UNews - the Beijing Olympics

Steacy, Patzer named Athletes of Year

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:30:20 +0000

Pronghorn thrower Jim Steacy and women's rugby fullback Ashley Patzer were named Male and Female Athletes of the Year respectively at the annual Blue and Gold Pronghorn Athletics banquet Friday night.

Over 330 athletes, administrators and special guests were in attendance for the supper and awards ceremony where former Pronghorn basketball star, Danny Balderson, served as guest speaker.

Steacy, thought to be the most decorated track athlete in CIS history, won his fifth Athlete of the Year honour, one for every year in which he competed for the U of L. Coming back from a year off to compete in the Beijing Olympics, Steacy continued his dominance of the CIS scene.

For the fifth time, Steacy broke both the Canada West and CIS records in weight throw, winning gold at both championship meets. His furthest throw of 24.08 metres in the weight throw, the last of his CIS career, was five metres better than his nearest competitor. It also beat the NCAA gold medalist by more than two metres, becoming the only CIS track mark to outdo its American counterpart.

Patzer led the women's rugby team to its second CIS title, while being named the tournament most valuable player and an all-star.

The Horns captain, and former CIS player of the year, was a dominant force at the CIS Championships leading the tournament in scoring with 34 points. The Lethbridge native was also named Athlete of the Year in 2006-07.

Megan Bach of the women's hockey team received the President's Award, rewarding the student athlete with the highest academic standing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Bach achieved a perfect GPA of 4.00. The men's track and field team won the Team Academic Award, as they achieved a cumulative 3.13 GPA.

Following are team MVP honours as selected by their respective teammates.

Team MVP
Men's Soccer – Ryan Conn
Women's Soccer – Jessica Dearlove
Men's Hockey – Scott Bowles
Women's Hockey – Charlette Hainer
Men's Basketball – Danhue Lawrence and Allen Kadima
Women's Basketball – Hannah Blanchette
Men's Swimming – Jeffrey Nicol
Women's Swimming – Kristy Gabruck
Men's Track – Jim Steacy
Women's Track – Heather Steacy
Women's Rugby – Ashley Patzer

Steacy caps historic career

trevor.kenney — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:08:32 +0000

When ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn thrower Jim Steacy took a year away from post-secondary competition, he didn't exactly spend his time vacationing. Instead, Steacy trained harder than ever – resulting in a Canadian national team appointment and an appearance at the Beijing Olympics.

Now, Steacy is back amongst his peers and once again, he's proven there is nobody in his class. A day after

Photo courtesy of Claus Anderson/Athletics Canada | Pronghorn thrower Jim Steacy, shown here at the Beijing Olympics, is closing out his university career in style.

winning his fourth award as Canadian Interuniversity Sport's (CIS) male field athlete of the year, Steacy cruised to another weight throw gold medal at the CIS track and field championships in Windsor, Ont. Friday.

Steacy shattered his own previous record of 23.61 metres, established in 2007, and eclipsed the 24-metre barrier in the process, reaching 24.08m on his sixth and final throw of the competition. His margin of victory over second-place finisher Dustin McCrank of Guelph was more than five metres as McCrank checked in with a throw of 18.29m.

His return to university track and field has been seamless as Steacy won honours as the Canada West male athlete of the year in field events and was the top male performer at the conference championships. In his fifth and final appearance at the conference meet, he won his fifth weight throw title – by more than six metres – breaking his own Canada West record, and claimed his third shot put gold medal.

Over the course of his Canada West career, he won nine medals, including eight gold. His win in Friday's CIS weight throw was his eighth CIS medal and seventh gold. On Saturday, Steacy then capped his CIS career with yet another gold medal, cruising to a win in the shot put event by throwing a season-best 16.99m. He easily beat second-place finisher Andrew Smith of Saskatchewan (16.17m) and bronze medalist Cole Bloxam of Windsor (15.38m).

"To go out with two more gold medals and a new CIS record in the weight throw is the perfect way to end my career as a Pronghorn athlete," says Steacy.

"My five years with the Pronghorns track and field team was full of great memories, especially in 2004 when the men's team captured the overall bronze medal. That was very special to me. I have met some incredible athletes over my CIS career and I am looking forward to continuing in my National Team endeavors."

With 18 total medals (nine each in Canada West and CIS competition) and a total of 16 gold medals, Steacy goes down as one of the most decorated track athletes in Pronghorns and CIS history.

