UNews - Kayla Gallagher

Laying the Groundwork

david.kirby — Thu, 15 May 2014 21:35:00 +0000

Larry Steinke (BA ‘94), the architect and head coach of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns track and field team, has cultivated a program of excellence over the past 15-plus years, and while the team continues to pile up medals at Canada West and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships, his focus is squarely on maximizing the opportunities of his athletes well beyond their years in Pronghorn blue and gold.

Pronghorns head coach Larry Steinke has been with the program for 15 years.

“From the very beginning, I wanted to establish a program that was sought after by athletes but not every athlete. I wanted to sift out those people who would make a good fit with the program,” says Steinke, who took over the track program in 1998. “I want athletes who have loftier goals than just CIS. A lot of schools are only worried about maximizing their athletes for the four years that they are in school. We’re a little different here because I look at each athlete from a long-term approach.”

Those who buy into the philosophy understand the big picture mentality. They also have to look no further than a few lockers away – at Olympians Jim Steacy (BASc '09) and Heather Steacy – to get a sense of the success it reaps.

“I still have Jim’s autograph up on my wall at home,” says Peter Millman, who came to the U of L from Truro, N.S.

A second-year Pronghorn who won Canada West gold medals in both the weight throw and shot put, Millman saw the U of L as his only destination from the time he first started working with Steinke on a training trip to Lethbridge when he was in Grade 10.

“Meeting Jim and having the opportunity to throw with an Olympian when I was in Grade 10 was one of the coolest things ever,” he says. “There were offers for me to go to different places but they were never entertained; it was always going to be Lethbridge.”

Now recognized as a throwing power, the U of L is truly a destination school for the country’s elite throwers. Kayla Gallagher, another Truro product, just won her second consecutive CIS gold medal in weight throw and is one of 10 track athletes who have come to the U of L from outside of Alberta.

(L-R) Kayla Gallagher, Aaron Hernandez and Peter Millman.

All the while, Steinke is now beginning to see golden results outside of the throwing disciplines, noting that success really does breed success.

“That is our challenge now, to try and move away from just the throws to create a culture of excellence across all of the event groups,” he says.

Aaron Hernandez, from Coaldale, Alta., is one of those success stories after he won the CIS gold medal in triple jump and was named CIS Rookie of the Year. He’s won early in his career but understands his ultimate goal is years away.

“For any track and field athlete, their ultimate is to compete in the Olympics and that’s something I hope to see one day,” says Hernandez, who works with jump coach Jaime Thomas (BSc '04).

Hernandez, along with Gallagher, Millman and the rest of the Horns team get the Steinke program, knowing full well that the greatest rewards will come long after they have completed school.

“They all have bright futures internationally and that’s why I wanted to work with them,” says Steinke. “We are about longer-term development. It’s whether the athlete has the wherewithal to stick it out for that long. I see that mentality in this group.”

Something that bodes well for their futures, in any path they choose.

This story appears in the Spring 2014 edition of SAM magazine. For a look at the full version in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Veldman, Reiter earn Athlete of the Year honours from Horns

trevor.kenney — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 21:08:46 +0000

Kim Veldman and Logan Reiter were named Female and Male Athletes of the Year as ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn Athletics hosted its annual Blue and Gold Banquet recently.

Over 280 athletes, administrators and special guests were in attendance for the supper and awards ceremony with former Pronghorn and Canadian National Women's Rugby team member Ashley MacDonald serving as the guest speaker.

After three seasons with her home province ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ UPEI, MacDonald transferred to the U of L, and in her two seasons with the Pronghorns she was nothing short of dominant on the rugby pitch. During her time with the Pronghorns, she was a member of two national championship teams, was named a Canada West All-Star and CIS All-Canadian in both seasons as well as being named CIS Championship tournament all-star at both championships.

In addition to her stellar play on the field, MacDonald was also an exceptional student, being named an Academic All-Canadian.

Internationally, MacDonald represented Canada on the U23 National team, FISU sevens team and the Canadian senior national team and was just named to the Canadian team that will face the Americans in the CanAm series in April.

Upon obtaining her bachelor of science in kinesiology, MacDonald returned to UPEI to complete her physiotherapy degree and is currently working at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Kim Veldman was among the league leaders in a number of categories this season.

