The Northern Connector
Friday, July 10, 2015
Inside Ball scramble raises money
SPORTS
By Kevin Campbell
www.bclocalnews.com /bc_north
Marlins put up despite lack Submitted
THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
PRINCE RUPERT - Fire fighters hosed down their competition last Saturday at the Prince Rupert Fire Fighters’ Best Ball Scramble. Fielding 55 competitors, approximately a half-dozen of which represented the fire department, the scramble went off without a hitch and even came down to the top-two teams, who were separated by just one stroke. The winning team, consisting of organizer Brody Bishop, Tim Dopko, Matt Gurnsey and Dylan Lawrence beat the second-place squad, featuring Devin Palmer, Mike Ikari, Jerad Andreesen and Jared Davis by one stroke. “All of us played the last hole together because we knew we were very close,” said Dopko. Bishop’s team carded an 18-hole total of 63, while Davis’ group totalled 64. “The scramble’s all about fun. You go out there and you get four friends and you swing for the fences pretty much every hole,” said Bishop. “If you get one down the middle, the other three guys can just crunch it as hard as they can – just ‘Happy Gilmore’ it,” added Lawrence. Approximately $4,000 was raised for the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund through registration and prize auctions – the majority of which
KITIMAT - The Kitimat Marlins had 11 swimmers attend the last regional swim meet of the season in Terrace in early June. With the continued pool closure in Kitimat the club had just a small number of swimmers in attendance. Although only one of their four national swimmers were in attendance the Marlins still placed third in overall points. The Prince Rupert Rapids swim club placed first for overall points and the host club Terrace Bluebacks placed second, just two points in front of the Kitimat Marlins. Angus Bathe, 10, took the gold medal for overall points in the 10 and under boys division. Bathe swam 100 per cent personal best times in his seven individuals events and achieved his first AA provincial time in the 200 meter back-
KEVIN CAMPBELL/ THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
RUPERT - Matt Gurnsey, Brody Bishop, Tim Dopko and Dylan Lawrence celebrate their win at the Prince Rupert Fire Fighter’s Best Ball Charity Scramble. came even before the scramble started. “Some people made direct deposits to the Burn Fund, which is nice. So, we were totalling up numbers and we were at $2,800 before we even started the tournament,” Dopko said. “The community of Rupert as a whole – they support everything. They dig into their wallets and pitch in,” said Bishop.
“We just restarted it. It’s our third year and it’s just going to get bigger and bigger.” One memorable hole for the squad came on the 12th hole, when Dopko was able to sink an unexpected birdie. “Dopko sinking that 12-hole, 40-footer on the fringe, downhill slider,” said Lawrence. “[We were] happy with a par and Dopko steps up and he slams it, first putter.”
A19
stroke. Also in the division Jayden Johnston, 10, took the bronze medal. In the 10 and under girl division Olivia Pearson, 10, took the gold medal and Alexis Florit, 9, took the silver medal. In the 11-12 year old girl division Charlotte Collier, 12, took the silver medal for the Marlins while Leah DeSousa took the bronze. In the 13-14 girls Hannah Pearson, 13, took the bronze medal while in the 15 and over boys division Zachary Dumas, 15, took the gold medal. Joining Angus Bathe in swimming 100 per cent personal best times in all seven individual races were younger brother Archie Bathe, 8, Annika DeSousa, 8, and Emilie Krabes, 11. Some of the Marlins are now looking forward to competing at provincial and national championships throughout July.
Ms. McNeil outruns women and men to win Salmon Run By Cecile Favron
THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
TERRACE - It was an impressive finish at the seventh annual Salmon Run for first-time Terrace participant Hannah McNeil, 11, who took the top spot for the women’s 2km race, beating out competitors in all other age categories including the men. The young runner clocked in at just 10 minutes and 21 seconds at the June 28 long-distance race at Kitsumkalum. The Salmon Run also had its highest ever turn out with more than 500 people signed up to race in over 120 categories under the intense summer sun. “Given that this is only our seventh year, the turnout at this event was extraordinary. We are celebrating our biggest run ever,” said organizer Colleen Austin. Enthusiastic runners and families participated in 2 kilometre, 5 kilometre, or 10 kilometre distances within their age brackets and for the title of overall winner. Joining McNeil for the 2km trophy was Fred Seiler, 52, from Terrace, coming in at 12 minutes
and two seconds. In the 5km event, the top female runner was Sheri Hamer, 59, from Terrace with a time of 24 minutes and 17 seconds and the top male runner was Murray Warner, 61, also from Terrace and coming in at 24 minutes and 49 seconds. The top winners in the longest and most gruelling race were Sarah Williams, 26, from Prince Rupert in the women’s category clocking in at 44 minutes and three seconds. The fastest man in that category was Ted McCreery, 35, from Terrace at 42 minutes and 44 seconds. Top female competitor Sarah Williams told her team after the race that she found it to be a really tough run and it was very hot out, but she was all smiles when she found out she had won first place, said teammate Birgitte Bartlett. The largest team registered for the race was the James Vickers Memorial Team which had 52 registered participants. The Salmon Run is a family event, accepting participants of all ages and the 2km run is meant
for the younger and older competitors. The oldest runner was Mildred Roberts, 83, who completed the race and was handed her trophy by her great-granddaughter Kayleen Sam. The youngest participant was six-week-old Kelsey Klapstein from Prince Rupert who was pushed in a buggy by her grandmother Debbie van’t Kruis from Terrace who completed the 5km race. “Given that it seemed like the hottest day of the year, it was amazing how many people participated and we were really impressed with it,” commented Austin. The Salmon Run event is organized ‘Na Aksa Gila Kyew learning centre and is staffed by volunteers. The heat on the weekend of the run was sweltering, but participants pushed through, said Austin. “We had Terrace Search and Rescue on the route in their all terrain buggies to give water to the participants, and there were also water stations,” said Austin.
BIRGITTE BARTLETT / THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
PRINCE RUPERT’S Sarah Williams was the 10 km overall winner.