A selection of the top sports stories from the first half of 2023.
JANUARY
12 - 100 Mile Wranglers set winning tone for 2023
The 100 Mile House Wranglers started 2023 on a winning streak with coach Dale Hladun stunned by the energy of his team coming off the Christmas break. The Wranglers beat the Kamloops Storm 2-1 in a shootout victory, followed by a 3-2 win against the Nelson Leafs.
“My goodness, the week after Christmas those boys were flying (at practice). It’s like they’d had a breath of fresh air and you could see it in these two games,” Hladun said.
Wranglers goalie Royce Watson made some key saves against Kamloops, blocking 39 of 40 shots on net, and held on even during an overtime shootout. Owen Johnson and Presley Gordon ensured the Wranglers came out on top in the shootout.
In the Leafs game, Nathan Bohmer scored in the first period. Jace Myers scored the second goal of the night in the second period and Ty Smoluk in the third. The Leafs scored a lone goal in the second period.
FEBRUARY
16 - Eagles hooped for first, but take second in championship
The Peter Skene Ogden Eagles came second in a two-day tournament, losing 68-49 in the championship game against the Lake City Secondary School Falcons.
“There were lots of competitive games and I think it was just a showing of what basketball in 100 Mile can be,” said PSO head coach Andrew Steeves. “Overall I think the guys played a really good championship game, despite the loss.”
Eagles centre Wyatt Hollett, named defensive Tournament’s MVP, said the tournament was “awesome” from start to finish. Hollett said they competed against five good teams that put the Eagles to the test.
Steeves said Hollett played great defense throughout the weekend and was key to their success. The Omer brothers, Mohamed and Ahmed, were also pivotal players who improve in every single game, he added.
Bruce Dohan, who received the Eagles’ All-Star award, said “It was great.”
23 - Coaches consider forming basketball association
Several of Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School’s basketball coaches, including senior boys head coach Andrew Steeves and assistant coach TJ Grabowiecki, began work on forming the South Cariboo Basketball Association in partnership with Engage Sport North.
Steeves said this new association would give elementary school students and adults a chance to practice basketball year-round. Forming an association would allow them to access insurance from Basketball B.C. and secure gym time easier.
“My goal is to try and create a grassroots program so that kids coming up through the system are learning how to play the game and falling in love with it early,” Grabowiecki said. “When they come to the high school level they’ll know those fundamentals which will make it easier for the coaches and the kids.”
Steeves hoped to begin offering programs by spring but said the fall was a more likely timeline.
MARCH
9 - Youth capture bronze at bowling provincials
Four 100 Mile House young bowlers competed at the Bowl B.C. Bantam Provincials in Chase, with two of them claiming bronze.
Josh Ohlund, Madelynn Stevens, Olivia Gobin and Elias Neustaeter qualified for the provincials, after honing their skills at Big Country Lanes.
Josh and Elias won six of their 10 games and a tiebreaker to claim bronze in their category. The girls had fun but did not make a podium finish.
Coach Jaynie Gobin said that up until that year, none of the bowlers had ever bowled competitively.
Gobin said that before provincials she focussed on the fundamentals and taught her players how to support one another.
She said people tend to bowl better when they know that their teammates believe in and support them.
16 - 100 Mile House U15 Rep team ready for provincials
100 Mile Houses’ U15 rep team went far in their freshman season of rep hockey.
Coach Charlie Bridal said expectations were high from parents and players and required a lot of travel to get to different tournaments. He added the team was one of the greatest groups of kids he ever coached.
The team found U15 rep hockey a big change partly due to the level of competition but also the introduction of body checking.
Bridal put on several clinics teaching the young players bodychecking through simulated drills. There were a lot of new skills for the young athletes to learn.
Bridal said hosting the provincials in March was a once-a-lifetime opportunity for the first-year rep team.
23 - First Canim Lake Ice Hawks tourney a success
The Tk’emlúps Indian Band beat the Ashcroft Cowboys 5-4 in overtime, winning the first annual Canim Lake Ice Hawks Hockey tournament at the South Cariboo Rec Centre.
The score was 4-3 for Tk’emlúps when Ashcroft scored in the last minute, sending the game into overtime. Ten seconds in, Tk’emlúps scored the winning goal.
Moments after the goal the Ashcroft net was knocked loose. Tournament organizer Atoine Archie, who officiated the championship game ruled the goal as being good and the final score stood.
Seven competitive and five Oldtimers teams took part in the weekend.
“We used to have a bunch of tournaments in the old barn (Stan Halcro Agriplex) next door. The Canim Lake team, from all my uncles and dads. They inspired me to bring it back. We haven’t had a tournament in over 20 years.”
APRIL
13 - Special Olympics Team returns to bowling alley
The Special Olympics bowling program resumed in March with eight athletes coming out on a consistent basis, said Jasmine Webster, the community development coordinator for the northern and central interior.
The athletes were thrilled to be at the trial day as they hadn’t been bowling in a couple of years. They said it was great to be reunited with the other athletes they do not see very often and return to the sport they loved.
One of these athletes was Christian Samson, who was excited to be back at Big Country Lanes. One of the reasons why he enjoys bowling is you get to make friends and he thinks that’s very important.
It’s also important to be out there participating.
The organization was looking for a local volunteer coordinator to head up the committee and for other volunteers to fill positions on the committee.
