The year in local sports
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This article was published 02/01/2019 (2496 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 2018, there were plenty of things for local athletes to celebrate.
Murdoch boys, KEC girls win high school hockey division banners
In March, the Murdoch MacKay Clansmen boys hockey team won the Winnipeg High School Hockey League’s Price Division championship for the second year in a row.
“It was a full team effort, top to bottom,” said Daniel McDonald, Murdoch MacKay head coach and a math teacher at the school. “We did a good job of persevering and bouncing back when things didn’t go our way, making up for it the next shift.”
Murdoch, which finished second in the regular season, dispatched the first place Leo Remillard Renards in two straight games in the division final.
The Kildonan East Reivers girls hockey team won the Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League’s Hire Marketing Division championship for the first time in the program’s three year history.
“It was nerve-wracking and exciting,” said assistant coach Taylor Wilgosh. “It means a lot, especially to the girls who are graduating.”
In 2016-17, their inaugural season in the WWHSHL, the Reivers did not win a single game. In 2017-18, the Reivers posted nine wins, 10 regulation losses, a tie and two overtime losses. On March 9, 2018, the Kildonan East Reivers defeated the Glenlawn Lions 5-4 in Game 2 of the final series to the division championship.
East St. Paul gymnasts on the podium
A handful of East St. Paul gymnasts took home some hardware at the Manitoba Winter Games in Thompson, Man. on March 9. Kaylee Huminuk had won gold medals in the vault, balance beam, and all around gymnastics streams, and a bronze on the uneven bars in the 12-year-old category. Rhea Silvaggio won a gold medal in floor exercise and a bronze in the uneven bars for 13-17 year olds. Hannah Reimer won bronze for balance beam for 13-17 year olds.
Transcona Railer Express make MMJHL final, lose to Raiders
In April, the Transcona Railer Express made it as far as the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League championship before falling to the Raiders Junior Hockey Club four games to one in the best-of-seven series.
“We were in all those games,” head coach Derek Gagnon said. “Our effort was there. We always put a full effort in. We didn’t take many penalties and we played hard.”
The final was a first for the Railer Express, and the first time since 1992 that a team from Transcona had made it that far.
Young Pride Muay Thai fighter wins international competition
On June 24, Abigayle Rocchio, 10, won the championship belt for the junior light welterweight division at the Muay Thai World Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.
Rocchio defeated Minha Castillo, 10, from Houston, Texas in a technical knock-out 49 seconds into the second round.
Organized by the Thai Boxing Association-Sanctioning Authority, the Muay Thai World Expo is the largest tournament in North America for Muay Thai with over 700 fighters competing over the course of the weekend.Rocchio, who lives in Niverville, trains at Pride Muay Thai in Transcona.
Elmwood Giants win junior baseball crown
The Elmwood Giants won their third Manitoba Junior Baseball League championship in five years.
The Giants defeated defending champs the St. James A’s, sweeping the best-of-three series with an epic 11 inning 8-6 win on Aug. 5.
“The boys were on cloud nine,” said assistant coach Joss Perron, who has been coaching the Giants for the past 10 years alongside manager Ed Kulyk.
“Everything came together at the right time,” Kulyk said. “Confidence with the boys was at an all-time high. It was back and forth, they had chances, we had chances. It was such a good game. They battled but we just had a couple more breaks than they did.”
Kildonan East boys win school’s first provincial golf title
On Sept. 28, the Kildonan East boys golf team of Trey Ross, Carter Johnson, Reed Merner-Bannman, and Lachlan Allerton won the school’s first ever provincial golf championship.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Allerton, a Grade 11 student who also registered the individual low score of the championship with a 75. “We didn’t even have a team a couple weeks ago, we just put it together.”
The boys, who shot a combined 242 to win the provincial title, came together at the start of the school year. On Sept. 17, they placed second in the KPAC championship, three strokes back of the team from nearby Miles Macdonell Collegiate. When the Miles Mac team was unable to compete in provincials, the KEC boys took their place.
“Things just clicked and it worked out for us,” said coach Curt Bauer.
Transcona Nationals repeat as Manitoba Major Junior Football champs
With a 32-12 victory over the St. Vital Mustangs on Oct. 27 at Investors Group Field, the Nationals repeated as MMJFL champs.
“We have a high talent level, we have so many talented ball players,” said third-year coach Barry Berard. “Our O coaches and D coaches do a great job at building systems to take advantage of those talents. Our guys can play the game hard and fast and make us look good.”
River East football team takes home division 2 banner
The River East Kodiaks 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 1997.
The Kodiaks defeated Kelvin 22-14 in the WHSFL Division 2 CTV Bowl on Nov. 9 at Investors Group Field.
“It’s a nice achievement,” said Sean Oleksewycz, head coach of the Kodiaks. “We’re looking to rebuild the program here, so this is a good springboard for that.”
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
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High school sports highlights
Many high school athletes across northeastern Winnipeg enjoyed success in 2018. Here are a few of the highlights:
• The Miles Macdonell Collegiate boys curling team repeated as KPAC champs, defeating River East on Feb. 8 by a score of 9-4 to go undefeated in league play.
• On March 1, the Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau girls junior varsity basketball team won the South Central Athletic Conference’s AAA championship, defeating Westgate 44-41 at home.
• On March 2, the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute’s varsity girls basketball team won the KPAC tier 2 championship. The Hawks defeated Transcona Collegiate 75-71 in the dramatic final game.
• Riley Tougas, a Grade 12 wrestler from Elmwood High School, took home the provincial title in the 71 kg weight class at the March 17 provincial championship. At the national competition in April, Tougas finished fourth.
• Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau’s women’s soccer team won the second tier of the Manitoba Soccer Association’s indoor high school soccer league title in April.
• On May 23, the River East Kodiaks women’s soccer team won the KPAC outdoor championship. The Kodiaks defeated West Kildonan 2-1 in a dramatic, 13-round shootout. At the provincial tournament, River East finished third. Their only loss of the season came at the hands of Glenlawn, who would go on to win the provincial title.
• A pair of student athletes from northeast Winnipeg each took home a pair of gold medals at the recent Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association high school track and field championships.
Reese Lange, a Grade 10 junior varsity athlete from Murdoch MacKay Collegiate won the 200-metre race with a time of 26.27, and posted 13.16-second time in the 100 metres.
Jordan Soufi, a Grade 11 varsity runner from Miles Macdonell Collegiate, ran the 100 metres in 11.54 seconds and the 200 metres in 22.59, both personal bests. Jonathan Chausse, in Grade 10 at Miles Macdonell, won first place in junior varsity boys high jump with a leap of 1.81 metres.
• MBCI’s varsity and junior varsity girls volleyball teams had banner years in 2018.The varsity girls went undefeated in league play to capture the KPAC Tier 1 on Nov. 24. The junior varsity girls also went undefeated in league play before capturing the KPAC Tier 1 championship on Nov. 15.
• The Kildonan East Reivers girls junior varsity volleyball team won the KPAC Tier 2 championship, defeating Trancona Collegiate in the final after an undefeated league season.
— Staff
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.
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