Trail Daily Times Thursday, August 23, 2012
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AM FORD TRAIL ORIOLES
O’s looking for repeat BY JIM BAILEY
Times Sports Editor
CHRIS KORMENDY PHOTOS
Trail Stingrays Div. 5 relay team of Jennifer Chung, Madison Green, Tess Markus, and Eden Kormendy swam to bronze at the provincials in Nanaimo on the weekend, adding to a great medal haul. Dylan and Eden Kormendy won 11 medals between them and also got the opportunity to meet Olympic Games bronze medal marathon swimmer Richard Weinberger in Victoria following the meet.
Stingray duo clean up at provincials BY JIM BAILEY Times Sports Editor
The Trail Stingrays returned from the B.C. Summer Swimming Association (BCSSA) provincial meet in Nanaimo with an unprecedented medal haul. “It was great, absolutely amazing,” said Stingrays coach Samme Beatson. “Everybody swam best times, which is exactly what we wanted, and the team overall, we won 13 medals, which is the most I can remember.” The Stingrays also finished 18th overall out of 62 teams, an incredible accomplishment for the local club. The Rays bounty included 11 medals mined by the dynamic sibling duo of Eden and Dylan Kormendy. “They did very well this weekend, the Kormendy’s,” said Beatson. “They were ranked in the top three for their events but once you get to provincials it can go any way. I’m just really proud they were able to do so well.” Dylan, a Div. 1 boys swimmer, led the charge with three golds and two silver, blowing away the competition in the
50-metre backstroke, which he won by almost two seconds, as well as taking gold in the 100-m individual medley (IM), and the 200 medley regional relay. Dylan also took silver in the 50-m breastroke and 50-m butterfly - narrowly missing top spot by three-tenths of a second. Eden supplemented the riches with three individual silver and a bronze medal, finishing second in the 100 IM, 50 free, 100 free, and third in the 50 breaststroke. She and the Stingrays’ Aby Elwood also swam with the Kootenay region team that placed second in the regional medley relay. Amazingly, Eden, a Div. 3 swimmer, and Tess Markus, a Div. 4 swimmer, won bronze with the older girls Div. 5 freestyle relay team, breaking the two-minute barrier with team mates Madison Green and Jennifer Chung. “It is pretty amazing,” said Beatson. “The whole relay team they all went best times on the relay, which was great - that doesn’t always happen, I was just really proud.”
While Kormendy’s mother Marcy expected some good results from Dylan, who won gold in the breaststroke last year, she was a little surprised at the big splash her daughter made. “Eden’s older (than Dylan) so it’s a lot harder, so she kind of surprised us, but they sure cleaned up that’s for sure.” Among the other medalists, in Div. 6 Oleg Liferovich earned two silver medals in the 50 and 100 fly, while Eric Gonzalez captured bronze in the 50 free, and narrowly missed the podium in the 100 free, finishing fourth. From the beginning of the season, Beatson’s plan was for each swimmer to improve their stroke, which she hoped would lead to personal-best times. Individual and team results at the regional and provincial swim meets more than illustrate just how effective her approach has been. “I hope that the club will want me back again, because I really, really enjoyed coaching this year, and I’d be really excited if they should give me the opportunity to do it again.”
HOCKEY
Saints name Wood-be captain CASTLEGAR, -The Selkirk College Saints Men’s Hockey program is pleased to announce that secondyear forward Jordan Wood has been named the team’s captain for the upcoming 2012/13 British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League season. “Jordan is a top player in our league and his leadership skills will be heavily relied
upon this season,” says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois. “He’s a hard-working, dedicated student athlete who is committed to setting the proper tone for his teammates on and off the ice and helping to create a winning environment. We’re very pleased to have a young man of his ability and character to lead our group this season.” Wood enjoyed a stellar rookie season with the Saints
in 2011/12, leading the team in scoring with 23 goals and 43 points in 24 games. His points total placed him third amongst BCIHL scorers and earned him a spot on the league’s First All-Star team. The 21-year old was one of the league’s most consistent offensive performers, picking up points in 21 of the Saints’ 24 regular season contests. He totalled 16 multi-point games and a pair of hat tricks, includ-
ing one in Selkirk’s first-ever win against Thompson Rivers University on February 18th. A Business diploma student, Wood came to Selkirk following a stellar junior career that saw him collect 55 goals and 125 points over three seasons with the KIJHL’s Kelowna Chiefs. He also suited up for the British Columbia Hockey League’s Westside Warriors during the 2010/11 season.
‘Behind every dark cloud is a silver lining,’ but the AM Ford Trail Orioles hopes this lining turns golden as it heads to the Western AA Men’s Baseball championship in Elmwood, Man. today. The Orioles are looking to defend last year’s Western championship and have been bolstered recently by a local ballplayer’s bad luck. Chris Kissock was released from the Philadelphia Phillies franchise earlier this month, yet the Phillies loss should prove to be a muchneeded shot in the arm for the Orioles. “I’ve been out throwing and catching, and a bunch of guys have been hitting off me, so it has been good practice for both of us,” said Kissock. “I’m excited, it’s fun but I know we’re going to go take it pretty seriously.” Kissock will also play in the Grand Forks International baseball tournament in September, before joining Team Canada for the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament in Germany. Kissock is a timely addition, as the Orioles will be without the services of aces Scott Rhynold, Trail native Pat Brown, as well as Connor and Kellen Jones, so shoring up an already depleted pitching staff and infield was key. “With Kissock back that will be a pretty big addition,” said player/coach Jim Maniago. “He’s looking forward to joining us and having some fun.” The O’s also signed South Slocan native and Seattle Mariners’ draft pick Aaron Cotter to join the pitching rotation. The right-hander was drafted in 2007 and spent six years playing in the minor leagues before becoming pitching coach for the Spruce Grove Whitesox AAA team in April. They picked up Denver Wynn, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher and Minnesota Twins draft pick, who played with the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack in 2012 where he received first all-star team honours in the Canadian College Baseball Conference. The O’s will see the return of Joey Underwood to short stop for the absent Connor Jones, and Kyle Mace to second base, who missed the provincial tournament last month. As defending champions, the Orioles will be up against very tough competition. In last year’s tournament, one run decided four of five O’s games. “I don’t feel any added pressure, but I think everyone will be gunning for us,” said Maniago. Particularly the Elmwood Giants out of Manitoba that have finished second the past two years, including a thrilling 4-3 loss to the Orioles in the final last year at Butler Park. “When you’re the defending champions going back, you know we’ll see everybody’s top pitcher, I’m sure, so as good as we’re feeling about ourselves, it’s not going to be easy, and we are going to have to play well.” The tournament opens tonight with the host team Giants taking on provincial representative from Manitoba, the Brandon All-Stars. Trail’s first game goes Friday at 10:30 a.m. against Saskatchewan, and again at 7:30 p.m. versus Alberta. On Sunday the O’s play Brandon at 2 p.m. and the Giants at 8 p.m. The top teams in the round robin will play in the final on Sunday at noon. “We’re looking forward to it, we can’t wait,” says Maniago. “It happens quick, five games in 48 hours and then your done. So it’s good that we have all the guys we got, because that’s a lot of baseball and it would be nice to spell a few guys off here and there, and be fresh.”