Fourth-year post Kim Veldman truly put up a season that ranks among the best in the country and cemented herself into the Pronghorn record book for years to come.

Still with eligibility remaining, she broke a 16-year-old school record, while ranking among both the Canada West and CIS leaders in numerous statistical categories.

This season she ranked second in the conference in rebounding and set a new school record for career rebounds. While often facing double and triple teams in the offensive court, she ranked third in the conference in scoring. She narrowly missed being a conference first team all-star but was named to the Canada West's second team.

Her ability to balance her training while maintaining a high GPA in nursing speaks volumes to her commitment to being a well-rounded student-athlete.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Logan Reiter closed out his Pronghorns' career with another exceptional season.

In his final season donning the blue and gold, team captain Logan Reiter led his team on and off the playing field, leading the team to heights that have not been seen in years.

In addition to being a selfless leader, he was among the conference leaders in points, while also leading his team in assists and thus earned his first conference all-star nod, being named to the Canada West second team.

His positive attitude and refusal to quit helped lead the 'Horns to 13 fourth-quarter comebacks or last-minute victories and resulted in the program's best regular season in 14 years and only the fourth 15-win season in the program's history.

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

For the third-year in a row, a member of the Pronghorns women's hockey team received the prestigious President's Award, which rewards the student athlete with the highest academic standing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Jasmin Teske achieved a perfect 4.0GPA, while balancing her large commitment to her team, earning the President's Award for the second successive season.

TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD

The Pronghorns women's soccer team received the team Team Academic Award with a combined GPA of 3.10.

TEAM MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

Men’s Soccer – Scott Slomp
Women’s Soccer – Keagan Moch
Men’s Hockey – Mitch Maxwell
Women’s Hockey – Jenna-Marie Durnin
Men’s Basketball – Logan Reiter
Women’s Basketball – Kim Veldman
Women’s Rugby – Kim Leavitt
Men’s Track – Aaron Hernandez
Women’s Track – Kayla Gallagher
Swim – Ryan Thornley

Mercer is schooled by Horns track team

trevor.kenney — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 21:17:03 +0000

The CBC's Rick Mercer might not be the most imposing figure to take his turn in the throwing circle, but there is no denying the size of his heart.

Rick Mercer, centre, and the U of L Pronghorns throwing team.

The popular CBC television personality spent a day at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge on Monday, Mar. 10 as he learned the finer points of the art of throwing from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns throwing team.

Mercer was learning from some of the country's best athletes, including ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumnus and Olympian Jim Steacy (BASc '09), his sister and fellow Olympian Heather Steacy, as well as Canada West shot put and weight throw champion Peter Millman and two-time CIS women's weight throw champion Kayla Gallagher. The group is busy preparing for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland at the end of July.

Led by head coach Larry Steinke, the Horns have created a centre of excellence here at the U of L, so it was only fitting that Mercer came to Lethbridge to learn from the best. He entered the ring and tried his hand at each of the shot put, weight throw, hammer throw, discus and javelin disciplines.

"I did everything, I always try to do everything and I tried my hardest," says Mercer. "I'm not very good at any of those things, I learned that, but they are incredible."

Head coach Steinke says that Mercer has a little work to do before he's ready to enter competition and represent Canada.

"He has one of those techniques that will take a number of years to get better and well enough to compete in the 2016 Olympics, but there's a definite possibility there," says Steinke.

Look for the full Rick Mercer Report to air Tuesday, Mar. 25.

Hernandez, Gallagher named athletes of the week

trevor.kenney — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:55:44 +0000

Gold medal efforts at the CIS track championships have netted Kayla Gallagher and Aaron Hernandez Pronghorn Subway Athlete of the Week honours.

Reigning CIS weight throw champion Gallagher was once again the cream of the crop in the event, claiming her second consecutive CIS title. As expected, the event was a two-horse race for gold in the weight throw with a battle between Gallagher and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan Huskie Taryn Suttie.

On her fourth of six throws, Gallagher set a new personal best for the second meet in a row and claimed the gold medal with a throw of 18.66 metres. Suttie was second with an 18.21 metre throw. No other competitors were within a metre of the top two throwers.

