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economist sunttribiineitfle yeaihn bevlewsaninidec o2o6oi t- f itwasa spirited year of sports in junior hockey run actons new job mays suspension streifs induction were big local sports news- in the year 2000 j- by bruce stapley c correspondent it was the year of the spirit and more the year 2000 saw whitchurch- stouffville athletes and sports fig ures make their mark at the provin cial national and international lev- els local individuals distinguished themselves in arenas both hockey and equestrian as well as on soft- ball diamonds judo mats and auto racing tracks r vj rafterfour seasons asalso rans the stouffville spirit made their first bigprovihcial junior a hockey league breakthrough the club swept the aurora tigers four straight in the opening round j of the playoffs in february before advancing to the north conference finals with a gritty sixgame victory over their perennial rivals the newmarket hurricanes the spirit which had never won a playoff game prior to 1999- 2000seasqn were finally stopped in four games by the couchiching terriers r the spirit picked up where they left off wherithe 20002001 season got under way holding down first place in the conference for most of the fall keith actons stouffville native is v now an assistant coach witlithe toronto maple leafs vv staff photojim mason michael tucciarorie left and jesse johnston celebrated the stouffville spirits biggest win ever a second round playoff iipset of the newmarket hurricanes in march at the rec complex both players areback with the spirit which is tied with newmarket for firstplace in the norm conference ofthe provincial junior a hockey league u v v i spirit ownership as ed hakonson who had rescued the franchise from early extinction in 1995 sold his interest in the club to zeevwerek of goodwood and richmond hill fesi- dent larry goldberg werek and goldberg had beenbroughtinas partners with hakonson the previ pus season i may days in the nhl for brad may 2000 brought with it a mixed bag the one time michel bond who led the team in scoring mu999206p continued to shine this season being named the north conferences ontario hockey association i source for sports player of- the month for november x v qvspirit defenceman and stouffville arearesfdent- grant buckley who was drafted by the mississauga icedogs of the ontario hockey league in june 1999 signed onwitn the major junior ontario hockey league teamforthe2000 fopiseason t v the year also saw a change in stouffviljemarkham miriorjhpckey star signed a threeyear contract with the pfioehix coyotes during the off season after 2 12 seasons with the vancouver canucks i but the 29yearold veteran would be slapped with the fourth- longest suspension in nhl history when he inadvertently clipped the face of columbus blue jacket for- ward steve heinze with his stick in november r acton becomes a leaf also in hockey stouffville native son keith acton came home when he was hiredas assistant coach of the 1 toronto maple leafs the 42yearbld had spent the previous two seasons in the same ppst with tfie new york rangers the former national hockey leaguell star whoplayed 15 sea- sons with montreal minnesota- edmonton philadelphia washington and the new york islanders was assistantassociate coach with die philadelphia flyers the previous four seasons v the maple leafs posting enabled acton land his family to 4 move back into their stoufrville homeoria yearround basis v girls hockey sets mark thestoufivillemarkham girls hockey association won an unprecedented three ontario womens hockey association titles in the t season withthe atom bbpee wee a and midget a stars all prevailing local teams also won two golds a silver and two bronze medals in north metro league playoff finals dianne was best sport o longtime smgha president dianne white was named whitchurchstouffville sports personality of the year by s stouffville sun for her ongoing efforts onbehalf of the organiza tion v white was instrumental in bringing tlie japanese national womens hockey team to stouffville to set uptrainingcamp prior to the world womens hockey- championships ihmississauga in april yr r pearce was an olympian it was off to sydney australia for ballantrae area equestrian john pearcex the finally realized his dream of competing as part f the canadian show jumping team at the 2000 summer olympics- peafce and his mount jamcos vagabond helped the canadian team to a ninthplace showing former 01ympictequestriantom- gayfordojf stouffville was orttrie- selectioh committee that picked the canadian show jumping team in alberta in march- streit enters the hall it was another big year for canadian female amateur golf leg end marlene streit the stouffville area resident was one of 26 people inducted into the mew ontario golf hall of fame located at uxbridges wooden sticks golf club in october streit has won 10 canadian amateur champi onships through her long and dis tinguished career she is the only perspnto win the canadian british australian and us amateur titles streit served as an advisor to the canadian team at the second annu al nationscup which sayi five top ranked american women golfers prevail over their canadian oppo nents at stouffvilles emerald hills golfclub judo kids were golden j stouffvilles kerry lynne hulshqf kyle cheeatow and meaghan rultonwon gold medals while fellow sheffield judo club niember jennie jones took asilver and seiji ishiguro a bronzeat the junior and juvenile canadian judv championships h 1 marlene streit golf legend was named to the sports ontario hall of fame at wooden sticks macri was right on track on the autoracing track 18- year-old- gormley resident jonathan macri i captured the canadian formula- ford 1600 championship series crown t- macri won four of theeight races v in the season series including a split second victory at the molsori indy 1600 open wheel event in toronto in july macri hadbeen named 1999 rookie of the year in the formula ford crcuit goodwood area resident peter gibbons raced tbhis second straight cascar siipef series national title softball boys third- in canada on thel diamond the jones pools bantam j56ys fastball finished secqndat the ontario amateur softball association finals held in stoufrviueuienbfqugbt home me bronze at the national championships in scarborough in august ry fqrtyfiveyearold stouffville runner kim kavlukinished in the top four per centat the 2000 boston marathon vhis time of 25229 was hisbesteveriri seven boston marathons leavinghini 584th out of 18500 entrant j school sports shut down the biggest news was no news on the stouffvilledistrict secondary school v sports scene this fall as teachers optedto shut down the athletic prograrndue to increasing demands i onttkeir time sviij iijf the sdssspofeprqgranithat has traditionally playedsucha vital role atllie schoqlhad been sporadic at best inf recent years since the provincial government and the york district school board insistecl teachers- spend more time in die classroom that along with therecfuirementstqf j the newly in tfoduced curficulurri led to the teachersullingthe plug on all rextra curriculum activities f r v- x