The first St. Albert Ringette Association U14 team to win a provincial championship in tween A was accomplished by the Sonic girls last weekend at Calgary.
The Sonic are Avery Bengert, Breanne Dagenais, Mary-Eve Gautier, Christie Gerlach-Smith, Lacee Harris, Katie Henderson, Lauren Henderson, Jacqueline Johnston, Jessica Kwiatkowski, Clare Leitch, Hailey Mahon, Keira Nystrom, Erica Tosto and Sarah Willette. Head coach is Al Henderson and assistant coaches are Frank Tosto, Martin Gautier, Rob Leitch and Teri Harris.
In the final, the Sonic floored Calgary Knockout 6-3. The Calgary city champions jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, with Sonic captain Lauren Henderson getting the St. Albert team’s first goal. Before the first period ended, Sonic tied it up on goals by Mahon and Johnston. In the last period the Sonic controlled play as Mahon’s second goal of the game in the opening minutes put her team ahead to stay. Harris and Dagenais rounded out the scoring. In net was Nystrom.
In the round robin the Sonic outscored their opponents 32-19 in five wins as Nystrom and Bengert took turns between the pipes. In the semifinal the Sonic beat Edmonton 6-4 in a hard-fought affair.
The Sonic won the right to compete at provincials by winning zone 5, which comprises the communities of the greater Edmonton area. They had not lost a game since Jan. 30, on the way to sweeping the zone playdowns.
The St. Albert gymnastics community will be well represented at the April 16 to 18 provincials, hosted by the Dynamyx Gymnastics Club at Performance Arena.
Last weekend at the northern zone championships at the St. Albert Gymnastics Club (SAGC), 23 St. Albert athletes qualified for provincials. The top 12 all-around ranked provincial level 2 and 3 gymnasts per age group and level advanced.
Making provincials from the Dynamyx club are Grace Zurawell in P2 argo, Mckenna Stevenson, Grace Sroka and Katie Carson in P2 novice, Carly McConaghie and Bailey Tate in P2 open, Shae-Lyn Fontaine and Jordan Fenton in P3 tyro and Danielle Fenton in P3 novice.
The provincial-bound SAGC gymnasts are Robyn Gilmore in P2 argo, Renee Hall and Sara Holmes in P2 tyro, Reese Glawson and Alison Lenfesty in P2 open, Katia Hammond, Amelie Gautier and Aly Findling in P3 tyro, Shayla Sklaruk in P3 novice and Amanda Johnson, Ereinne Hall, Leah Brown, Emily Traquair and Katie Allen in P3 open.
Provincial level 1 gymnasts also performed at the meet, which was basically their provincials.
For more results of the Dynamyx and SAGC members at the meet, see page 65.
Fifth-year centre Tarin Podloski celebrated her final season with the Alberta Pandas by winning another CIS championship.
The third national title of her career was Sunday’s 2-0 victory over the two-time defending champion McGill Martlets at Antigonish, N.S.
Midway through the second period, a shot by Podloski was stopped but a diving Alana Cabana swatted the puck into the empty net for a crucial two-goal lead.
The seventh CIS crown for the Pandas was their first since 2007. It was also McGill’s first loss in 86-straight games against CIS opponents.
Podloski, 23, gradates as the Pandas’ all-time leading scorer with 213 conference points, a CIS record.
The St. Albert resident and former Wetaskiwin product finished first in team scoring, second in the Canada West play and third in the country with 43 points.
The 2009 player of the year in Canada is also the CIS all-time leader in assists with 122, while scoring 91 goals in 107 games.
The Pandas’ captain was also the 2004/05 Canada West rookie of the year, the CIS tournament MVP in 2006 and a tournament all-star in 2007.
A member of the U22 national team, Podloski helped Canada claim gold at the 2006 and 2007 European Air Canada Cup in Germany.
As of Friday morning, 282 runners had registered online or by mail for the 25th annual St. Albert 10-Mile Road Race.
The entry fees for the April 18 event, hosted by the St. Albert Roadrunners and Triathlon Club, are $45 online through www.eventsonline.ca, $55 mailed in or dropped off at Cranky’s Bike Shop or the Sturgeon Valley Athletic Club (SVAC) and $65 on race day at Grandin mall. Race time is 9:30 a.m.
Forms are available at the Tech Shop, Kinsmen Sports Centre, the Running Room, Cranky’s, SVAC and all race sponsors.
Visit www.starrt.com for more information.
Last year, 651 runners crossed the finish line. The winner was Brian Torrance in 54 minutes and 25 seconds. The fastest female was Tara Struyk in 1:01:32.
The course record for runners is 976 in 1998.
The 10-miler is sanctioned by Athletics Alberta and is part of the TIMEX Canadian Road Race Series.
The men’s team at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club is raising money to help keep costs to players down for the upcoming season by doing basic spring yard maintenance.
For only $80 a yard it will be raked and mowed, garden beds cleaned out, hedge and shrubs trimmed and all organic material removed.
To book a weekend date in April, call 780-299-4537 or email [email protected]
All funds raised will be put back into the program to assist with transportation costs, equipment needs and with bringing in overseas players.