Gallagher also competed in the shot put event and finished eighth, with her furthest throw of 12.69 metres.

Southern Alberta native Aaron Hernandez burst onto the CIS track scene this season as a freshman, earning accolades as the CIS rookie of the year prior to the CIS Championship meet and winning a gold medal at the national meet.

At the championship meet, and with the pressure mounting after faulting on his first two jumps, the Faculty of Management student went on to claim his first national title in the triple jump with a jump of 15.03 metres. The jump matched his personal best that he had set only two weeks prior at the Canada West Championships.

For his performance at the CIS Championships, Hernandez was also named the Canada West third star of the week.

Horns' Gallagher and Hernandez capture CIS gold medals

trevor.kenney — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 22:20:07 +0000

Kayla Gallagher and Aaron Hernandez are national champions.

Horns thrower, Kayla Gallagher, centre, is pictured here following her iwn at the Canada West Track Championships. Over the weekend, she and teammate Aaron Hernandez each won CIS gold.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn track and field athletes each captured gold medals at this past weekend's CIS Track Championships at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

In the meet’s opening event, second-year thrower Gallagher defended her weight throw title. As expected, the event was a two-horse race for gold with a battle between Gallagher and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan Huskie thrower Taryn Suttie. On her fourth of six throws, Gallagher set a new personal best for the second meet in a row and claimed the gold medal with a throw of 18.66 metres. Suttie was second with an 18.21 metre throw. No other competitors were within a metre of the top two throwers.

“Kayla rose to the occasion once again, kept her unbeaten streak alive, and continues to develop into one of the top young throwers in Canada,” says Pronghorns head coach Larry Steinke. “I'm looking forward to the next few years in her development.”

Gallagher also competed in the shot put event and finished eighth with her furthest throw of 12.69 metres.

Fresh off being named the CIS track rookie of the year, Hernandez earned the CIS gold medal in the triple jump and his first national title. Hernandez entered the event ranked second, but matched his personal best of 15.03 metres on his fifth of six jumps to claim the triple jump title.

“Aaron showed he was the class of the field despite fouling his first two jumps, adding more stress and grey hair to my life,” says Steinke. “He overcame that and just got better on each jump, and showed a lot of poise and maturity despite his nerves almost getting the better of him as well. “

Battling the flu and nerves made it a tough weekend for ‘Horns throwers Peter Millman and Ryan Sommer. Millman finished sixth in both the weight throw and shot put events, as he was well under his personal best distances. Sommer, who didn’t compete in the weigh throw, finished 12th in the shot put.

Horns look for medals at CIS Track Championships

trevor.kenney — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 16:59:37 +0000

After collecting four medals at the Canada West championship meet two weeks ago in Edmonton, four ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns track athletes will return to Edmonton in search of more hardware at the CIS Championships.

Thrower Peter Millman was a double medalist at the Canada West Championships and is looking to add a national title to his resumé.

The three-day event, hosted for the second straight year by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, gets under way Thursday, Mar. 6 with the season awards luncheon at Lister Hall.

The first final of the national meet, the women’s weight throw, follows shortly after, at 2:30 p.m. The championships conclude Saturday afternoon with the always exciting 4x400m relays. Selected events will be webcast live daily at www.CIS-SIC.tv and live results can be found at http://www.ellistrack.ca/CIS/LiveResults/.

Double Canada West gold medalist Peter Millman leads the small Horns contingent of three males and one female set to compete in Edmonton.

Millman, who won both the Canada West weight throw and shot put events while setting new personal best marks in both, enters the meet ranked third in the CIS in weight throw and fourth in the shot put. Joining Millman in the two men’s throws events will be Ryan Sommer.

Sommer finished just off the podium at the Canada West championships, placing fourth in both throws events and will enter the CIS meet ranked 12th and 13th in the shot and weight throw respectively.

Canada West Rookie of the Year Aaron Hernandez rounds out the Horns men’s participants at the national meet, and will compete in the triple jump and long jump events. The triple jump Canada West gold medalist is ranked second in the CIS with a best jump of 15.03 metres.

