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Weyburn Review, Weyburn, Saskatchewan -- June 1, 2022
sports
Comp athletes place at district track meet
Making Team Canada with her final lift
Photo 1920 – Captured in Kilos
Weightlifter Alexis Ashworth cheered as she left the stage after making her final lift at the Canadian Invitational meet in Toronto in February. Her performance at this meet qualified her for Team Canada, to compete at the Commonwealth Games on Aug. 1 in the 71-kg class. The 23-year-old has been weightlifting for two and a half years, and got her start in the sport at CrossFit in Weyburn.
Former local weightlifter part of Team Canada for Commonwealth Games By Greg Nikkel Former local weightlifter Alexis Ashworth was selected for Team Canada to compete at the Commonwealth Games this summer, calling it “definitely a dream come true.” She has been training in Olympic weightlifting for two and a half years, getting her start at CrossFit in Weyburn, and has been taking training as a nurse, with the goal to graduate as a registered nurse in the fall in Saskatoon. Explaining how she ended up on Team Canada, Ashworth said, “I travelled to Toronto in February of this year to compete in the Canadian Invitational. This was considered an international meet and a qualifier for the Commonwealth Games. I ended up putting up my best total yet at this meet.” “I snatched 98kg, and clean and jerked 122kg, for a total of 220kg. The ranking is based off of your total and it put me in the top ranking,” she
added, pointing out that for someone to qualify for Team Canada they will sometimes take the top two or three per weight class and a lifter has to do specific meets in a specific period of time to qualify. To qualify for the Commonwealth Games, Team Canada takes the top No. 1 ranking from each weight class within the country. “I will compete as a 71kg weightlifter this summer at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Aug. 1,” said Ashworth. “This is my first meet with Team Canada, so it’s a big one to do as my first as the Commonwealth Games is held every four years,” she said. “I am very honoured to represent the country, and our province, especially coming from a small town. Everyone knows everyone and there’s a ton of support between my family and friends,” she said, noting she grew up on a cattle and grain farm by Oungre, and graduated from the Weyburn Com-
prehensive School in 2017. “This is definitely a dream come true, but this is just the start,” she added. Asked if she will be aiming for the 2024 Olympic Games, she noted that the qualifying process for the Olympic begins in 2023 and runs into the first quarter of 2024. “There are specific meets such as World Cup and World Championships that you must go to and perform at well,” she said. The Commonwealth Games won’t count towards qualifying for the Olympics, but Ashworth noted, “It is a very good experience regardless and a good starting point to compete against some high level athletes.” “It is incredibly hard to qualify now, as they cut the weight classes in half for the 2024 Olympics. Instead of 10 weight classes there are now only five, so the competition will become stiffer. And even if you are ranked first in your country, you still
may not qualify because you have to be ranked top 10-12 in the world overall in the weight class – But it is my goal to give it my best shot,” she said. “Even if I don’t get to go to the Olympics, I will get a lot of opportunities in the process with Team Canada going to other meets, such as worlds,” she added. She has been training on her own, but she recently hired a professional weightlfiting coach from Bloomington, Indiana, and will go train with him there when she can. “I’m proud of coming this far without an official coach, but having a coach will be very beneficial,” said Ashworth. “It was always the goal to make Team Canada, but it did happen very fast.” The Commonwealth Games team flew to Sweden on Tuesday to train at the Eleiko headquarters for the week to bond as a team prior to the games.
Athletes from the Weyburn Comprehensive School placed well with some records set at the district track meet held on Wednesday for all southeast area high schools. For intermediate boys, Cris Shipley came in second in the 200m race, and Chace Kradovill placed second in shot put. For the intermediate girls, Amryn King was first in the 100m and 200m races and was first in long jump and triple jump. Meaghan Weger came in third in the 200m race and first in the 400m race. In junior boys events, Noah Kopec was first in 100m and 200m races, and was second in long jump. Conner Kerr won first in 100m hurdles, and came second in 400m, discus and triple jump. Emerson Jack won first in the 1500m race with Calder McMillan in second, and McMillan placed first in the 3000 m race. Josh Wiens placed third in both the 3000m race and the 800m races. For junior girls, Autumn Vilcu was first in the 1500m and 800m races and second in the 400m race. Sela Flavel won first in the high jump and third in the long jump, while Kaitlyn Wallin won first in the javelin and shot put events. In senior boys events, Dennis Linnen won first in 100m and 200m races and in long jump. Jyler Goebel won second in 100m hurdles and first in the 3000m race. For senior girls, Emma Zieglgansberger placed second in the 1500m and 3000m races. Jamie Labbie won first in 80m hurdles and in long jump, and was second in triple jump, with Denae King placing third, along with first place for shot put.
