UNews - swimming

Horns Scholarship Breakfast to feature Tewksbury, Muir

trevor.kenney — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 15:38:50 +0000

Consistently striving to push through limits to achieve exceptional results, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn athletes are grooming the traits that will help them succeed in athletics, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and beyond.

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013 (7 to 9 a.m., 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport & Wellness Gymnasium), Pronghorn Athletics will welcome Mark Tewksbury and Debbie Muir, founders of Great Traits to campus. It's an opportunity for local individuals and organizations to tap into Great Traits and experience an interactive, fast-paced and inspiring session featuring two of the country's most prominent Olympians and high performance experts at the 2013 Pronghorns Scholarship Breakfast.

Mark Tewksbury and Debbie Muir will be the fetaured speakers at the 2013 Pronghorns Scholarship Breakfast.

"Our inaugural breakfast last year, featuring Brian Williams, was very well received and we're looking to build on that success this fall," says Robb Engen, manager of Business Development, Sport and Recreation Services. "By bringing Mark Tewksbury and Debbie Muir to campus, this is an opportunity to give our supporters access to a very valuable resource."

Olympic gold medallist Tewksbury and Olympic champion and hall of fame coach Muir have teamed up to form Great Traits (www.thegreattraits.com), a professional development company focused on the fundamentals of achievement, leadership and legacy. Together, they have authored a book (The Great Traits of Champions) and offer a variety of workshops and training programs to a wide range of clients.

Tewksbury, a true swimming icon in the country, first came to prominence at the Barcelona Olympics, where he won gold, silver and bronze medals. He has since been inducted into three halls of fame, enjoyed an international speaking career, is a passionate human rights advocate, authored three books and hosted numerous television shows.

Muir is an internationally respected leader, one of Canada's greatest coaches and an influential voice within the Canadian sport system. She was a pioneer with the national synchronized swimming team, leading Canada into two Olympic Games, and has spent more than a decade working with Own the Podium, connecting many of Canada's top sport organizations to higher levels of performance. Currently, she sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

The Pronghorns Scholarship Breakfast was launched in 2012 during the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's 45^th anniversary and raises money for U of L student athletes now and into the future. Its goal is to continue to provide essential funding as the Horns build and maintain a competitive athletic program.

"Scholarship funding is so important because it helps our teams in terms of recruiting and allows us to assist our student athletes as they balance their ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with their sport," says Engen.

Tickets for the 2013 Pronghorns Scholarship Breakfast are priced at $125 per ticket or $1,000 for a table of 10. To register for the breakfast, visit www.gohorns.ca/scholarshipbreakfast. Those interested in becoming sponsors can contact Robb Engen at 403-332-5253 or robb.engen@uleth.ca.

Horns swim team grabs top recruit

trevor.kenney — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:13:17 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's swimming team has signed one of the top young international swimmers in the country.

Pronghorns swim coach Peter Schori announced the signing of top prospect Kurt Carolus on Thursday, a South African national who has been living in Saskatoon. Recruited out of the Saskatoon Goldfins program, Carolus is the third ranked graduating high school swimmer in Canada in the 200-metre butterfly.

"Kurt is a gold star recruit to our program, he is already swimming at a CIS top-10 level and wants to do the work to be better," says Schori. "We have a great incoming class and having Kurt choose the U of L to study and swim gets everyone excited about what we can accomplish next year."

Carolus won the 200-metre fly event at the 2012 Western Canada Championships and finished fourth at the 2012 African Swimming Championships. Last summer, Carolus swam in both the Canadian and South African Olympic trails where he made it to the semifinals in the 200-metre fly at the South African trials.

Prior to joining the 'Horns in the fall, Carolus will represent Team Saskatchewan at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que.

During his first season at the helm of the Pronghorns swim team, Schori achieved notable improvements with the program. The Horns qualified nearly twice as many athletes for the Canada West Championships and sent 11 athletes to swim in the CIS Championships in Calgary.

Horns swimming in top-10

trevor.kenney — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:27:05 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's swim team has cracked the 2012 CIS Top-10 swim rankings for the first time in more than 10 years.

Fresh off an excellent performance at the Dino ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Invitational in Calgary last weekend, the 'Horns have jumped into the seventh spot nationally. The Dino meet continued a run of positive early season results.

Highlighting the weekend for the men's side was a third place finish in the 200-metre medlay relay. The 'Horns were just behind CIS powers UBC Thunderbirds and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos. The team of Nick Vander Sloot, Jeff Nicol, Ryan Thornley and Tiha Konyves set a new school record by more than two seconds and beat the defending CIS bronze medalist ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Golden Bears.

The 'Horns also finished fourth in the 200-metre free relay, breaking the school's best time by more than a second. The team of Vander Sloot, Thornley, Konyves and Hunter Scott finished with a time of 1:34.52.

