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. l . . l '.tthtt?t1'r"?tt,tttrt.tt??rtrtt?t', ' A new”. "The conditions weren't great," said Yang, still shiver ing as he prepared for the Knights' 4X100 m relay aals he was conscripted to run due to a lack of warm But a cold wind and min at Kityhener's Centennial Stadium had a lot In dowilh disappoirUing jumps he had by his standards at the WCSSAA and District-8 championships held last It just wasrit in the domi- nating fashion he was uwd to after bursting on the stage last year and sweeping the golds at the W(ISSA:\. CWO?ifiA and oFSAA truck and-field championships. But he slill'managed to make the jump Io senior a smooth one by winning the boys' long jump and triple- jump events. Lindsay Seemann. 13, of the Ontario swim team, competed in the women's aged 12 to 13 cat- egory of a national swimming competition at Wilfrid Laurier University on Saturday. Ti: weather conditions were working against Bluevale's double OFY6A junior gold medallist Ieremy Yang last Thursday. BCI track star's victories dampened by rainy weather 166 Park St., Kitchener By Bus %tBANAC Chrorticle Slug Look out below Thai meant he had to make most of his jumps in skin-tight track pants. But he still felt strangely encum- bered by the smooth second skin. "It feels like it's holding me back in the air," said Yang. He talks about an inter- nal metronome he has telling him about just how many steps he has until he hits the fault line of his, jumps. [he mushy ground throws off that rhythm. not to mention the sand that gets into some uncomfort» able places when he lands in the pit. He's hoping the run up to CWOSSA and ()FSAA dries out the track a little as he hopes to qualify for his first all-Ontario finals at the sen- ior level. More than the con- ditions, it's the mental aspect of the sport that has to be just right for Yang. "lt's wasn't great but I jumped my best because it was really cold." bodies. "All I wanted to do is qualify for the next level. While Yang was hoping " know it's going to be a lot harder. so I'm just taking this all in stride and want to keep improving on my times," said Buttinger. "But I lihc thinks the real com- petition will come at (IWOS- SA and ()l35A2\ where the Grade I I will face athletes a year or two older than her. rhat will give her a better idea of where she is in her own development. which could lead to attending a " school down the road. t Buttinger wasnt entirely happy with her high jump, hut she still managed to smash the old record of L40 metres. (or sunnier days when he jumped again. Resurrec- tion's Maddie Bultinger did- n't let the elements affect her in her first year of senior competition. She continued her assault on the local record books by winning the 400 m, the 400 m hurdles in record time and the high jump with a leap of 1.70 metres. Continued on pig: Al SPORTS HUBER 0“»sz mom "The players in turn have said to me that you have to think higher," said Hummel. "St. Catharines ended up last year in fttth place and I would expect that we would do at least that. "With the skill they had, the additional skill we have His players told him to set hi? sights a little higher. Greg Hummel even told his club he expects a better than .500 season in a league he describes as better than the National Lacrosse League because of the sheer number of pro players who suit up for these summer teams. here's no reason why I the K-W Kodiaks cant be competitive in their inaugural season of Major Series lacrosse, says the team's coach and general manager. Kodiaks squad has their eye on the prize ill new league Meng then showed a " tle of her toughness and determination. taking the feed of a scrum to score her She raced down the field to make a tackle at the touchline. running under a teammate's big booming kick. keeping the High- Landers hemmed deep in theirzone. " seems rugby is her game after all as the small but speedy fly half demon- strated on a couple of key plays that helped her Vikings hold on to a 20-14 lead over much-improved Sir lohn A. Macdonald last Wednesday on the High- landers' home turf. WCI senior rugby girls determined to defend title "A's Sarah Meng Woked quite com- fortable on the rugby tield last Wednesday. . uNClt BY Boa VRMNMI Ch amide Stu/I BY Boa VIuww: Chronicle 'itz/L' WWI}; tW/ic".", , " think it (the Major Series) plays at a higher level than the pro league, and the Mann Cup is still the hard. est championship to win in sports," said Hummel. But it will be it challenge. there is even more pro tal, ertt around this year as the Mann Cup will be hosted by Ontario. in what Hummel calls the toughest team tro- phy to win. ye; with the Kodiak team that can play at this level. plus some of the younger guys. we will have a better team than the team we had last "e'iiiiid, They face steeper odds with the graduation of play- ers like Michelle Joslin, a member of Team Canada's under-i9 rugby team, from last year's squad. But arte/starting the sear son 0-2, the Vikings have The Vikings will have to become familiar with Pre- sum and Waterloo-Oxford if they hope to repeat as champs and return to CWOSSA, where they were finalists Last year. "it's definitely one of our goals to defend the title." said Meng. "I think we're ready." It proved to he the mar- gin ofvictory for the defend- ing WESSAA senior girls rugby Champs. who improved their record to 2-2 after two tough early-season losses to Preston and Water- loo-Oxford. first try of the day. 'a r. But it's the Kodiak play- ers who have returned that have encouraged. And the ph, players and protected players from St. Catharines, who the Kodiaks That meant mum play- on were already spoken for, including key cogs of tity Kndiaks' \m'uws like Kyle Arhurklc and Steve Dietrich. who just won the Mrs MVP award while backstopping his Buffalo Bandits to last Saturday's finals. And while the rest of the league has been stocking up on talent for the Mann Cup run, the Kodiaks are late- cumrrs to the rccrttitmcnt game after only taking over the St. Catharines fritrtchiw Iwn months ago. He should know; he won it as a player and now will attempt In do it again as the Kodiaks' coach and general manager. Katie Miskill and Chrissie Webb responded for the scrappy Highlanders. while Sarah Hanmer proved she might have one of the biggest legs in the league converting two kicks. But in the end it was the Vikings' And Meng, in keeping with the "there's no I in team mentality." said the contri- bution is coming from all quarters like Shannon Walsh and Abbey Gingerich, who scored trys for the Vikings last week, as well as, new players like Laura Purchase, who also made " contribu, tion to the scoresheet with a try. been putting it together .said Meng. "We're really playing as a team. We have more of a team mentality right now so that's really helping us." Continued on page 39 Continued on page 40