Sports

Next time, it’s for real – sort of. On the weekend, the Prince George Gnats rugby team was in Jasper for a 7s tournament. “We’re normally a 15s team,” Per Dodenberg of the Gnats said, “but this was a warm-up for the season.” With only seven players per side, the 7s game is a lot faster, which is not the usual style for the Gnats, he says. “We like to play on the ground, keep it tight.” The good news for the Gnats was there were two divisions at the tournament – social and competitive. They...

Watch out for Rascals on the track on Saturday. The members of the Track Rascals, the 6 to 8 year olds in the Prince George Track and Field Club, will be taking part in the annual Sub Zero meet, which goes Saturday at Masich Place Stadium. There could be a lot of Rascals on the track for their one event, the 60-metre run. “The Rascals had been growing slowly,” coach Bill Masich said, “about three per cent a year. This season, it’s gone up by about 10 per cent.” That growth is reflected...

It started off small. “This was a family room,” Dan Gallo says, standing in a basement room in his house. “Then I started to get equipment to put in here. “I was lucky to have a wife who would put up with that.” Now, the room has one small couch, and is otherwise filled with training equipment, equipment with one purpose – arm wrestling. “I first started putting the room together 10 or 11 years ago. It’s really nice now, having the second (arm wrestling) table in here.” On this Tuesday...

They were playing for a different team, based in a different city, playing on a different continent, under different rules. But for three local lacrosse players, those differences didn’t mean much when they came home with gold medals. Jamie Bellamy, Andrew Schwab and Pierce Watson all play for the Devils in the Prince George Senior Men’s Lacrosse League, but last week they were playing for the Vancouver Pioneers in a tournament in Prague, Czech Republic. “I played junior lacrosse with their...

Kenny Lally will have a familiar face in his corner for his next boxing match. “I’ll be fighting in May in Regina,” the local boxer said, “and (coach) Bob (Pegues) has his daughter and grandkids there, so he’s making the trip with me, and will be in my corner.” The event in May is a doubleheader, with members of the Canadian team squaring off against American fighters. “We fight at the Ken Goff Memorial the first night, which is a big dinner show, and then I face the same guy a couple of...

Doing an interview with the four girls who make up the senior bowling team representing B.C at the Nationals in Oshawa, Ont. is like interviewing a single person. A question thrown out to Paige Meise, Lezzyl Aquino, Kassidy Johnson and Megan Reimer is usually answered by all four at the same time. Coach Chito Tecson says that singularity of purpose makes his job a bit easier. “They know each other’s styles so well,” he said during a recent practice at Black Diamond Lanes, the home lane for...

Franco Kouagnia and Sidney Roy were recognized at this years male and female athlete of the year at the Timberwolves annual athletic banquet on Friday evening. The two graduating players helped make UNBC history in one way or another. The UNBC Timberwolves presented their year end awards on Friday night at the Hart Crown Banquet Hall. Four student-athletes were recognized for their athletic achievements within the department, with additional awards for athletic achievement within each team....

For Alex Maritsas, it was his first. For Dan Gallo, it was his 13th. The two were among a number of Prince George arm wrestlers who competed at the Provincial Championships in Kelowna, bringing home a number of titles. “Everybody’s been training hard,” Gallo said, “coming off the winter and getting ready for the Nationals.” Gallo took first place in the 176 lb. Pro division with both the right and left arms, as well as winning the overall title. Maritsas won both the left and right arm...

Prince George boxer Kenny Lally is figuring he’ll get a bit of a Pan-Am preview next week in Puerto Rico. “I leave Monday for Puerto Rico,” the six-time Canadian champion said. “It’s a competition called the Cheo Aponte Cup, which has nine different countries in it.” The countries are all among those who will be participating at the Pan American Games in Toronto in July, including Cuba, the United States, Venezuela and Brazil. “It’s going to be a bit different,” Lally said. “We’re in San...