"It was a good start to the season for us against some of the top teams in the CIS," says first-year Pronghorn head coach Peter Schori. "Canada West is the toughest swimming conference in the country and we are closing the gap between us and the top schools."

To date, the 'Horns have 18 qualifiers (10 men and 8 women) for the Canada West Championships that will be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria, Jan. 25-27, 2013. Five Pronghorn men have also already qualified for the CIS Championships in February.

Following are the current CIS rankings.

MEN'S SWIMMING
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Toronto 610 points / (1)
2. Calgary 603 / (2)
3. UBC 263 / (NR)
4. Laval 260 / (3)
5. Alberta 218 / (8)
6. Montreal 170 / (4)
7. Lethbridge 160 / (NR)
8. McGill 148 / (5)
9. Ottawa 113 / (7)
10. McMaster 105 / (9)

WOMEN'S SWIMMING
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Calgary 399 points / (3)
2. Montreal 368 / (1)
3. Toronto 365 / (4)
4. UBC 354 / (NR)
5. McGill 249 / (2)
6. Alberta 157 / (9)
7. UQTR 149 / (6)
8. McMaster 126 / (5)
9. Guelph 104 / (7)
10. Dalhousie 103 / (NR)

Schori to head Horns swimming

trevor.kenney — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 17:09:40 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns and LA Swim Club (LASC) have named Peter Schori as the head coach and director of swimming with both programs, taking over for the departed Brad Mori.

"Peter is seen as a leader in Alberta swimming circles and will do a great job of picking up where Brad left off," says Pronghorn Athletics executive director Sandy Slavin. "We feel he is the right person to continue to move the program forward."

Mori resigned from his post earlier this summer to pursue a position in Calgary.

Since 2001, Schori has been the head coach of the Alberta Marlin Aquatic Club in Medicine Hat, where he coached former Pronghorn swimmer and Canadian Olympian Richard Hortness. In his time with the Marlin Aquatic Club, he was named the Swim Alberta age group coach of the year in 2010 and junior female coach of the year in 2011. Prior to moving to Medicine Hat, Schori was the head age group coach with the Cascade Swim Club in Calgary.

Schori was also a member of the Team Canada coaching staff for the 2011 FINA World Championships. He officially takes over the 'Horns and LASC programs on Sept. 1.

Chance to wish our Olympians well

trevor.kenney — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:10:35 +0000

The Lethbridge Sport Council and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge have partnered to host a community send-off for a group of athletes who are participating in the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics which take place July 27 – Aug. 12 and Aug. 29 - Sept. 9 in London, England.

Paralympic swimmer Zach McAllister has been named to the Canadian team to compete in London this summer, while hammer throwers Jim Steacy and Heather Steacy, and javelin thrower Liz Gleadle are participating in Track and Field events.

Larry Steinke, Track Coach with Pronghorn Athletics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will be attending the 2012 London Olympics after being selected as Throws Coach by Athletics Canada.

The community is invited to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Upper Track of the 1st Cloice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness on Monday, July 16 at 12:30 p.m. for a brief send-off ceremony.

A large Canadian flag will be available for signing, and will travel with the athletes to London.

Meet the athletes and wish them good luck on their journey!

The dates and times of the athletes' appearances on TV (local/mountain time in brackets) are listed below, along with brief biographies.

Athlete bios

James Steacy (men's hammer)

Competing: Qualifying – Aug. 3 at 11:20 a.m. GMT (5:20 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 5 at 8:20 p.m. GMT (2:20 p.m. MDT)

Steacy (28) (BASc '09), a Lethbridge, Alta. and Winston Churchill High School product, is one of the most decorated athletes in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) history. During his time as a Pronghorn track athlete, Steacy was undefeated in the weight throw, winning five Canada West and five CIS titles. He also captured three Canada West shot put titles and won three gold medals and one silver medal in shot at the CIS level. He last competed for the Horns in 2009.

The Canadian record holder in the men's hammer throw at 79.13m, Steacy set the mark at the 2008 Chinook Throws Gala. That season also marked his first Olympic appearance where he qualified for the Olympic final in Beijing, China and finished 10th overall.

Steacy, coached by Larry Steinke of the Chinook Track and Field Club, is the eight-time defending national champion in hammer throw.

Heather Steacy (women's hammer)

Competing: Qualifying - Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 10 at 7:35 p.m. GMT (1:35 p.m. MDT)

Steacy (24), a Lethbridge, Alta. and Winston Churchill High School product, heads to her first Olympics after dominating the competition at the Canada West and CIS levels in recent years. Steacy has won four Canada West weight throw titles to go along with two CIS gold, one silver and one bronze medal. She last competed for the Horns in 2011 when she was the Canada West gold medalist and CIS silver medalist.

