Kyle Gilmour didn’t waste any time making an impact with the touring Canadian sevens in New Zealand.
The standout forward with the 2010 Labatt’s Cup premier men’s provincial championship team got into a heated dustup with the Kiwis during a training match this week in Wellington that was YouTube material.
Gilmour, a flanker-turned-eight-man with St. Albert’s first 15, is making his national sevens debut at the International Rugby Board-sanctioned tournament. The first division team’s MVP in 2008 and the Edmonton Rugby Union’s senior player of the year in 2009 was invited to the January selection camp as a result of his strong performance in last year’s Canadian Rugby Championship competition with the Calgary-based Prairie Wolf Pack. He started four straight games at flanker for the Wolf Pack, including the 19-8 loss to The Rock in the playoff final in St. John’s, Nfld.
Canada was scheduled to play South Africa, Fiji and France in the tournament opener Friday. Scores were unavailable at press time.
Gilmour, 23, will also accompany the national sevens to a tournament in Las Vegas, starting next Saturday. On tap for Canada is Fiji, Australia and Scotland.
Meanwhile, British import Simon Gregory will not return to St. Albert for a second season with the premier team. The accurate kicker and standoff star will spend the summer at home working. The 2010 rookie of the year with the first 15 was a major contributor as St. Albert celebrated its first premier men’s provincial championship in club history.
The Lorne Akins Crush junior high wrestling team is pounding the mat today at the annual University of Alberta Paperweight Tournament.
Nine boys and nine girls are competing for medals.
The Crushers are coming off second-place finishes recently at the all-girls’ tournament at Archbishop Joseph MacNeil School and the all-boys’ tournament at Rosslyn Junior High School. Leduc was the top school in the team standings at both meets.
Six female Crushers captured hardware at the all-girls’ event. In total, 17 schools from northern Alberta participated. The Crush medal winners are as follows:
Gold: Lizzie Pasek (55 kilograms) and Tegan Barnes (52 kg).
Silver: Lauren Rogers (33 kg), Hayley Allen (57 kg) and Brooklyn Failing (41 kg).
Bronze: Katja Randall (44 kg).
At the all-boys’ tournament, 17 schools participated. The following 13 Crushers won medals.
Gold: Jesse Shirton (49 kg), Logan Brubaker (60 kg), Conor McIntyre (77 kg) and Chance March (43 kg).
Silver: Ryan Dykstra (37 kg), Kai Ohki (41 kg), Telly Gurney (47 kg), Connor Beuerlein (45 kg), Devin Headrick (43 kg) and Bryan Fetzko (62 kg).
Bronze: Ben Edgeworth (45 kg), Dalin Riches (45 kg) and Jakob Brinkhof (57 kg).
The wrestling season wraps up Feb. 19 with the Alberta Junior Olympics in Olds. Last year at provincials in Calgary, the Crushers collected four gold, six silver and four bronze. They were represented by 22 wrestlers, including Grade 9 grapplers.
The Crush record for provincial medals is 21, set in 2007 and equalled in 2009.
Garth Wallin of St. Albert qualified for his second Red Bull Crashed Ice world championship in a row with a second-place result at last weekend’s individual speed trials at Clareview Arena.
The top participants that demonstrated the best skating skill, agility and strength earned a spot at the March 19 worlds in Quebec City.
Wallin’s qualifying time was 11.573. The fastest skater was Adam Horst at 11.542.
Male and female athletes from across the country were able to register online between Jan. 1 to 14 for a chance to participate in one of 12 qualifying events taking place in Canada. A lottery selected 200 men and 20 women per qualifying city for the speed trials on a traditional ice hockey surface.
Last year as the youngest skater at worlds, Wallin finished 40th out of 128 competitors.
The 18-year-old is a forward with the Sherwood Park Crusaders in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The midget AAA product of the St. Albert Raiders has five goals, nine assists and 66 penalty minutes in his rookie season. He is a Paul Kane High School graduate.
