It’s the final action for the WolfPack this fall — TRU will resume play in February, when it heads to Arizona for spring training ahead of the Canadian College Baseball Conference season.

On Sunday, the WolfPack won 9-0 and 8-6.

Denver Wynn pitched six innings in the opener, which was highlighted by a Jason Tripp unassisted triple play. Dave Hole had two RBI, and Alex Condon drove in a run.

James Martensen was the winning pitcher in the second game, and Cody Pendergast had a single, two walks, two stolen bases and an RBI.

On Saturday, TRU won 3-2 and 10-8. Stefan Lono went the distance in the opener, and Levi Kerns had a pinch-hit RBI double in the seventh inning.

Mike Juarez went three innings and was credited with the victory in the second game, and Travis Nevakshonoff struck out three in a one-inning save.

Brock Stewart had two RBI and Sean Ash had two hits, including a double, a run and an RBI.

* * *

The peewee Kamloops Wildcats secured a playoff berth Sunday with a 32-0 victory over the Kamloops Broncos in community football action at Hillside Stadium.

Wildcats quarterback Carsen Day threw for 75 yards, including 25-yard completions to Cole Simmons and Darcy Rowden.

The Wildcats got one touchdown from Reggie O’Rourke, on a 75-yard run, and another from Adam Buholzer, on a 10-yard scamper. Ben Prokopetz added touchdown runs of 10, 25 and 45 yards. Sean Smith added one convert.

Kyle Watt anchored the Wildcats’ defence with 14 solo tackles, while Riley Eccles, Mattias Nelson, Denzel Marican and Hudson Williams combined for another 16. Traedon Boose concluded the defensive stand with a fourth-quarter interception.

The Wildcats (2-4-1) will travel to Salmon Arm on Sunday to meet the Colts in the final regular-season game, while the Broncos (1-6-0) play host to the Vernon Yellow Jackets at Hillside Stadium.

* * *

The Kamloops Vibe, a female senior A hockey team, picked up seven of a possible eight points during weekend South Coast amateur league play on the Lower Mainland.

Rochelle Smith picked up seven goals and five assists as the Vibe dumped Simon Fraser University 8-1 on Friday, beat Trinity Western University 7-1 and tied the Richmond Devils 2-2 on Saturday, and beat TWU again, this time 10-1, on Sunday.

Melinda Smith had two goals against SFU, while Gaylene Smith had two goals in the first victory over TWU. Rochelle Smith, with four goals, and Sarah Kurzac, with three, led the way in the second game against TWU.
Ashley Fisher, in goal for all three games, was especially sharp against the Devils, making 30 saves as her mates fell behind 2-0 before coming back to earn the draw.

Melinda Smith finished the weekend with four goals and three helpers, while Kurzac had four goals and two assists and Shelby Easton had two goals and five assists. Gaylene Smith and Alyssa Reid each had two goals and four assists, with Alana Parker and Desiree Blair contributing two scores and three assists apiece. Tori Johnson helped out with two of each, while Courtney Parker set up five goals.

The Vibe will be at home this weekend, with the AA Delta Jets visiting for games Saturday, 1 p.m., at the Icebox Arena, and Sunday, 11 a.m., at Memorial Arena.

* * *

Vlad Pankratov led a contingent of nine Aberdeen Judo competitors at the B.C. Judo Championships in Abbotsford on Saturday.

Pankratov was first in the under-19 men’s 100-plus kilogram event and also first in the senior men’s intermediate 100-plus division. Megan Hanks won the U17 cadet women’s 70-plus category and was third in the U20 junior women’s 78kg.

Two other Hankses struck gold — Geoffrey was first in the U15 juvenile men (66kg), while Matthew was first in the U11 novice boys.

Drew Ramsay was third in the junior boys (38) and second in exhibition matches, while Liam Moss was fourth in the junior boys (38) and second in exhibition.

Andrew Iadarola was second in the U20 junior men (90), and Jens Krause was fourth in the senior men’s brown and black belts (81). Joe Marchand was fourth in the senior men’s brown and black belts (100).

Instructor John Huntley handled the coaching, with parents John Ramsay, Randy Moss, Darlene Iadarola and Hilary Hanks helping out.

James Chevrette was one of the on-mat officials.

* * *

Three Kamloops players have been named to rosters of the Burnaby Mountain Selects field lacrosse program.
Colton Boomer, a South Kam student, is on the freshman team, while Ryan Dergousoff will play on the under-12 team. Mason Suppanz has qualified for the U11 squad.

The Mountain Selects are an elite program that travels to the United States for tournaments and games.

* * *

The NorKam Saints senior boys volleyball team finished second at a tournament in Rutland on the weekend.
NorKam finished second in its pool Friday, then won three straight matches Saturday to play its way into the final. The Saints topped the Surrey-Guildford Park Sabres (25-10, 25-12), the Kelowna-Immaculata Mustangs (25-14, 25-12), the Vernon-W.L. Seaton Sonics (18-25, 25-17, 15-11).

