UNews - the Canada West Championship

Busy weekend upcoming for Horns Athletics

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 18:23:28 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s hockey team took a small step back last season, missing the Canada West playoff party. On Friday night, the Horns will begin their quest to return to the post-season when they open the regular season against the defending Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

With 19 players returning from last season, the Horns have an experienced group, led by senior defenceman Glenda Edie and fourth-year defenders Courtney Minor and Katie Mucha. Add in the returning goaltending tandem of Crystal Patterson and Shauntelle Williams, and the Horns are in good shape in their own zone.

Despite being one of the lowest scoring teams in the conference last season, the Pronghorns possess a group of talented forwards and will need to score by committee to generate the offence needed to get them into the playoffs once again. Megan Bailey had a breakout season last year and her team leading 16 points tripled her output from the previous season. Third-year forward Kirsten Reeves led the Horns last season with 12 goals, putting her in a tie for third in the conference, and she will be leaned on heavily for production again this season.

With seven of their first eight games at home to start the year, the Horns have a great opportunity for a fast start.

Puck drop for both Friday and Saturday nights is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Horns Soccer

The Proghorns men's and women's soccer programs are both on the road this weekend, the men heading to Winnipeg to face the Wesmen, while the women are on the west coast to challenge the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria and Fraser Valley.

Coming off a weekend split last weekend with the Mount Royal Cougars, the men’s soccer team is at 2-6-0 on the season. With seven games remaining in the season, the Horns are only four points out of a playoff spot.

The Horns, who have scored just seven goals in eight games, will need to generate more offense if they are to make a push to the post-season. Guilherme Costa leads the teams in goals with two, both coming from the penalty spot.

The Wesmen (2-4-2 CW), won just one of their first six games but earned four points last weekend in Calgary, beating the Dinos 3-2 before completing the trip with a 1-1 tie the next day.

On the women's front, the Horns (0-5-2) are still searching for their first victory of the season after suffering two losses in Saskatchewan last weekend, dropping a 2-0 decision to the Saskatchewan Huskies and 2-1 to the Regina Cougars.

Offensive production continues to be the Horns undoing so far this season, only scoring three goals thus far.

Defensively, the Horns have been solid, having only allowed 11 goals in seven games.

Friday night, the Horns face the Victoria Vikes (4-2-0), before travelling to Abbotsford on Saturday to meet up with the Fraser Valley Cascades (2-3-1).

Women's Rugby

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the Pronghorns women’s rugby team heads out on the road for a pair of games versus provincial rivals Calgary Dinos and Alberta Pandas.

Sitting at 1-1 and with a guaranteed spot in the Canada West Championship tournament (which the Horns host Oct. 18-20), this weekend’s results will determine the seeding for the Canada West semifinals.

Friday in Calgary, the Horns will have revenge on their mind when they face the Calgary Dinos (2-1). The Dinos ended the Horns' 22-game conference winning streak last season with a 31-18 win and then knocked the Horns out of title contention with a 33-32 victory in the Canada West semifinal in Edmonton.

The Horns are led by Kim Leavitt’s three tries, which places her in a tie for second in the conference, and Tiffany Wideen, who has taken over the kicking duties this season and has connected on three converts. For the Dinos, Natasha Loucks leads a balanced attack with three tries and Kate Scotland has connected on six converts and two penalty goals for 18 points.

Sunday, the Horns take on the defending Canada West champion Alberta Pandas (3-0). So far, the Pandas have yet to be tested. Following their 62-17 trouncing of the Dinos to open the season, the Pandas shut out both of their BC opponents on the road, beating the Victoria Vikes 49-0 and the UBC T-Birds 39-0.

Men's Basketball

Finally, the Horns men's basketball team will host MacEwan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for a pre-season tilt, Friday night at 7 p.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre gym.

MacEwan is currently an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) team but will be joining Canada West next season. The matchup will be a solid first test for the Horns, who are itching to get into game action after a long practise schedule.

Gallagher, Waldner earn top athlete honours

trevor.kenney — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:22:31 +0000

Championship thrower Kayla Gallagher and four-time Academic All Canadian basketball player Derek Waldner were named Pronghorn Female and Male Athlete of the Year respectively this past weekend as Pronghorn athletics held its annual Blue and Gold Banquet.

Over 275 athletes, administrators and special guests were in attendance for the supper and awards ceremony at the Lethbridge Lodge. The guest speaker for the event was former Pronghorn Dana Mckechnie.

Female Athlete of the Year

In only her first year of eligibility, Kayla Gallagher burst onto the track scene and served notice that she will be a force on the CIS throwing scene for years to come.

At the Canada West Championship meet, the Truro, N.S. native earned two medals, winning her first Canada West weight throw title with a throw of 16.85 metres, nearly a metre further than her closest competitor. She also earned a silver medal in the shot put event. With her gold medal in the weight throw, Gallagher was a first-team Canada West All-Star.

