Track and Field
Trinity Western men’s and women’s track and field teams’ indoor seasons are officially underway, as both teams competed in the TWU Pole Vault and Shot Put Classic Saturday at the David. E. Enarson gymnasium.
In the pole-vaulting portion of the event, fifth-year David Boyd (Victoria, B.C.) cleared 4.75m to win the men’s side of the competition. Fifth-year Chris Weiss (West Vancouver, B.C.) was second at 4.35m.
On the women’s side, both Maddie Li (Markham, Ont.) and Ana Fonseca Moreno (Mexicali, Baja California, Mex.) cleared 3.35m.
In the shot-put side of the event, Dominic Luccock (Delta, B.C.) led the men’s side throwing 11.46m, followed by Weiss’ 11.08m. Nikita Bradshaw (Pickering, Ont.) was the only female athlete in the event, throwing 9.61m.
TWU Pole Vault Results
*All results at the David E. Enarson gymnasium are unofficial.
POLE VAULT – MEN
David Boyd – 4.75m
Chris Weiss – 4.35m
Dominic Luccock – 4.15m
Evan Castellani – 3.55m
Zach Augenstein – NH
Glen Johnston – NH
POLE VAULT – WOMEN
Maddie Li – 3.35m
Ana Fonseca Moreno – 3.35m
SHOT PUT – MEN
Dominic Luccock – 11.46m
Chris Weiss – 11.08m
Ethan Foster – 11.06m
Evan Castellani – 10.11
SHOT PUT – WOMEN
Nikita Bradshaw – 9.61m
QUOTABLE
Shane Wiebe – TWU Director and Head Coach
“I thought having added the shot-put competition really made this event that much more enjoyable. We got some personal bests from Ethan, Nikita and Evan so that was great. Chris and Dominic did well today, too, and they weren’t too far off from their own personal bests.
“As for the pole vault competition, I was really impressed with the team. There were a couple no heights, but they made some pretty great attempts at the bar today. Overall, I thought it was a really great start to the season.”
Jamie Sinclair – Assistant Coach, Track and Field
“I thought it was an awesome start to the season today. Usually our athletes come out to a shorter approach at this time of the year so we’re never really expecting personal bests, but some really encouraging performances. Some of our athletes already jumped higher than they did last season so overall I’m really excited for the season to come.”
NOTABLE
- Last seasons’ men’s pole vault winner Giovanni Hernandez (Tepic, Mexico) did not compete in the event.
- Maddie Li improved on last season’s event height of 3.15m.
- It was the Spartans first Track and Field event of the 2019-20 season.
NEXT UP
The Spartans will next compete in 2020, as part of the Sled Dog Open in Saskatoon hosted by the University of Saskatchewan (Jan. 10-11).
Men’s Volleyball
The No. 1-ranked Trinity Western Spartans earned their eighth straight win, beating Saskatchewan 3-0 (31-29, 25-16, 25-23) Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
The three-set win also extends the Spartans set winning streak to 24, with TWU having won all eight of their regular season games this year in the minimum.
Third-year middle Jackson Howe (Calgary) led TWU with 13 kills while hitting .579, while fourth-year Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) had 12 kills and fifth-year Jacob Kern (Edmonton) had 10 kills. Fifth-year middle Pearson Eshenko (Banff, Alta.) had a match-high five blocks and two aces while third-year setter Derek Epp (Saskatoon), who was playing against his former team, had 42 assists.
Daven Pascal had a team-high eight kills and Dylan Mortensen had seven kills while setter CJ Gavlas had 26 assists.
The first set was a battle, with the teams going back and forth well beyond 25 points. The Huskies took a 16-11 lead only to see TWU fight back with a 5-0 run to even the set. Form there, neither team held more than a one-point lead until the Spartans ended the set at 31-29. Saskatchewan had a chance at set-point at 24-23, but that was the Huskies lone opportunity to end the set before, eventually, a block from TWU’s Eshenko finished it for TWU.
The Spartans took their efficiency to another level in the second set, as TWU hit .696 and had a sideout percentage of 94 per cent. Saskatchewan was also efficient on the attack, hitting .438 and committing only one error, but the Huskies had just eight kills to TWU’s 18. However, the Huskies were just 62 per cent in their sideout percentage.
The third set was tight throughout, as, similar to the end of the first set, neither team took anything more than a two-point lead from start to finish. The Huskies hit .476 with just one attacking error in the set, but they had 10 serving errors in the set without an ace. With Saskatchewan holding a 22-21 lead, Kaden Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.) entered the contest to serve, lifting TWU to a 23-22 lead. Saskatchewan tied it at 23-23, but after a Huskies serving error, Howe buried the match-winning kill.
Over the course of the contest, TWU hit .400 as a team, while Saskatchewan was held to .318. Both teams had six blocks each.
Women’s Volleyball
The No. 1-ranked Trinity Western women’s volleyball team bounced back from its first loss of the season to earn a 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-23) win over visiting Saskatchewan Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
After the Huskies took the opening match of the weekend series and then nabbed the first set of Saturday’s contest, the Spartans responded in emphatic fashion, winning the final three sets of the weekend to improve their record to 9-1 on the season. Saskatchewan, who had climbed to within a game of the Spartans after Friday’s win, drops to 7-3.
