Boucher rinks wins curling crown, curlers call it a day

 

It appears the Seaway District High School Track and Field team is back on track, with a good number of athletes at the midget and junior ages out working hard for the last two to three weeks. 

And their work paid off at the annual TISS Track and Field Meet here Saturday, with two athletes, Kaitlyn Stewart and David Swerdfeger picking up first and seconds, Cassie Hummel winning one first, and Sid Sideratos and Shawn Dowson collecting second place finishes.

Several others were not far off the pace, and says Mark Lewis, who is co-coaching the Spartan team with Lindsay Waddell,  “They are all improving. It is good. Our team number is better than it’s been in the past, and I would say, looking at the weekend, they are the best results we have had in years.”

The team is heavily weighted at the midget and junior levels, a good sign for the future. There are no athletes competing at the senior level this year.

Top performers Saturday were Stewart and Swerdfeger. 

Stewart won the junior girls triple jump with a 10.45m jump, well ahead of the second place finisher at 9.72 m. She was just narrowly edged out of the long jump win with her jump of 4.67m. (The winner jumped just 4.68m). Stewart also ran the 100 meter dash, with a time of 14 seconds to qualify, but finished well back in the final.

David Swerdfeger had big results in the midget boys triple jump, with his winning jump of 12.12m. It was a new personal best, which shattered his previous PB of 11.81m. Swerdfeger, who has been competing since grade 7  and has been undefeated in all that time, said too that the extra pressure was that, “I scratched on my first two jumps.”  He backed up his triple jump win with a second place long jump (5.42m). The event was won in 5.48m. Swerdfeger also ran the 100m hurdles and finished fourth with a time of 17.13 seconds.

Cassie Hummel was back in action in junior girls javelin, and absolutely demolished her previous best throw of 22.00m with a first place throw of 27.60m.  She was clearly ahead of the pack with the second place competitor throwing 25.52 m. Hummel also threw discuss, but an 11.59m throw place her well back. She expects to concentrate on javelin this season.

Also at the midget age level, Sid Sideratos collected second place in shot put with a 12.14m throw, not far back of the 12.27 winning throw. He ran his 100m heat, in 13.71 seconds.

Shawn Dowson had solid performances in discus and high jump. He placed second in junior boys discus with a 31.30m throw and was fifth in high jump with a 1.50m jump. He finished well back in shot put at 9.30m.

Turning in a solid meet performance was Maggie Wells, who finished the 2014 season ranked sixth in Ontario in midget girls discus. Saturday, Wells threw a third place shot at 10.88m and was fourth in discus at 27.11m. “Maggie will get better as we go,” said Lewis of her early season start.

Finishing out the junior girl athletes are Quinn Horne and Holly Connolly-MacDonald, both of whom did not advance out of their 100m heats. Horne ran her heat at 14.72 and Connolly-MacDonald ran her’s in 18.33. She also ran the 200m in a time of 37.72.

Getting their feet wet at the midget are Kaeghan Lowson, Grant Wells, Jaycie Maville, Julenea Barnhartd, Kaileigh Vautour and Sydney Piquette.

Lowson, in his first time throwing Javelin, placed fifth with a throw of 32.45m. He ran the 400m, finishing well back in the pack at 1:03.27.

Distance runner, Grant Wells, who had some big results for the Spartans Cross-Country team last fall, was fifth in the 1500m (4:44.89) and sixth in the 3000 (10:16.56). He wasn’t far off in the winning mark of either race with the 1500m going in 4:30.95 and the 3000 in 10:00.13.

Maville and Vautour both ran the 100m but did not move out of their qualifiers with times of 15.25 and 15.30 respectively. Maville threw a seventh place finish in shot put with a 9.39m throw.

Barnhartd ran the 200m in 28.94 seconds and finished fourth in long jump with a jump of 4.39m.

