked the church for its support over the years. With a philosophy that hinges on making boxing accessible to everyone, Serada had a hard time finding a new location that wouldn’t charge him a rental fee. “I was told no so many times it was unreal,” he said, adding that he only charges students $35 a month. “And if you don’t have it, we’ll work around it. “I wanted to start something where everybody could come in, no matter what their level and no matter what their interest and that was for all levels of income.” Westside was welcomed into Crestview’s Assiniboia West Recreation Association with open arms.

Charleswood teen to play on national stage

A Grade 10 Oak Park student was one of 63 athletes from across the country played in an exhibition game hosted by CanadaFootballChat (CFC) on June 1. Rhyland Kelly, a 15 year old student, was one of 10 Winnipeg football players selected for a national showcase game in Ottawa. The teams were coached by former CFLers Matt Dunigan and Henry Burris and the game was broadcast on TSN the following day. “The exposure and all the coaches that will be there and just the experience,” said Kelly, when asked what he’s most looking forward to about the opportunity.

St. James students bring home bowling bronze

Two St. James teens took home prizes in a national bowling competition in May. St. James Collegiate student Hailey Roberts and Sturgeon Heights Collegiate student Chloe Fleming represented Manitoba at the 2019 Youth Bowl Canada National Championships in Oshawa, Ont. from May 5 to 7. The Grade 9 five-pin bowlers took home a bronze in the junior girls double event and a gold in the junior mixed team event. “I was happy, it was a big accomplishment for me to just get there because I’ve been working towards that for so long,” Fleming said of her first experience at nationals. “It feels good because the last time I went we got fourth place from a tie-breaker that we lost,” added Roberts.

Warriors capture lacrosse banner

In June, the Westwood Warriors lacrosse team became city champions for the first time in nearly a decade.
The school previously had a team from 2007 to 2010 and the latter was the last year the team brought home a banner. In 2016, a handful of students helped bring the sport back to Westwood.
This year, the team moved up to the A-side of Division 1 in the Manitoba High School Field Lacrosse League and on June 2 the Warriors beat Sturgeon Heights 5-4 to take home the city championship. The final game was a back-and-forth nailbiter. The score was tied 4-4 until the last two minutes when Westwood player Easton Grieve got a breakaway and passed to Troy Borthistle, who scored the winning goal.

Charleswood wrestler snatches gold at WCSG

In September, we caught up with Sam Pereira, a 15-year-old from Charleswood, who took home gold in the 63-kilogram division at the Western Canada Summer Games. He also helped Manitoba win silver in the all-male team competition. The young grappler said he was happy with the results.“I feel pretty good. I worked very hard for (the medals.) I did a lot of training, had great training partners, there was a lot of sweat, tears and blood,” Pereira said. “I love wrestling because … You have a team, but you have to work for yourself. There are no second chances; it’s all up to you. I love that.” Pereira moved to Edmonton on Aug. 31 to join Edmonton Wrestling Club, with whom he will train for the next year. While there he’ll live with a friend who is also a wrestler, while his family will remain in Charleswood.

Local curlers win big at international competition

Near the end of October, A local team from Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club took home gold at an international competition. Team Kurz, representing Team Canada at the 2019 World Mixed Curling Championship in Aberdeen, Scotland, won the gold medal game against Germany on Sat., Oct. 19. The team consists of skip Colin Kurz, vice-skip Meghan Walter, second Brendan Bilawka, lead Sara Oliver and national coach Jim Waite. The victory puts Canada in an unprecedented position, as no country has ever won back-to-back gold medals since the event began in 2015. Walter, 17, is also the youngest player in history to win a mixed championship gold medal in curling. Kurz said they’re happy with the success.
“World champion has a good ring to it. We’re really happy, it hasn’t quite sunk in yet for us, but it’s kind of what we came here for. ” Kurz said. “We realize it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and we want to make the most of it.”

Huskies win provincial volleyball championships

The Sturgeon Heights junior varsity girls volleyball team ended the year as provincial champions. The Huskies won the McDonald’s Provincial AAAA Volleyball Championships in a three-set blowout against the Westwood Warriors. The Huskies ran through the season mostly undefeated, and were one of the teams favoured to win the provincials. The final game against the Westwood Warriors made the team nervous, but Vermette said once they got into the game, the team worked together beautifully. Vermette knew the Warriors were a tough serving team, and had studied where they liked to hit the ball. In the end, the Westwood Warriors couldn’t adjust, with the Huskies winning in three sets: 25-19, 25-18 and 25-22. Brook Duncalfe was listed as the MVP of the championship. Emily Barnett, a setter on the team, said they felt good about the victory. “It was really exciting and really glad we were able to do it,” Barnett said. “We really worked for it.”