Heading into the CIS Championship meet in Edmonton, Gallagher was ranked fifth in CIS, but a new personal best throw of 18.24 metres earned her the gold medal. The throw was nearly two metres better than her previous personal best and she won the event by almost a metre. The throw was also the furthest ever by a first-year thrower in CIS History. The win also earned her a first-year All-Canadian award.

Male Athlete of the Year

In his final season as a Pronghorn, senior basketball player Derek Waldner capped his career with an exceptional season and will go down in 'Horns history among the best to ever don the blue and gold.

Named a second team Canada West all-star, Waldner led the nation in rebounding and rebounding average with 252 rebounds and an average of 11.5 boards per game. The 252 rebounds also set a new Pronghorn single season record. Waldner was also seventh in Canada West scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game.

Waldner finishes his five-year career with the 'Horns as the school's all-time leading rebounder with 874 and leader in games played with 108. He also sits fifth in scoring with 1139 points and compiled 29 double-doubles (double figures in both points and rebounds) in his career.

The consummate student-athlete, Waldner has been a four-time Academic All-Canadian and is well on his way to finishing his degree with a fifth Academic All-Canadian Award.

Other major award winners included:

President's Award (Academic achievement)

For the second year in a row a member of the Pronghorns women's hockey team receives the prestigious President's Award. Presented to the student athlete with the highest academic standing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, this year's winner is Jasmin Teske. Like her former teammate Megan Bach last season, Teske achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA, while balancing her large commitment to the team.

Team Academic Award (Team academic achievement)

The women's hockey team received the team academic award with a combined GPA of 3.10

Team MVPs (as voted by team members)

Men's Soccer – Matt Medoruma
Women's Soccer – Taura Willoughby
Men's Hockey – Brent Henke
Women's Hockey – Amy Van Buskirk
Men's Basketball – Derek Waldner
Women's Basketball – Ali Cameron
Women's Rugby – Brandi Van Eeuwen
Men's Swim – Ryan Thornley
Women's Swim – Kara Declark
Men's Track – Peter Millman
Women's Track – Kayla Gallagher

Swim team continues to impress

trevor.kenney — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:07:09 +0000

With the Canada West Championship meet still over a month away, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn swim team continues to enjoy an impressive start to the season under first-year head coach Peter Schori.

After posting its first CIS Top 10 appearance in more than 10 years, the 'Horns have already nearly doubled their Canada West qualifying swimmers and will send their biggest team to the conference championships in more than seven seasons.

This past weekend at the JP Fiset Invitational meet in Edmonton, the 'Horns achieved one more Canada West qualifying time, pushing the team's total to 26. Last season, the 'Horns only sent 15 swimmers to the conference meet and with still more than a month to go, the 'Horns have qualified nearly that number in each gender. To date, the 'Horns have 13 men and 13 women who have achieved the Canada West qualifying standard.

A total of 25 of 29 Horns raced to lifetime bests last weekend and three more swimmers qualifyied for the CIS Championships.

Freshman Kara Declark secured her first CIS time in the 50 fly and is the first of the Pronghorn women to qualify for the CIS championship meet this year. Mat Loyola (200 breast) and Tiha Konyves (50/100 free) added their names to the men's CIS roster. Freshman Brooke Whitaker made her first Canada West standard in the 100 free. The Horns now have 26 swimmers qualified for the Canada West conference championship and eight swimmers qualified for the CIS national championship.

The Horns also broke five more school records to bring the total to nine for the season. The men set new Pronghorn records in the 200 free relay for the second time this year and continued to show national level class in the medley relay with their third new record of the season in the 200. Ryan Thornley broke his own 'Horns records in the 50 Back and 50 fly, becoming the first in school history to break 26 seconds in the 50 back with a time of 25.78 seconds. Jeffrey Nicol broke through in the 200 breast, bettering his own record by more than a second in 2:14.93.

The Canada West Championships will be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria, Jan. 25 -27, 2013.

Kelly leads pool effort with two medals

trevor.kenney — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:20:01 +0000

Jessica Kelly won a pair of bronze medals and Jeff Nicol brought home a silver medal as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's and women's swim teams competed at the Canada West Championship meet in Vancouver this past weekend.

Kelly led the 18-swimmer contingent with bronze medal swims in the 50- and 100-metre butterfly events, setting new U of L school records in each swim. She also picked up a fifth-place finish in the 100-metre backstroke event.

Nicol, who won two medals last year in his home pool, captured a silver medal in the 200-metre breaststroke and was just short of breaking his own school record that was set earlier this season. Nicol also finished fifth in the 100-metre breast event.

On the team front, the men's squad moved up one spot from last year's performance, up to fifth place with 279 points. The women's team finished with 181 points, and was also fifth in Canada West, the same place they finished last year in Lethbridge. Host UBC Thunderbirds won both the men's and women's team titles.

In total, U of L swimmers set 57 personal best times.

"I'm ecstatic with the team performance this weekend, this is our best Canada West Championship in my six seasons," says Horns head coach Brad Mori. "Both teams finished fifth and that was our team goal from the start of the year. Our swimmers swam great. They raced the moments, taking care of individual performances, leading to a fantastic team result."