20 - 100 Mile House bowlers win provincial gold
Darlene Dionne, Joyce Vaillancourt, Carol Cannon and Lorraine Jerema bowled their way to first place in Bowl B.C.’s Club 55+ Cup on April 13. All four of them bowled above 200 in their final game, easily securing the top spot.
Ken Clark, Big Country Lanes, owner, and president of Bowl BC said it was very exciting as the team came from behind.
At the end of the third game, they were in fourth place but in the final game, they bowled unbelievably well and bowled 352 pins over their average.
Dionne was overcome with emotion, wiping tears of happiness from her eyes she said as the win came as a complete surprise on top of her being shocked at qualifying to begin with. She noted it was the first time anyone on the team had won a bowling tournament.
Clark said the tournament was a resounding success all round and he was really proud of his bowlers for winning, especially against stiff competition. The team advanced to the national championships being held July 8 and ninth and southern Ontario.
MAY
4 - PSO Rugby program taking flight this season
Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School’s Eagles rugby program looked stronger than ever during the 2023 season.
The Eagles dominated a hometown jamboree against the Vanderhoof Vikings on April 28, winning the majority of the games. Rugby coach Kameron Taylor said his teams came together incredibly well thanks to the coaching of several community members, including John Turnbull, Chris Coombs, Natalie Cox and Laura Stewart.
Against Vanderhoof, Taylor said they were able to field their junior and senior girls and boys teams to get some needed practice. Several PSO players even donned Vikings jerseys to help fill gaps left by injury and sickness.
Taylor said the weekend was encouraging, especially as PSO prepared to host Zones on May 12 and 13.
“This was a meeting of teams that we’ll be playing in our Zones championships two weeks from now here in 100 Mile House, and we’re going to be doing that at our old junior high fields,” Taylor said. “We have a crazy event planned for it.”
11 - 100 Mile House takes silver medal in carpet bowling provincials
The BC Carpet Bowling Association hosted the BC provincials in 100 Mile House from May 2-5 with upwards of 60 bowlers competing for medals.
The competition was broken down into teams of two, three and four people.
“Some of these people have been bowling for years,” said Patti Randle, past-president of the association. “The oldest one we have here is 91. He had his birthday yesterday.”
The 100 Mile House team of Bob Allen and Geoff Collins took the silver medal in the pairs competition. This was Collins’ first year carpet bowling.
Putting the event on was a lot of work. Sue Pinkerton was kept busy organizing while Randle was in charge of the kitchen at the Creekside Seniors Centre.
JUNE
8 - PSO girls’ soccer team holds their own at provincials
The Peter Skene Ogden Eagles girls’ soccer team played seven out of 16 teams at the girls’ soccer provincial championships held in Surrey from May 31 to June 2.
They qualified for provincials after finishing second in zones. They lost a tough game to Fort St. James and their opener before comfortably defeating Chetwynd and Burns Lake.
In the first game, they faced the host team, Southridge Storm, the team’s toughest opponent of the year. The Storm went on to take second place in the championship game.
Coach Geraldo Cibrian said they were very pleased with the teams reaction after going undefeated at all three tournaments they attended and not conceding a goal, - ones were the first real taste of adversity they faced.
15 - Logan Parent Bullride raises $35,000
100 Mile House was treated to two days of bull riding and barrel racing the weekend of June 9 and 10th for the Logan Parent Memorial Bull Ride.
Logan Parent Foundation Director and Logan‘s mother, Cindy Parent said 1,000 people came out to watch 30 bull riders and 15 barrel races try their best to score high.
The bull ride is held in memory of Logan Parent, a young bull rider who lost his life following concussion-related mental health struggles.
Through the event, the Logan Parent Foundation raises money to support groups that work to address mental health and concussions in the South Cariboo rodeo community. This year Cindy said they raised around $35,000.
Kale Mickelson was the only professional bull rider to stay on a bull for eight seconds on both the Friday and Saturday taking home $4,500. Friday he lost out to Isaac Janzen, who took home $2,300 in the novice category.
Sam Harvey took home the buckle and $500 cash while Rowdy McNoltey took home the mini bull buckle.
Fallon Thomas and her horse Chilli took 1st place Friday night in barrel racing with a time of 16.523 seconds On Saturday Dawnna Robertson and Starlet Cash took first place with a time of 16.996 seconds.
22 - Inaugural charity golf tournament raises $6,000 for cancer patients
Around 78 gophers turned out from across BC for the inaugural Mr. T charity golf tournament held on June 10. Organizer Erin Capnerhurst said Mr. T Contracting plans to make it an annual event.
It was their first time organizing anything so it was a little nerve-racking, but he was ecstatic at how well the event turned out and not the golfing was a lot of fun. His team scored a 67 Falling a few points, shy of Lindon Jeffries’ team, who got 62 winning the tournament and bragging rights.
Between a silent auction and the tournament’s $65 entry fees they raised $4,000 for cancer. 108 Golf Resort manager Lee Hansen then chose to donate $2,000 to the cause bringing them up to $6,000. The initial goal had been $2,500.
All of the partners at Mr T pitched in to help organize the tournament including Capnerhurst, Robbie Chmil, Capnerhurst’s wife Victoria Feistmantl and his father-in-law Tiger Feistmantl. They were motivated to do so after Victoria’s mother and Tiger’s wife, Sabine Feistmantl, died after a lengthy battle with breast cancer in 2019.
