Local athletes making mark on international scene
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2015 (3824 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It’s already been a remarkable year for Westman athletes internationally.
Curlers Braden Calvert and Lois Fowler have both skipped teams to world titles, with Calvert leading his Winnipeg-based foursome to the junior title in Estonia, while Fowler and longtime teammate Maureen Bonar helped their senior women’s squad to the crown in Russia.
Minnedosa-born Brandon resident Isabela Onyshko has continued her rise in the gymnastics world, topping the podium in an event in Slovenia, while Brandon’s Amanda Thornborough continues to solidify herself as a key member for Canada’s women’s rugby program, starting for the national 15s team in the Super Series currently taking place in Alberta. Archer Tyler Wilson of Birtle has represented his country at the world youth championships, Brandon hockey coach Dwayne Gylywoychuk won a gold medal as an assistant with the Canadian national women’s team and slider Cassie Hawrysh shook off a disappointing campaign in skeleton to post her best finishes of the year and place third in the Intercontinental Cup circuit.
As we head into the second half of 2015, Westman athletes will once again step into the international spotlight this summer, with the highlight being the Pan American Games later this month in Toronto.
Onyshko, a competitor in last year’s Commonwealth Games in Scotland, will once again represent Canada in artistic gymnastics, with her Brandon Eagles club coach, Lorie Henderson, also serving as the head coach of the national women’s team.
Local athletes will also be prominent in the volleyball competition at Toronto, with Brandon’s Lisa Barclay and Dauphin’s Tabi Love suiting up for the Canadian women’s team, while Dustin Schneider of Brandon and Toon Van Lankvelt of Rivers wear the Maple Leaf in the men’s competition.
Before the Pan Ams, some of Canada’s up-and-coming athletes are in South Korea for the International University Sports Federation (FISU) Games, with Minnedosa’s Caroline Sims set to compete in air pistol next week.
While the heat of the summer is still on us, Brandon’s Tanner Kaspick will be lacing up his skates again, trying out for a spot with the national under-18 hockey squad along with his Wheat King teammates Nolan Patrick and Kale Clague. They’re hoping to lock up spots in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament next month in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as Canada goes for an eighth straight title.
If our local athletes fare half as well this summer as they did in the winter and spring, it looks like Westman sports fans will have lots to cheer about in the next couple of months.