Piquette ran the 800m with a time of 3:04.38

This Friday, the Spartans are in Ottawa and next Wednesday, May 13, they head to Cornwall for the SD&G championship. Qualifiers at the SD&G advance to the Eastern Ontario. 

[…]

 

The score was the least of the concern for the Novice C Lions on Saturday, as they watched promising defenceman, Aeden Norris, be carried off the ice with a possible season-ending lower body injury.  

In what looked to be a routine play at centre ice, the gritty Norris, fell awkwardly, bringing a hush to the crowd in Kemptville.

The game would play out after the injury with a Lions loss to the hosting Kemptville 2s. 

The loss of the young defenceman was still felt the following day as the Lions’ dressing room was solemn prior to face-off.  Friend and teammate, Jordan Lowe, confirmed with coaching staff that he had spoke to Norris, and that he was told to score a goal for him.

The feisty Kemptville 1 team came out hard as the Lions seemed to be still reeling from the loss 24 hours earlier.  

Stand-out goalie, Brogan Kyle, fresh off a conditioning stint turned the opposition aside time and again as his team looked to find some motivation in a game that would end, tied 2-2. 

That motivation came from Lowe. During the first intermission he approached the coaches to move back to defence to honour and fill the void left by his friend’s injury.

That was just the spark the Lions needed.  

With Lowe anchoring the defensive quadrant, Callum Deavey broke free of a checker in his own end, only to skate the length of the ice and bury the shot behind the Panthers netminder for a 1-0 Lions lead. 

The action was intense from this point on as the home squad applied the pressure.

Unfortunately the Lions faltered for a few shifts in the third, allowing the Panthers to notch a pair and go up 2-1.

It was in the dying seconds of the final frame, down by one, that young Jordan Lowe, went to work.  Showing a combination of grittiness and desperation he fought off numerous Panthers as he drove to the net, sliding the puck between the goalie’s pads bringing the crowd to its feet and fulfilling his teammate’s request.    Lowe was the unanimous winner of the Lion of the Game. 

“He showed great leadership for us tonight,” Coach Dickson praised.

The Lions head out on the road next Saturday to face a tough squad from Westport.

[…]

 

The South Dundas Atom B Lions evened their season record at two wins and two losses  Sunday, October 26, with a 4-3 win over the Char-Lan Rebels at home.

Montgomery Dejong took a feed from Quade Mullin and beat the goalie with a perfect shot just 15 seconds into the game to give the Lions a l-0 lead.

Then Sam Connors put the Lions up, 2-0, at 5:10 assisted by James Martens.  

Although it looked as if the Lions were on their way, Rebels Jack Gray (assisted by Riley Tessier), had other ideas as he worked to pull his team to within one goal with 4:39 left in the period.  

The Lions managed to hold on to their one goal advance until the final minute of the first when Jacob Campeau, assisted by Sean Marasa, tied it 2-2. 

Although the Lions had started strong in the first period, the Rebels carried the momentum into the second.

They did a good job of limiting the Lions’ scoring chances during the second. While they played defensively, Campeau, assisted by Avery Teodoro, provided their offense to put the Rebels up 3-2.

The game settled down and some key saves from Lions goaltender Mateo Lacroix, during the second and third periods, enabled the Lions to stay within the one goal reach. 

It was late in the third period when Spencer Barclay was rewarded for his strong two-way play. 

Barclay counted for the Lions after taking a nice pass from Mullin to tie the game 3-3, and give the Lions a needed shot of adrenaline. 

The Lions continued to press and with 1:21 left on the clock, Sean Nicolaassen’s shot found the back of the Rebels net.  

Nicolaassen, who normally plays defence, was moved up on a forward line with Barclay and Dryden Buter for the final shift of the game. It was Barclay who provided the assist on his winning goal.  

Following Nicolaassen’s winner, goaltender Lacroix and his teammates were able to survive a final push from the Rebels in the dying seconds.

The Lions next action is on the road in Athens, Sunday, November 2.

[…]