UNews - Pronghorn athlete

Horns looking for medals at Canada West Track Championship

trevor.kenney — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 18:51:37 +0000

The 2014-15 Canada West Track & Field Championships will see a small but talented ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge team compete this weekend at the Max Bell Fieldhouse in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba.

The Horns will send 12 athletes to the championship meet this year, with seven women and five men ready to challenge for conference titles.

Reigning CIS rookie of the year Aaron Hernandez and two-time Canada West weight throw gold medalist Peter Millman lead the Pronghorns this season and are favourites to win their respective events. The men’s team as a whole has been ranked 10th in the country for the past three weeks.

Following a stellar freshman campaign where he won both the Canada West and CIS gold medal in the triple jump, Hernandez enters the championship meet as the jumper to beat, ranked first in both the Canada West and CIS in his event.

Millman has had an exceptional start to his third season and goes to Winnipeg as the top ranked thrower in Canada West. Undefeated thus far this season, Millman sits atop the rankings in both the weight throw and shot put amongst Canada West competition. He is also ranked second in the CIS.

Ryan Sommer sits in second place in the Canada West rankings in both weight throw and shot put and sixth in CIS. Madison Hurst and Jordan Armstrong round out a strong men's team, ranking sixth and 13th in conference rankings for shot put and weight throw respectively.

On the women’s side, third-year Truro, Nova Scotia product Montana Forsyth is the top ranked Pronghorn athlete, ranking fifth in the weight throw, while Lara Roth is ranked one spot behind her at sixth.

The women's 4X200m relay team is ranked sixth in Canada West and looks to better its season's best time and ranking.

Overall, the Horns are poised to take home five medals and build on their preparations for the CIS Championships.

"We have had a strong season from a number of athletes thus far, but Canada West is where the rubber really starts to hit the road and preparations for CIS begin to show through,” says head coach Larry Steinke. “I'm expecting strong results from everyone and signs indicate that we will have some very notable performances again this year at Canada West."

Steacy fifth at Universiade

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:19:05 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns thrower Heather Steacy has completed her competition at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China, finishing fifth in the final of the women's hammer throw event.

Steacy faulted on three of her six throws and managed a best throw of 67.72 metres in the final. The winning throw was recorded by Zalina Marghieva of Moldova, who set a new national record with a toss of 72.93m. Steacy was slightly more than three metres shy of the bronze medal position.

Meanwhile, Steacy, along with her brother Jim, also a former Pronghorn athlete, was named to Canada's World Championship track team that will compete at the World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Aug. 27 to Sept. 4. The meet is considered a dress rehearsal for Canada's national team as it prepares for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

U of L Students Shine With Confidence

trevor.kenney — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:39:46 +0000

U of L student Theo Tams first grabbed the attention of the judges, then stole the hearts of a nation.

The psychology/music student captured CTVs 2008 Canadian Idol competition in September, capping a summer-long series of performances that demonstrated his well-rounded, powerful stage presence.

The 23-year-old turned the Idol program into a personal showcase, displaying his penchant for taking some of music's most-known ballads and interpreting them with his unique style.

His victory, on a live national broadcast that attracted more than 1,000 supporters to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's
1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness, produced a hit

single, "Sing", and netted Tams a recording contract with Sony BMG Canada.

In athletics, a nine-year quest became reality for U of L Pronghorn athlete Jim Steacy when, on a hot summer night in Beijing, he competed for Canada in the finals of the Olympic hammer throw competition.

Just 24, the Canadian record holder and five-time national champion

was the youngest of 12 competitors to qualify, serving notice for what's to come at the London 2012 Games.

"Until you're in that final, you're just another young kid. I'll be on their radar now," Steacy says.

He now focuses on his final season of CIS eligibility and maintaining his unbeaten weight throw record as a Pronghorn.

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.

Bowles earns weekly award

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:20:42 +0000

The Pronghorns men's hockey team season came to an end this past weekend but it wasn't for lack of effort from goaltender Scott Bowles.

The second-year Creston, B.C. product was outstanding in the three-game series against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia Thunderbirds, earning the nod as the Pronghorn Athlete of the Week. Bowles finished the three-game series with a 2.94 goals against average and a .912 save percentage as the Horns fell 2-1 to the visiting T-Birds.

In Sunday's third and deciding game, Bowles made 50 saves in a 4-3, triple-overtime loss. Many of his stops were of a highlight-reel calibre, including a diving paddle save late in the second overtime to keep the Horns' playoff hopes alive.

Bowles is in his second year at the U of L, studying environmental science. A former goaltender with the Calgary Hitmen and Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League, he was named team most valuable player in his rookie season with the Horns.

U of L Students Shine With Confidence

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:58:39 +0000