Steacy won her second consecutive Canadian Track and Field Championship hammer throw title this spring with a throw of 70.48 metres and achieved her personal best of 72.16m at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, AZ earlier this year.
Steacy is coached by Larry Steinke of the Chinook Track and Field Club.

+++++

Elizabeth Gleadle (women's javelin)

Competing: Qualifying – Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. MDT)

Gleadle (23), originally from Vancouver, came to Lethbridge to train with throws coach Larry Steinke this past year, taking time away from her kinesiology studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia. She won gold at the 2012 Canadian Track and Field Trials with a throw of 60.13 metres, establishing a new meet record. Her personal best of 61.15 metres was set earlier this year at a National Track League event in Burnaby, B.C. It also stands as the Canadian record.

"I took this year off so I could make London," she told the Calgary Herald. "I took time off school, I moved cities; I did everything I was supposed to do. I napped, ate, slept some more, trained really hard, everything I was told to do by my coach (Larry Steinke). I trust him completely and it really paid off."

She'll be the first Canadian woman to compete in javelin at the Olympics since Seoul 1988, ironically, the year of her birth.

+++++

Zachary McAllister (men's swimming 400m freestyle S8)

Competing: Qualifying – Aug. 31 at 9:30 a.m. GMT (3:30 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 31 at 5:30 p.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. MDT)

McAllister (18), a Lethbridge native and Lethbridge Collegiate Institute product, has come up through the Lethbridge Amateur Swim Club (LASC). He will be representing Canada at the Paralympic Games, Aug. 29 to Sept. 9 in London.

The Canadian record holder in the men's S8 400-metre freestyle event, McAllister earned his spot on the Paralympic Games team by swimming his personal best and Canadian record time of four minutes, 49 seconds at the Olympic Trials in Montreal this spring.

McAllister represented Canada at the Para Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mex. in fall 2011, and after enrolling at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in January 2012, attended meets in Los Angeles, Colorado and Sheffield, England. McAllister's disability is a condition by which he has too many bones in his limbs, thereby restricting growth and range of motion in both his arms and legs.

+++++

Coach -- Larry Steinke (BA '94)

Steinke has been running the most prominent throws program in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) for years and has been consistently involved with Canada's elite athletes at the international level.

He began his national team affiliation as part of the 2007 Pan Am Games coaching staff and has since been to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 World Junior Track Championships, the 2010 Commonwealth Games and each of the 2009 and 2011 World Track & Field Championships.

He currently coaches three Olympians in Jim Steacy, Heather Steacy and Liz Gleadle and is a proud alumnus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and head coach of the Horns track program.

Wish our Olympians well

trevor.kenney — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:18:05 +0000

Courtney, Steacy earn top honours

trevor.kenney — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:40:54 +0000

Pronghorns Athletics celebrated with its annual Blue and Gold Awards Banquet recently, announcing its Male and Female Athletes of the Year, President's Award winner, Team Academic Award, as well as the respective most valuable players for each program.

Male Athlete of the Year
Andrew Courtney (men's hockey)

Over his five seasons with the Pronghorns, Andrew Courtney not only excelled on the ice, but he was active in the community, embracing the true spirit of what it means to be a Pronghorns athlete.

He was known throughout the program as the first to support other Horns teams and is actively involved in the local community with the Boys and Girls Club. Courtney also planned and executed the highly successful Movember campaign that raised over $10,000 for prostate cancer research.

On the ice, Courtney returned from a serious knee injury to finish fourth in the conference in goal scoring, leading the Horns with 14 goals. He was also 13th in the Canada West in total scoring with 23 points, despite missing all of the pre-season and the first two weeks of conference action.

Courtney finished his Pronghorn career with 43 goals and 26 assists in 97 conference games.

Female Athlete of the Year
Heather Steacy (women's track)

Throughout her Pronghorns career, Heather Steacy has become synonymous with outstanding performances. This past season she raised her performance to an unprecedented level.

Steacy opened the season by reaching a monumental mark, becoming the first woman in Canadian Interuniversity Sport history to eclipse the 20-metre mark in the weight throw with a toss of 20.28 metres at the Bison Open in Winnipeg. She followed that performance with her fourth Canada West gold medal victory, setting a new conference record of 19.82 metres in the process. Steacy was also recognized with the Outstanding Female Performance of the Meet.

Steacy completed her season by then winning silver at the CIS Championship meet in Sherbrooke, Que., her fourth medal in as many trips to the national meet.

President's Award

Emily Brown of the women's track & field team earned the President's Award, which rewards the student athlete with the highest academic standing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Brown achieved a GPA of 3.92, while balancing her academic and athletic commitments.

Team Academic Award

The Horns women's basketball team received the Team Academic Award for accumulating a combined GPA of 3.32.