Weyburn had one athlete in the senior boys quadathlon, Tensie Iida, who ended up fifth overall. He placed third in long jump, fourth in shot put, and fifth in the 100m and 800m races. In the listing of aggregate points of athletes, the top 10 point-getters for intermediate boys included Brighton Coderre of Stoughton in sixth place with 25 points, and Chace Kradovill in eighth with 16 points. For intermediate girls, in the top 10 are Amryn King in first with 40 points; Anna Knapp of Fillmore with 26 points; Meaghan Weger of Weyburn in sixth with 20 points; and Jayda Tessier of Gladmar with 14 points. The top 10 junior boys includes Conner Kerr of Weyburn in first with 34 points; Noah Kopec of Weyburn in second with 28 points; and Calder McMillan of Weyburn in 10th spot with 18 points. The junior girls top 10 includes Autumn Vilcu of Weyburn in first with 28 points; Faith Mackenzie of Yellow Grass with 26 points; Lexi Harvey of Midale in fifth place with 24 points; Kaitlyn Wallin of Weyburn was sixth with 20 points; and Sela Flavel of Weyburn in eighth place with 16 points. For senior boys, the top 10 includes Dennis Linnen of Weyburn in first with 30 points; Jyler Goebel in third with 25 points; and Jaxon Tanner of Stoughton in sixth with 20 points. For the senior girls, the top 10 includes Yveian Orpiano of Stoughton with 38 points; Jamie Labbie of Weyburn in third with 28 points; Emma Zieglgansberger of Weyburn in ninth with 16 points, and Denae King of Weyburn in 10th spot with 16 points.
Iron Pigs, Borderline Ladies play ball games Weyburn area adult ball teams were able to get in a few games in the past week, but some were postponed to later dates due to
the rain in the region. The Weyburn Iron Pigs of the Qu’Appelle Valley Baseball League played the Regina Ghosts on Thurs-
Getting in some riding practice
day evening, and doubled them 4-2. Pitcher Eric Evans was on the mound for five innings, and Luke Nie-
Review Photo 4344 – Greg Nikkel
Motocross racer Vinton Penna, No. 017, came over a small hill as his brother Max followed at right. They decided to get in some riding at the Weyburn motocross course on Sunday after the motocross races set for the day were postponed due to the wet course conditions.
megeers pitched in relief for two innings. Evans allowed five hits and no runs, and recorded three strike-outs, while Niemegeers allowed two runs and had four strikeouts. Weyburn scored two runs in the fourth and two in the fifth innings, while the Ghosts scored their two runs in the sixth inning. In Borderline Ladies action, the Weyburn White Lightning won 3-0 over the Fillmore Foxes on May 22, and the Pangman Peaches won 9-5 over the Ceylon Devils on May 23. Pangman recorded a 19-11 win over the White Lightning on May 29, while games for the Weyburn Shehawks and Midale Knockouts, and the Fillmore Foxes vs Ceylon Devils, were both postponed. The next games will be held on Sunday, June 5, with an all-Weyburn game set for 4 p.m. at Tom Laing Field’s smaller diamond. The Shehawks will host the White Lightning, while Odessa will host Pangman, and Midale will host Fillmore with Ceylon having the bye this week.
First-place jumping
Review Photo 4139 – Greg Nikkel
WCS Eagles athlete Jamie Labbie showed her firstplace form in the long jump at the district track meet on Wednesday at the Weyburn Comp track field. She won first place in long jump and in the 80m hurdles, and placed second in triple jump.