Legion pool championship, Royals badminton, gymnastics highlight busy sports stretch
By David McIver
Pool
The Rosetown Legion Branch hosted the provincial Legion eight-ball championship April 17-18 at the Ball & Pin House.
Eight four-member teams from five communities took part, said organizer Aaron Walker. Rosetown entered two teams. One featured Walker, Austin Morrison, Chris McLeod and Chris Nickell. The other included Don Markham, Murray Markham, Allan George and Ken Cyrenne.
Swift Current and North Battleford each entered two teams, while Estevan and Prince Albert fielded one apiece. The two Swift Current teams tied for first and required a playoff. Estevan finished third.
Badminton
Six Rosetown Royals qualified for regional playoffs in Moose Jaw this Saturday after strong showings at district competition in Kindersley.
Griffin White won gold in boys singles, defeating a Kenaston opponent. Hailey Burton earned silver in girls singles, losing to a Biggar Blazer.
Mark Mofolasayo and Bennett Ironside took silver in boys doubles, falling to an LCBI pair in the final. Rayna James and Jacob Weber also claimed silver in mixed doubles, losing in the final to LCBI.
Boyd Anderson and Klaas Woudwijk dropped the bronze-medal match in boys doubles to an Elrose duo.
Rosetown also hosted its annual senior tournament April 18. White won silver in boys singles, losing to a Unity player. A North Battleford Comprehensive Viking claimed bronze.
Ironside and Mofolasayo added another silver in boys doubles, with Unity winning gold and North Battleford taking bronze. James and Weber again placed second in mixed doubles, losing to a Unity pair. Swift Current players earned bronze.
Burton took bronze in girls singles. Unity won gold in a final against North Battleford. Wilkie, Swift Current and Unity placed first, second and third in girls doubles.
Elrose and Dinsmore athletes also advanced through sectionals in Kyle. Joseph Bouclin and Carson Fortin of Elrose won boys doubles, ahead of teammates Jordan Bouclin and Avery Wilinski.
Makenzie Croft of Dinsmore won girls singles. Blake Lawes defeated schoolmate Alex Keeler in the boys singles final.
Charity Pajunen and Macey Edstrom won girls doubles, while Darling McNeely and Ashley Alberto took mixed doubles.
At junior districts in Biggar, the Royals captured seven medals. Emery Carlson won gold in boys singles. Katherine Claffey and Andrea Kahovec took gold in girls doubles.
Maddex Gray and Mykola Melnyk won boys doubles gold, with Dmytro Nikolaienko and Cohen Wickett earning silver. Rachel Dobson and Jasper Adnam won mixed doubles gold, while Sydney Dessert and Mitchell Nunweiler placed third. Harper Kampen added silver in girls singles.
Gymnastics
Twenty-three Rosetown Gymnastics Club members competed at the Valley Gymnastics Club Invitational in Waldheim.
Piper Rolleston and Taylor Van Hove each won silver all-around in inter-club bronze.
Hanley McCracken placed eighth on bars, fifth on beam, fourth on floor and eighth all-around in Xcel bronze (age nine).
In Xcel bronze (10-12), Aubrey Lovenuk placed second on vault and third all-around. Violet Grey and Brielle McCracken also posted multiple top-eight finishes.
Mila McKinley finished fifth on floor in Xcel silver (ages nine and 10). Among 11-year-olds, Kamryn Ismond and Ryleigh Herman added solid results.
In Xcel silver (12-16), Avery Hey won bars and placed fourth all-around. Maisie Farden won beam. Autumn Rolleston, Karlee Anholt and Ivy Turk also recorded strong finishes.
Paysley Ogilvie led the Xcel gold Age Group A results with a third on vault and beam and fourth all-around. Audyn Gilroy followed closely.
In Age Group B, Kaia Ginther placed fourth on beam, while Myla and Maddison Van Hove shared sixth on floor.
Arabella Gilroy competed in Age Group C, placing fifth on vault and beam. Freya Farden finished fourth on vault in Xcel platinum.