To say the least, it’s been a solid showing for Kinsmen Moose Jaw Speed Skating Club through the first half of the Saskatchewan Winter Games.
A handful of medals, plenty of top-five finishes and all sorts of personal bests have highlighted Team South West’s showing on the short track through the opening three days of competition,
And leading the way through it all has been Moose Jaw’s own Marcus Capili.
The 14-year-old Vanier student won three gold medals and a silver through his four races at the Co-Operator Centre in Regina, taking top spot in the 400 and 1,000 metres on Monday before bolstering his medal totals with a gold in the 800m on Tuesday and silver in the 1,500m on Wednesday.
Local skaters also had a series of close calls when it came to landing on the podium, as Elizabeth Rae was fourth in each of the female 400m, 800m and 1,000m before finally breaking through with a silver medal in the 1,500m. Scarlett Zoerb was fifth in the 1,000m, seventh in the 800m and eighth in the 1,500m to go along with a fourth-place showing in the 400m B final.
Also reaching an A final was Kaeleb Tabin, who landed seventh in the 800m. Tabin was also second in the 1,000m B final, third in the 1,500m B final and fourth in the 400m C final. Kohl Olson had a similar string of results, taking first in the 800m and 1,500m B finals, third in the 400m B final and first in the 1,000m C final. Seth Allen was fourth in the 400m B final, seventh in the 800m B final, fourth in the 1,000m B final and sixth in the 1,500 B final.
Gracelyn Blanchard and Lil Fisher each skated in four Group 2 finals, with Blanchard finishing fifth in the 400m, first in the 800m, second in the 1,000m and second in the 1,500m. Fisher was second in the 400m, third in the 800m, fourth in the 1,000m and third in the 1,500m.
Miiguel Rea swept the three Group 2 races he finished, taking top spot in the three longer distances but taking a disqualification in the 400m.
The South West gymnastics team included four athletes from Moose Jaw Gymtastiks, with Katelyn Sauer, Amara Cameron, Jaylin Bevan and Caonport’s Saige Buchanan opening their Games with a seventh-place finish in the Team Mix competition,
Buchanan would go on to finish 10th in the All-Around Artistic class, with Sauer 16th, Cameron 38th and Bevan 41st overall.
Buchanan was set to compete in the bars and vault finals on Wednesday, with Sauer also in the vault final,
The mixed doubles curling competition saw Team South West’s Kaylee Hogeboom and Dayne Heisler finish 1-2 in their pool and playing in a placement game on Wednesday.
The Moose Jaw Curling Centre duo won their opener 8-7 over Prairie Central but lost their next two preliminary-round contests 10-1 to Saskatoon and 9-5 to Regina 1. That sent the local crew into a tiebreaker, where they fell 8-2 to Regina before losing their playoff contest 9-8 to Parkland Valley 2.
The South West Moose Jaw Special Olympics bowling team -- including South Hill Bowling Lanes competitors Casey Hopps, Calvin Schaff, Bradly Volk, Kile Wilson and Tuxford’s Chris Lavallee -- got off to a great start with wins over Prairie Central 1, Parkland Valley and Lakeland to head into action Tuesday with a 3-0 record.
They were to face Prairie Central 2, Saskatoon, Regina, South East and South West Swift Current in a busy day of action, with no scores reported as of this writing.
The stepladder playoffs are set to take place Wednesday.
Brecon Swalm took to the ski trails in biathlon on Monday and finished in 19th place in the U16 female sprint, crossing the line in 22:13 to finish seven minutes back of the gold medal winner.
The second half of the Saskatchewan Winter Games begins Thursday, with Moose Jaw competitors in action in figure skating, futsal, judo and wrestling. Be sure to visit www.saskgames.ca/winter for a full rundown of results from throughout the Games.