Defending CIS weight throw champion Kayla Gallagher is the lone female Pronghorn to qualify for the CIS Championships, and enters the meet as the favourite in the weigh throw. Despite not training in shot put for the majority of the year, she is also ranked 10th nationally in that event.

Throwers earn Pronghorn weekly honours

trevor.kenney — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 23:23:13 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns throwers Peter Millman and Kayla Gallagher earned their respective Subway Pronghorn Male and Female Athlete of the Week honours after impressive performances at the Canada West Track and Field Championships this past weekend.

Second-year thrower Millman continued his stellar start to his university throwing career, winning the gold medal in both the weight throw and shot put events at the Canada West championships hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

In his first event of the meet, the Truro, NS native set a new personal best in the weight throw, en route to his second career gold medal in the event. His throw of 18.82 metres won the event by over a metre. The next day in the shot put event, he set another personal best mark, hitting 16.91 metres on his sixth and final throw. It was the second time this season that he had set a personal best mark in that event.

With his outstanding performance at the Canada West Championships, Millman was named the Canada West Field Athlete of the Year.

Meanwhile, reigning CIS weight throw champion Kayla Gallagher was again the cream of the crop in her marquee event, claiming her second consecutive Canada West title. Setting a new personal best with a throw of 18.48 metres, Gallagher also beat the field by nearly a metre.

Despite not training shot put for much of the season, Gallagher was then three centimetres short of a new personal best and missed the shot put podium by only nine centimetres and finished fourth with a throw of 13.17 metres.

Gallagher, Millman, Ryan Sommer and Aaron Hernandez will travel return to Edmonton for the CIS Championships, Mar. 6-8.

Millman leads Horns at Canada West Championships

trevor.kenney — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 22:16:23 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns track and field team captured four Canada West gold medals and a pair of individual awards at the Canada West Track and Field Championships in Edmonton this past weekend.

Peter Millman was unstoppable in both the weight throw and shot put events, winning two gold medals.

Horns thrower Peter Millman continued his dominance in the throwing circle, winning both the weight throw and shot put events. Millman set a new personal best in both events, throwing 18.82 metres in the weight throw and 16.91 metres in the shot. Fellow thrower Ryan Sommer finished fourth in both events and punched his ticket to the CIS Championships in March.

Following his double gold medal performance, Millman was named the Canada West Field Athlete of the Year.

Pronghorns rookie Aaron Hernandez also made his mark at the Canada West meet, dominating the triple jump event by nearly a metre as he reached 15.03 metres. Hernandez earned gold and was named the Canada West Rookie of the Year.

Kayla Gallagher, centre, defended her Canada West weight throw title with a dominant performance.

On the women’s side, reigning CIS weight throw champion Kayla Gallagher was once again the cream of the crop. She claimed her second consecutive Canada West title by setting a new personal best with a throw of 18.48 metres. Gallagher also beat the field by nearly a metre.

Then, despite not training shot put for much of the season, Gallagher was three centimetres short of a new personal best and missed the shot put podium by only nine centimetres to finish fourth with a throw of 13.17 metres.

"We had a great weekend with some strong results. Obviously the four gold medals and athlete of the year and rookie of the year honours were fantastic,” says Pronghorns head coach Larry Steinke. “But the team as a whole had a lot of personal bests and some great individual performances that indicate the future will continue to only look stronger for us moving forward."

Millman, Sommer, Hernandez and Gallagher all qualified for the CIS Championships that will be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta in Edmonton, Mar. 6-8.

Horns at championships meets

trevor.kenney — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:40:47 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Letbridge Pronghorn athletes are busy on a number of fronts this weekend, including the swim and track and field teams that are competing at championship events.

Canada West Track Championships

The Pronghorns track and field team sends 21 competitors to the conference meet in Edmonton this year with some definite medal hopefuls.

Picking up where she left off from her freshman season, Kayla Gallagher enters the conference meet ranked second in the weight throw. If her first year was any indication though, her best is yet to come. Last year, Gallagher peaked at the right time by winning both the Canada West and CIS weight throw titles.

Joining Gallagher in the throws events will be second-year thrower Montana Forsyth and newcomer Lara Roth. Roth will also throw in the shot put event.