"Jim is one of those rare individuals that combines dedication, passion and enthusiasm with talent to achieve his goals," says Lethbridge head coach Larry Steinke. "He has consistently been at the top of his event for five years in the CIS, and as a result of his dedication, also been dominant to a degree that is unsurpassed in CIS athletics history."

At the Beijing Olympics, Steacy became the first Canadian in over 84 years to qualify for the hammer throw finals, where he finished 10th.

Steacy leads track effort

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:00:48 +0000

Jim Steacy didn't miss a beat as he competed for the first time since the Beijing Summer Olympics, leading the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns track and field team to a strong showing at the Golden Bear Open track meet in Edmonton over the weekend.

Steacy, a Canadian Olympian for the first time this past summer, returned to participate in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) competition after taking last season off to concentrate on the Beijing Olympics. He did not disappoint with his performance, winning both the weight throw and shot put events, vaulting to the top of the CIS rankings in each discipline. In the weight throw, he measured a furthest throw of 22.80 metres, while his final throw of the shot put hit a mark of 16.41 metres.

Steacy was also honoured at the Athletics Alberta Awards Banquet on Saturday night, being named the Outstanding Senior Men's athlete of 2008. He was the first Canadian male hammer thrower in 80 years to compete in the Olympic Games. At the Beijing Olympics, Steacy qualified for the final in the men's hammer throw and finished in 10th place.

Reigning CIS champion Heather Steacy finished second in the weight throw at the Golden Bear Open with a measurement of 15.94 metres, moving her to second in the CIS women's rankings.

Other notable Pronghorn performances included: Kyle Murray qualifying as a finalist in the men's 60-metre dash while also finishing fifth in the 300-metres; and Simon Schaerz placing fifth in the men's 3000m.

The Horns track and field team continues to prepare for the Canada West Conference Championship meet, which will be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina, Feb. 27-28.

Welcome to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge 2007/2008 Community Report

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:18:05 +0000

Wow – what a year this has been! Our 40th anniversary year was filled with plenty of excitement, but I can honestly say our 41st year is proving to be truly transformational.
We continue to build a comprehensive institution by expanding our horizons into the world of graduate studies while maintaining our tradition in undergraduate education. This year, 8,000 students from around the world call our campuses in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton home. Our student body has grown by 50 per cent in the last 10 years, phenomenal growth among post-secondary institutions in Canada. Despite this growth, we have remained true to who we are – student-focused, research-intensive and grounded in liberal education. Our graduates face the world with confidence – not only in their educations, but in their abilities to succeed in their careers.
The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is built on a commitment to the individual student and to providing each student with the most vital and engaging learning environment in the country. We are a university that sees teaching as a core activity and a university that has developed a reputation as a major research institution. In what is being called the biggest research hire for a university in Canada, this fall, Dr. Bruce McNaughton joined our Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience team as the inaugural Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Polaris Award recipient. The award is a 10-year, $10 million research grant that will ultimately result in $20 million through matching funding.
Our centres of research excellence provide opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students that are second to none. New facilities, such as the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building and the future Markin Hall, will create additional research space and accommodate future student needs. Over the last two years, we have had $147 million worth of new construction on campus. To date, five projects are complete and two more are under construction and set to open in 2009/2010. A key part of the U of L's campus infrastructure, our signature Arthur Erickson building, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall, is also being preserved through an $18.5 million renovation investment.
I am also pleased to report that we set out to raise $20 million from the community through our Legacy of Leadership Campaign and we actually raised $35 million, an achievement made possible in part through the support of the Government of Alberta's Access to the Future Fund. The largest percentage of the money raised went directly to establishing scholarships and bursaries for our students. I want to thank alumnus Dan Laplante (BMgt '88) for serving as Chair of the campaign – he did an outstanding job of motivating support and we sincerely appreciate the enthusiasm he brought to the campaign.
And last, but definitely not least, I would like to highlight two U of L students who shone brightly on national and international stages this year. Theo Tams, a music and psychology student, won the Canadian Idol competition, and hammer thrower Jim Steacy competed for Canada at the Beijing Olympics.
So why rethink? Because we want you to "rethink" what you thought you knew about the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

William H. Cade, PhD
President and Vice-Chancellor
Professor of Biological Sciences

UNews - the Beijing Olympics

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