Hilary Howe (Calgary) led a balanced TWU attack, as she earned 16 kills, while Ansah Odoom (Surrey, B.C.) and Avery Heppell (Langley) had 11 kills each and Savannah Purdy (Victoria) had 10 kills. Heppell also had a team-high nine blocks.
TWU setter Dora Komlodi (Calgary) led the Spartans with 37 assists while Emma Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.), Howe and Purdy had 10 digs apiece.
The Huskies Olivia Mattern had a team-high 10 kills, while Emily Koshinsky had a match-high five aces for the visitors.
Winning the battle from the service line early on, the Huskies took the first set 25-19 while enjoying a 4-0 edge in aces. Conversely, the Spartans committed five serving errors to Saskatchewan’s two. TWU had a 12-9 edge in kills, but the Huskies held off the Spartans to win the set by six.
The second was an entirely different story, as the Spartan responded in a big way, turning the tables and winning the set 25-16. The Spartans hit a match-high .462 in the set while holding Saskatchewan to .103.
With momentum on their side, TWU continued to roll in the third set, winning 25-17. The Spartans offence once again found its groove, earning 15 kills and hitting .444. Saskatchewan hit just .069 and was held to eight kills in the set.
The fourth set saw TWU take an early lead and hold an edge throughout much of the frame. A late surge from the Huskies brought Saskatchewan within one point, at 21-20, but the visitors were unable to even the score. The teams traded points down the stretch before the Spartans took the set and the match by two points.
The Spartans had a 12.5 to 9 edge in blocks. Saskatchewan had the advantage in aces, winning the battle on the baseline 8-3.
Men’s Basketball
The University of Calgary Dinos completed a weekend sweep of the Trinity Western Spartans with a 110-86 win on Saturday evening at the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Spartans bounced back from a 38-point loss Friday to put together a much better performance Saturday, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Dinos pulled away late after TWU had an early second-half lead.
Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath (Amarillo, Texas) led the Spartans with 31 points and eight boards, while Riley Braich (Abbotsford, B.C.) put up 25 points in just his second game with TWU. The third-year Braich, who transferred to TWU this year after most recently playing for the University of the Fraser Valley, had been sidelined with an injury up until this weekend.
Fourth-year Calgary forward Brett Layton continued his outstanding start to the season, posting a season-high 40 points and 20 rebounds in the win.
The win sees the Dinos move to 6-0, while the Spartans remain winless in six.
Similar to Friday night’s opening quarter, the home team was dominant through the first 10 minutes of play. With fouls flying left and right at both ends of the court, it was the Dinos who poured in consecutive threes to take the quarter 32-18.
While the first quarter saw the Dinos get off to a blazing start, the second quarter was a different story. The Spartans outscored the Dinos by eight in the quarter to bring the game within two heading into the second half. Gilbreath led the Spartans with 12 points in the second.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Spartans found themselves in foul trouble with two Spartans having their night end early in the third. The Dinos on the other hand took advantage of the lean Spartan team to get back into the groove and go up 81-63 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
With two Spartans players already out for the night, the Dinos continued to build momentum in the fourth and extend their lead. When all was said and done, a total of five Spartans fouled out on the night as they struggled to start building any momentum on the court.
The trio of Ezeoha Santiago, Noah Wharton, and Mason Foreman were stellar in supporting roles to Layton’s big night. Santiago finished off the night with 24 points, while Wharton and Foreman finished off the night with 13 and 15 points respectively.
Women’s Basketball
The Trinity Western Spartans dropped a 72-46 decision on the road against Calgary Saturday. With the win, the Dinos (6-0) stay perfect on the season, while the Spartans (1-5) wrap up the weekend with a second consecutive loss.
Spartans leading scorer Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) ended the night with a double-double, including 15 points and 11 rebounds, while first-year guard Lana Shypit (Winnipeg) earned three successful three-pointers. Fransson’s double-double was her second of the weekend and third of the season.
Liene Stalidzane led the Dinos with 15 points, while Sascha Lichtenwald led with nine rebounds. Rookie forward Azalya Foresbauer racked up five points in seven minutes of playing time.
Early in the game, Calgary set off with an 11-0 run, including 3-pointers from Lichtenwald, Bobbi Jo Colburn, and Courtney Donaldson. The Spartans’first successful field goal at the six-minute mark and the first quarter ended with Dinos leading 23-10. Both teams were evenly matched in the second quarter with 16 attempted field goals and eight attempted 3-pointers. The Spartans outscored the Dinos 12-9, but Calgary finished the first half with a 33-32 lead.
In the third quarter, a 53.8 field goal percentage allowed the Dinos to widen the margin to 48-33 lead going to the final frame. The Dinos started the fourth quarter strong with a 14-2 run and ended with 12 points off turnovers and a 55.6 field goal percentage.
The Dinos had a 40-18 edge in points in the paint. Calgary also had a 30-6 edge in points off turnovers.