On the men’s side, reigning Canada West weight throw champion Peter Millman also had a good start to his second season and enters the conference meet as the top ranked weight thrower. Millman is a medal threat in the shot put as well, ranked second in Canada West. Fellow thrower Ryan Sommer has taken a big step forward this season and is a medal contender in the shot put.

Third-year hurdler and pentathlon competitor Phillip Rockerbie had some positive early season results, ranked second in the conference in the 60-metre hurdles and has an outside shot at the podium in the pentathlon. Freshman jumper Aaron Hernandez burst on to the collegiate scene this season, winning both the long jump and triple jump events at the Golden Bear open. He will enter the Canada West Championships ranked first in the triple jump and third in the long jump.

CIS Swim Championships

For the second year in a row the Pronghorns swim team heads to the CIS Championship meet with 11 athletes, but this season the Horns have a balance between the two genders.

Last year in Calgary, the Horns sent 10 men and only one female swimmer, where this year the Horns will have four women swimming, and for the first time in more than a decade, will enter relay teams of both genders in the same CIS Championship.

Fifth-year sprinter Ryan Thornley will lead the men’s side that includes Duncan Donaldson, Nick van der Sloot, Scott Hunter, Tiha Konyves, David Errington and Kurt Carolus. Thornley was the Horns lone individual medalist from the Canada West Championships, winning a bronze in the 50-metre butterfly.

In addition to the individual events, the men’s relay could threaten the podium. Entering the championships, the men’s 400-metre free relay is ranked fourth in the country.

On the women’s side, after being the lone Pronghorn to qualify for the CIS Championships last season, Kara Declark will be joined by Keri Ann Cowan, Ardelle Layden and Lauren Smythies. The increased female qualifiers have allowed the Horns to enter the relays this year and should reflect an increase in the team scoring standings.

“For the first time in over a decade the program will see both the men’s and women’s team enter relays in the same CIS Championship,” says head coach Peter Schori. “We have a very strong sprint team with some fifth-year leadership and three first-year qualifiers.

“If all the guys are firing together our men could challenge for a top 10 in the team scoring.”

The 2014 CIS Swim Championships are hosted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto and the three-day national meet, which kicks off the CIS winter championship season, runs from Thursday to Saturday at the U of T’s Varsity Pool, with preliminaries starting at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. daily.

All finals will be webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv, while live results from all sessions will be available on the championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/swim/index.

Five more medals for Horns' track team

trevor.kenney — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 19:17:23 +0000

In just the team's second meet of the season, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns track and field squad continues to produce encouraging results as they prepare for the Canada West Championships.

This past weekend at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba Bison Classic, the Horns earned five medals. This comes on the heels of a six-medal performance at the Golden Bear Open in Edmonton two weeks previous.

Coming off a double gold performance in Edmonton, Horns' thrower Peter Millman continued his early season success in Winnipeg by throwing a personal best 18.01 metres in the weight throw. The throw netted Millman a gold medal for the second consecutive meet.

He then narrowly missed out on a second consecutive shot put gold, getting edged in the last round by Chris Pickering of Regina. His silver medal winning throw of 16.33 metres was just shy of the personal best he set at the Golden Bear Open.

Teammate Ryan Sommer also established a personal best in the shot put en route to a bronze medal win. His result of 15.14 metres moved him into eighth spot in the CIS rankings.

Phillip Rockerbie also medaled for the Horns, finishing third in the 60-metre hurdles with a time of 8.60 seconds. He is still ranked second in Canada West.

Aaron Hernandez, who sits in second place in the CIS triple jump rankings, had a tough weekend and didn't manage a measured mark.

On the women’s side, Kayla Gallagher won the weight throw event with a toss of 17.90 metres, while Montana Forsyth threw a personal best of 14.57m to finish fifth.

"We had a mixed bag of results for the weekend,” says head coach Larry Steinke. “Aaron had a tough weekend adjusting to the speed of the runway but a number of athletes picked up the slack and that helped to keep us ahead of both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary in the national rankings. Things are definitely looking good heading into this weekend at the U of Alberta and then the Canada West Championships in three weeks’ time."

The Horns continue their preparations leading up to the Canada West Championships that will be held Feb. 21-22 back in Edmonton.

UNews - Kayla Gallagher

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