NorKam met the Vernon Panthers in the final, falling 25-12, 25-19.

NorKam, with Val Shannik as head coach, features Nathan Haag, Josh Smith, Jerome Thorne, Oliver Lum, Daniel Elke, Colin Marsh, Ryan Cave and Austin Labonte.

* * *

Christopher Curl was the top Kamloops finisher (and third overall) in the Summerland 9.5-kilometre corss-country race on Sunday.

Curl won the men’s 20-29 division in a time of 41 minutes three seconds.

Trevor Haaheim of Kelowna won the race in 37:47.

Allanah Stewart was the top Kamloops female, finishing 46th overall and second among 20-29 women in 56:16. Penticton’s Stacey Cleveland was the top woman, in 43:30.

* * *

Zach Lidster of Kamloops, who is training in Bradenton, Fla., under tennis coach Milos Pospisil, played in a qualifying International Tennis Federation tournament in Atlanta on the weekend.

Lidster opened by beating American Jeff Brown 6-2, 6-0, and then beat George Gregoriou, also of the U.S., 6-1, 6-1. In the third round, Lidster lost to Nicholas Wilson of the U.S., 3-6, 4-6, and that kept him from reaching the main draw.

Lidster now has his sights set on a tournament in Lexington, S.C., that runs from Monday through Nov. 6. Lidster also will play in a number of U-18 tournaments over the next six weeks.

Pospisil is the father of Vasek Pospisil, who is from Vernon. Vasek is ranked No. 124 in the world among men’s singles players.

* * *

The Kamloops Classics sent 14 swimmers to the Salmon Arm Jamboree on Sunday.

Sarah Koopmans, 9, and Ryley McRae, 10, went under four minutes in the 200-metre individual medley, thus qualifying to compete at regional all-level meets.

Koopmans finished in 3:57.22, with McRae doing it in 3:54.26.

Koopmans came home with three first-place finishes — in the 400 free, 200 backstroke and 100 butterfly — and third-place finishes in the 200 breaststroke and 200 IM.

McRae won four gold medals — in the 200 IM, 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 400 freestyle — and a silver in the 200 breaststroke.

Macy MacDonald, in nine and under, was third in the 50 breaststroke.

Cohen Freeze, in 10 and under, had first-place finishes in the 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 50 backstroke and 100 IM.

And, in the eight and under boys, Gursevak Uppal was second in the 50 breaststroke and third in both the 50 freestyle and 50 backstroke.

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Seiji Brown, with two goals and two assists, and Tyson Gafer, with two goals, led the way in the opener.

Brendan Roche added a goal and three helpers, while Kordell Primus and Hunter Klassen each had a goal.
On Sunday, the Wolves got two goals from Brown and one from Luke Rodrigue.

———

The North Kamloops Lions played three games over the weekend.

They opened Friday with a 10-6 exhibition victory over the Burnaby Winter Club at Valleyview Arena, with Evan Vinterlik showing the way with three goals. Breckin Erichuk and Justin MacInnes added two goals each and Garrett Kellington had one. The names of the other scorers weren’t available. Kellington added three assists, while Vinterlik and Erichuk each had two.

On Saturday, the Lions dropped a 3-1 decision to Merritt in an OMAHA game played at Memorial Arena. Erichuk had the Lions’ lone goal. Ethan Langenegger was in goal.

On Sunday, in Armstrong, Vernon beat the Lions 6-5 in another OMAHA game. Vinterik, with two, Hunter Dairon, Jarrett Daoust and Tyler Bruins-Slot had the goals for the Lions, who weren’t able to hold on to a 5-2 third-period lead.

* * *

BANTAM TIER 1

The Jardine’s Blazers went 2-2, losing in a semifinal, at the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association’s Bantam Tier 1 tournament on the weekend.

The Blazers opened with a 7-4 loss to the Okanagan Hockey Academy on Friday, with Dexter Robinson, with two, Jacob Faraday and Alex Winters scoring the goals. Josh Shank was in goal for the Blazers.

On Saturday, the Blazers opened

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Dave Burrows, owner of the indoor golf facility located beside Booster Juice in Lansdowne Village, has created a venue for players to hit the links when the white stuff starts to fall in the River City.

“We’ve got about 14 courses within 45 minutes of Kamloops and, during the winter, none of them have the ability to play,” said Burrows, who lives in the Tournament Capital with his wife, Karen.

“I want to offer the opportunity for people to work on their game year-round.”

The facility boasts six golf simulators, which make their homes inside legend-themed rooms — Jones, Couples, Sorenstam, Nicklaus, Palmer and Hogan.

Customers can play full rounds of golf on 21 of the world’s most famous tracks, including Pebble Beach, Troon North and Torrey Pines.

Burrows searched long and hard — this project is his baby, the first Legends facility of what he hopes becomes a chain — to find the best golf simulators on the market.

“I’ve looked around at every company out there and this one was by far the best,” said Burrows, who used to own a contracting company.