Mat Loyola (50- & 200-metre breaststroke) and David Errington (200m breaststroke) both earned qualifying times for the CIS Championships. Loyola finished sixth in both distances, while Errington also finished sixth in the 200-metre breaststroke.

Matthew Mastromatteo, Jessie Olson-Heisler, Roger Hanna, and Adam Krysiak inched closer toward CIS qualifying times, and will have two more opportunities to reach those times in the coming weeks.

The CIS Championships will be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos, Feb. 25-27.

Track team heads to Regina

trevor.kenney — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:35:22 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn Track and Field team is off to Regina for the Canada West Championship meet this weekend.

For the second consecutive year, the Horns have qualified 30 athletes for the conference championship meet. Over the last two seasons, the Horns have qualified the largest teams in program history; an indication the new training facility is paying dividends.

The Horns head to the championship meet with a relatively young team and expectations are that the squad will post a number of personal-best efforts and have a handful of medal contenders. The men's team leads the way and is ranked 11th in the CIS heading into the conference event.

The biggest addition to the Horns squad is the return of Olympian Jim Steacy. After taking last season off to focus on the hammer throw and his Olympic quest, he will complete his fifth and final year of eligibility with the Horns this spring. Steacy enters the season still undefeated in his CIS career in the weight throw, and is ranked fourth in the world in weight throw.

Steacy will be the favorite to win the weight throw and shot put events at both the Canada West and CIS Championships and finish his career as one of the most decorated Pronghorn track and field athletes ever. To date, he has accumulated seven Canada West medals and seven CIS medals. In total, he has won 12 gold medals, including six at each meet.

Defending CIS weight throw champion Heather Steacy is another favorite to medal for the Horns. The two-time defending Canada West and CIS champion in weight, Steacy has had some early season struggles, but has slowly inched towards her personal best distances.

Kyle Murray, Brett Bromley, and Dominic Mudayai will lead a contingent of rookies who show promise and expect to rise to the occasion at the conference meet. Mudayai enters his first Canada West championships ranked third in men's long jump, while Bromley is ranked fourth in Canada West in the men's triple jump event. Sophomore sprinter Murray looks to continue his ascent in the 300 metres and challenge for a medal.

Athletes of the Week

Swimmer Kristy Gabruck and men's hockey forward Lucio Pucci-Danielle were named Pronghorn Athletes of the Week after strong performances in Canada West athletics.

Gabruck, a fourth-year breaststroke specialist out of Taber, had another successful CIS Championship meet. Gabruck set personal best marks in each of her distances and placed 11th in the 50-metre final, achieving the Swim Canada National qualifying time.

Gabruck will wrap up the winter competitive season in two weeks at the Swimming Canada Nationals in Toronto.

Pucci-Danielle, a third-year forward, had his best weekend of the season as the Horns played in their final regular season games.

Friday night, Pucci-Danielle picked up a goal and an assist in the Horns' 5-4 shootout loss to the CIS #2 ranked Alberta Golden Bears. The next night, while not hitting the scoresheet, Pucci-Danielle had another strong night for the Horns in a 2-1 loss.

Swim team off to Victoria

trevor.kenney — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:48:48 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns swim team is off to Victoria this weekend for the Canada West Championship meet, highlighting activities for Pronghorn Athletics.

The Horns are still a small squad comparatively, but they have qualified 23 swimmers for the conference meet, up six from last season. Unfortunately, only 18 will be on hand in Victoria due to a variety of ailments that will keep five swimmers unavailable for action.

Last year, the women's swim team finished fifth overall, one place up from the previous season, while the men placed sixth at the Canada West Championships. With such a small squad heading to the meet, a Canada West title is not expected, but the team is poised to improve on last year's team standing.

To follow the Horns this weekend, click on this Canada West Championships link.

Horns Basketball

A pair of west coast schools comes to town to face the Pronghorns men's and women's basketball teams.

Trinity Western Spartans and Simon Fraser Clan will provide the opposition Friday and Saturday night respectively at the 1st Choice Savings Centre gym.

The Pronghorn women (3-13) have split each of their past two weekend series, beating nationally-ranked opponents on each occasion. This weekend they'll meet the top-rated program in the country in the form of the Clan (16-1) on Saturday night.

The Pronghorn men (4-12) are in the midst of a six-game losing skid and are three games out of the final playoff berth in the Central Division. They face two tough tests this weekend with the Spartans (12-5) on a nine-game conference win streak and the Clan (10-7) having won six of their last eight.

Game times both nights see the women take the court at 6 p.m., followed by the men's game at 8:15 p.m.

Horns Hockey

While the Pronghorns men's team has a bye in Canada West play, the Pronghorn women host the defending Canada West champion ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Pandas.

The Horns (2-15-1) are coming off a weekend split with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina. The Pandas (16-2-0) are ranked fourth in the country, with their only two losses coming at the hands of the top-rated ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba Bisons.

Game times both nights are 7 p.m. at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

UNews - the Canada West Championship

Busy weekend upcoming for Horns Athletics

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