Following are team most valuable players, as voted by their fellow team members.

Men's Soccer – Steve Brown
Women's Soccer – Kathy Curtis
Men's Hockey – Winston Day Chief and Andrew Courtney
Women's Hockey – Shelby Ballendine
Men's Basketball – Randy Davis
Women's Basketball – Becky Heninger
Men's Track – Kyle Murray
Women's Track – Heather Steacy
Women's Rugby – Kelsey Willoughby
Men's Swimming – Jeff Nicol
Women's Swimming – Jessica Kelly

This story first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Horns hand out year-end hardware

trevor.kenney — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:55:51 +0000

Male Athlete of the Year
Andrew Courtney (men's hockey)

Over his five seasons with the Pronghorns, Andrew Courtney not only excelled on the ice, but he was active in the community, embracing the true spirit of what it means to be a Pronghorns athlete.

Courtney finished his Pronghorn career with 43 goals and 26 assists in 97 conference games.

Female Athlete of the Year
Heather Steacy (women's track)

Throughout her Pronghorns career, Heather Steacy has become synonymous with outstanding performances. This past season she raised her performance to an unprecedented level.

Steacy completed her season by then winning silver at the CIS Championship meet in Sherbrooke, Que., her fourth medal in as many trips to the national meet.

President's Award

The Horns women's basketball team received the Team Academic Award for accumulating a combined GPA of 3.32.

Following are team most valuable players, as voted by their fellow team members.

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

U of L truly a sporting hub

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:09:59 +0000

As the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge began to remake its recreational identity in recent years, the promise of attracting high calibre athletic events to southern Alberta was touted as a key benefit to adding new facilities.

That promise is beginning to be realized, and the recent announcement that the city of Lethbridge will serve as host to the 2012 Alberta Summer Games is testament to the fact that Lethbridge can now tout the U of L as a hub of sporting activity.

"The Lethbridge Sports Bid Committee actively goes out and seeks these types of events and with our facilities, we're a natural host for these kinds of things," says Deb Marek, manager, facilities for Sport and Recreation Services.

Lethbridge would likely have been overlooked for an event the magnitude of the Summer Games had the Community Sports Stadium not been constructed. It will host all the track and field competitions as well as football for the 2012 event. Meanwhile, the 1st Choice Savings Centre will host basketball and the Max Bell Aquatic Centre will welcome both swimming and water polo, giving the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ five high profile events with thousands of athletes, parents and spectators getting a look at the facilities.

"It's always great to bring kids from all over Alberta to our campus and this will bring a lot of people here. It's an opportunity to show them our facilities, and show them our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as a whole," says Marek.

While the 1st Choice Savings Centre has already established its reputation as an elite facility, having hosted numerous large-scale events, the Community Sports Stadium is in its first full season of activity. Community groups are quickly coming on board as the stadium will host a total of eight track meets in April and May alone, as well as high school rugby, soccer, and summer football and rugby camps.

"When you look at our recreational facilities as a whole, we operate the entire 12 months," says Marek. "We have our own summer camps that utilize the facilities, and we also have an abundance of community rentals as well. We are truly a community access facility group."

Canada West swimming at Max Bell

trevor.kenney — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:35:35 +0000

Swimming highlights a busy weekend for ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns Athletics as the Canada West Swimming Championships come to Lethbridge.

For the first time in five seasons the Pronghorns swim team will welcome the Canada West conference to Lethbridge and the Max Bell Regional Aquatic Centre for the Canada West Championships.

The Horns' contingent of 17 Canada West qualifiers is five fewer than last season's qualifying group, but with seven freshmen and only two, fifth-year seniors, the team is a young group of swimmers looking to gain valuable experience for the future.

Highest ranked entering this weekend's competition is breaststroke specialist Jeffrey Nicol. Nicol has had a strong start to the season, setting a new school record in the 200-metre breaststroke. Last year as a freshman, Nicol finished sixth in the 200m breaststroke at the conference meet and will surely improve on that if he swims anywhere near his school record of two minutes, 17.83 seconds.

On the women's side, senior Kristy Gabruck has also had a strong start to the university season, setting a new school record in the 50-metre breaststroke earlier this season. She looks to close out her university career on a strong note.

The meet kicks off with a Friday session starting at 5 p.m. and two sessions on both Saturday and Sunday. Heats begin at 10 a.m. and 9 a.m., Saturday and Sunday respectively, with finals starting at 5 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Pronghorns men's and women's basketball teams play weekend home games against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes. The men's hockey team travels to UBC to continue its playoff push and the women's hockey team hosts UBC for games Friday and Saturday nights at Nicholas Sheran Arena. Visit the Pronghorns website for a full weekend preview and sign up for Horns Weekly, the Pronghorn Athletics newsletter.

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