Skaters Edge

 

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 Morrisburg Curling Club held the annual Bernie Brunt Memorial Bonspiel for senior men last week, with 12 teams from Maxville, Prescott, Kingston, Russell, Winchester and Ottawa Rideau in attendance. 

Maxville won the first draw with 29.5 points, while Prescott won the second with 30.0, so the latter will get their names inscribed on Bernie’s trophy. 

It was a great day, with Joan Morrell and her team providing an excellent lunch, and other members looking after the bar and the ice as needed. Thanks again to Wally Baker, who had the ice in superlative shape for this competition. You did fine, fellows, and did Bernie proud with the event. 

On Saturday, three groups of Morrisburg ladies were in Russell for a continental breakfast, curling, lunch, a banquet after the curling, and dancing to a live band. 

It was an incredible day, with gifts for all the curlers provided by club members, a male host for each table and wine poured by the men. If our team, in the early draw, hadn’t dragged one of their number off the dance floor, my wife wouldn’t have made it home by 10 p.m. How come our fellows don’t get that kind of a day at their bonspiels?

Alice Thompson, Sharon Van Allen, Sandra Beckstead and Kathy Gurnhill were in the early draw and they won their first game against a Carleton Heights foursome, but dropped their second to a team from the R.A. Centre, the ladies who were first overall on the day. Those women, skipped by an eighty-five year-old lady, travel together to numerous bonspiels, and they showed their class at Russell. 

In the second draw, Greta McGann, Betty Locke, Joanne Baker and Linda Murphy defeated a Cornwall team in their morning draw, but lost to Susan McIntosh in the afternoon.  

Sue McIntosh, Wendy Casselman and Paula and Claire Locke, as mentioned, won bragging rights among the Morrisburg ladies. In their morning game they defeated a Carleton Heights team, but the R.A folks had a higher point total and won top prize. Sue’s squad celebrated afterwards but made it home before Groundhog Day ended.

As to our youngest curlers, the little rockers are getting into their busy season. They play and practice every Monday night from 4:30-6:00. Nineteen strong, eight of the older ones will compete in the Big Four playdowns with Russell, Winchester and Metcalfe, while two of our younger teams will be in the Little Rock zones in March. They have also entered bonspiels this month in Prescott and Winchester. Let us know how things go, folks!

Ian Wilson tells us that his Thursday night league has passed the half-way point, with John Wilson’s foursome leading the standings with a 10-1 record. Tied for second place are Larry Cooper, Robert Houze and Joe McCooeye with a 7-4 record. Can’t wait for the playoffs!

We have a senior men’s team in Russell for a bonspiel this week and we’ll report on that event and the senior men’s invitational bonspiel next time. In the near future we’ll report on our local interest in the Senior Women’s Provincial finals, our Heart and Stroke bonspiel is on next week, there’s another senior men’s friendly event, and the S.D. &G. playdowns will be held here again.

     Good curling to all!

[…]

 

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. 

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