Symonds second at Ironman Canada
Penticton’s Jeff Symonds took second at Subaru Ironman Canada Whistler on July 27. Symonds was the top Canadian finishing in eight hours, 25 minutes, 22 seconds. Symonds had a personal best time on the run, clocking a time of 2:40:34. On Twitter, Symonds posted that he was stoked about his result. “Executed @kevincutjar and my plan perfectly,” he wrote. Athletes start with a 3.8 kilometre swim in the waters of Alta Lake at Rainbow Park, then take on the 180-km bike course and a double loop 42.1 km run course. Belgium’s Marino Vanhoenacker won in 8:16:10.
MST Halloween comes to Twin Lakes
Mudd, Sweat and Tears (MST), a national obstacle course mud run event series with courses of six or 12-kilometres in length, will be at Twin Lakes Resort on Nov. 1 for MST Okanagan, a Halloween edition. The MST website states the course is designed to challenge and test participants’ resolve by crawling, climbing, carrying and dragging themselves, possibly fellow competitors and a series of objects. Registration can be completed at www.muddsweatandtears.com.
Heat recognized during provincials
Penticton’s midget B Heat lacrosse team went winless in the provincial championship in Campbell River July 25-27.
The Heat opened with a 5-4 loss to Prince George, the eventual bronze medal winners. In their second game, the Heat lost 7-2 to Vancouver and 6-5 to Juan de Fuca in their final game.
Heat coach Dan Van Os said his team played very well. The group learned the difference in play between regular season and playoffs to provincials. The Heat faced strong goaltending and discovered they can’t have breakdowns in close games.
“Our match against Vancouver was a close game,” said Van Os. “We were down 4-2 after two periods and they capitalized on some penalties to pull ahead.
“We were disappointed to lose, but all the players felt good about the provincials,” said Van Os. “The players liked the experience.”
The Heat did get some recognition at the end of the championship. Van Os was named the Warrior Fair Play most sportsmanlike coach, as chosen by the other coaches, while Brenden Steed was named the Heat’s MVP and Ethan Marsden-Blackface was named the most sportsmanlike player.
Farkas and O’Rourke make Team B.C. shortlist
Penticton’s Shane Farkas and Ethan O’Rourke are among the 27 players shortlisted by Team B.C. to represent the province in the 2015 Canada Winter Games Feb.13 to March 1, 2015 in Prince George. Coaching staffs will now evaluate players over the course of the season with the final announcement being made in November.