“It’s as real as looking out a window at a golf course.”

Cameras inside the simulators measure spin, track the club head, decipher which part of the club face the ball launched from and determine swing plane and launch angle.

With one click of a button, golfers are given an instant golf-swing analysis.

“Each one of the simulators gives you a lot of data and information that you can use for improvement,” Burrows said.

“I think it’s going to present an opportunity to get really good at the game.”

Each of the rooms comes equipped with a massive HD screen and enough room for a foursome to hang out comfortably.

There is one room — the Hogan room — that is a cut above the others, offering comfortable leather couches and a closed-door atmosphere.

The Hogan room — or, the championship room, as Burrows calls it — is the only room equipped for full video swing analysis.

Legends will be home to CPGA professionals who can be hired to aid golfers with their games.

Chris Power, an assistant pro at Rivershore Golf Links, is on board and Burrows is now on the hunt for a female pro.

Pros will work with customers on their swings, do a full-bag analysis, determine which equipment is right for them and Legends can have the clubs delivered to the store.

The downtown location of Legends was chosen partly for its proximity to the business community, the thought being an hour lunch-break can turn into 18 at Pebble.

Legends, which has a storage area for golfers’ clubs, is fully-licensed and will serve food to customers looking for a snack at the turn.

The store can host group functions (Playstation and Wii can be played on the large HD screens) of up to 50 people, with 24 customers able to golf at the same time.

There will be a retail section at the front of the store, but Legends’ bread and butter are the simulators.

A one-hour session in a simulator after 4 p.m. costs $44 per simulator, or $53 in the Hogan room.

Those prices drop by $10 before 4 p.m., in a reverse-twilight-like effect.

Burrows knows there are plenty of golfers who are hesitant to acknowledge the value of indoor simulators — he just wants the critics to give Legends a chance.

“I only have one thing to say — come in and try it,” he said.

“It’s as real as playing the real thing.”

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It seems like a long time ago – in part because of how far Johnson has come.

Johnson, who trains in Kamloops, is scheduled to compete in the hammer throw at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, next week. The multisport event, which opened Friday, features some 6,000 athletes in an Olympic-style competition.

Johnson has blossomed into a medal threat for the 2012 Olympics in London, but he hasn’t forgotten his first meet in the red, white and blue. He threw 73.23 metres for silver, a far cry from his latest personal best of 80.31m.

“That was my first national team ever,” Johnson said. “I got second . . . but I don’t want second this time.”

Johnson has worked hard throughout the season to become one of the world’s top male hammer throwers, and will have another chance to show that when he throws at the Pan Am Games on Oct. 26.

He is one of five Kamloops-based athletes scheduled to compete in the Games – female hammer throwers Sultana Frizell and Crystal Smith will represent Canada, as will shot putter Dylan Armstrong, while Michael Letterlough will throw hammer for the Cayman Islands.

All five of these athletes also competed at the 2007 Games. Armstrong, who finished second at the world championships last month, won gold in Rio, while Smith and Frizell finished sixth and seventh. Letterlough was 13th in the men’s hammer.

Frizell, who threw 63.25m in Rio and now holds the Canadian record (72.74m), isn’t going to Guadalajara with small goals.

“I definitely want to medal,” said the native of Perth, Ont. “There’s going to be hard competition coming out of Cuba, the States and Argentina . . . it’s going to be a fight.”

The women’s hammer throw competition is Monday.

It should be an interesting few days for Johnson and Smith, who are married but will be separated during the Games.

The American and Canadian teams will be staying apart for the competition.

“Everyone stays with their delegations, but it’s all on the same grounds, so we’ll be able to see each other,” Johnson said. “The last team we made together was Pan American Games in 2007, and that was fun.”

Johnson will leave Kamloops on Saturday, before a team-processing meeting in Houston. One of the things the Americans will discuss is safety – a drug war continues to rage in parts of Mexico, so you can bet the organizing committees are making sure the athletes are safe.

“I don’t think that area is quite as bad, so I’m sure it will be fine,” Johnson said. “They wouldn’t have that competition there if it wasn’t. There’ll be a lot of security.”

Johnson should be used to it, especially after the American team was embroiled in a controversy in Rio.

Someone wrote “Welcome to the Congo!” on a white board in the American media centre before the Games, a photo of which appeared in a major daily newspaper in Rio. Brazilians were furious, and anti-Americanism raged throughout the Games.

“They were rolling heavy security in Rio, especially for the U.S. team,” Johnson said. “I imagine it will be the same, if not more, because of the situation in Mexico.”

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Lethbridge will host Kamloops on Friday, Oct. 21, before the Blazers finish the trip in Medicine Hat on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Interior Savings Centre will not host another Blazers’ game until Oct. 28, when the Kelowna Rockets are in Kamloops.

Blazer forward Jordan DePape, 19, is scheduled to have surgery on his left shoulder in Winnipeg on Nov. 4. He will be out four to five months. 

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