Last week, the first half of the top ten stories in sports was listed. Below are the top five stories of the year.
5. Yorkton well represented at World Junior A Challenge
The Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League were represented on two fronts at the World Junior A Challenge in December. Regan Seiferling, a defenseman and assistant captain for the Terriers, was chosen for Canada West. The team was comprised of the best athletes from the western provinces, while Canada East had the best players from that side of the country. Seiferling was one of three SJHL players on the team. He finished the tournament with three points stemming from three assists – an impressive finish for his first time at the tournament. Also representing the Terriers was athletic therapist/equipment manager Nathan Hollinger, who held the same job for Canada West. He was hired for the job a few weeks before tryouts took place.
4. Bill Sobkow passing
While most of the stories chosen for this list are good news, some are not, but still held a great impact in the sporting community. The longtime coach and manager of the Yorkton Cardinals Bill Sobkow passed away on Sept. 14. Sobkow was born and raised in Yorkton, and played the leading role in recreating the Yorkton Cardinals in 2002 - bringing the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) to Yorkton. He was the head coach and general manager ever since. The Yorkton Cardinals came out with a statement after his passing, saying “every person in the organization will miss Bill and his love for the game of baseball, the players, fans, and volunteers of the Cards, and the city of Yorkton. Bill will be missed dearly by all Cardinal volunteers and players, both current and former.” After the statement was released, several former players spoke with Yorkton This Week to share memories of their coach and friend, all saying nothing but the best of Sobkow, including how much he would be missed both in baseball and in the community.
3. Yorkton co-winner of Sledtown Showdown
In January, the city was named the co-winner of SnoRiders West Magazine’s SledTown Showdown competition with Houston, B.C. Problems with the online voting system meant that the competition ended in a tie for the two cities. Jason Popowich, president of the Yorkton SnoRiders, says that the title is a reflection of the work the club has put into building a trail network in the region. While the club’s work is what got the city noticed, Popowich says it’s the community support that made the title happen. “It was really fantastic support. The whole community got involved, it was really the talk of the town. Our residents of Yorkton and surrounding area, our local tourism, our local Chamber of Commerce, our community leaders, our mayor, our local MLA Greg Ottenbreit, of course the local media. It was just fantastic how everyone got behind our club in this promotion and voted. There were over 40,000 votes cast in this competition, and we wouldn’t have gotten near as many votes if it wasn’t for the great support of Yorkton and area.”
2. SHHS wins boys provincial soccer title
The Sacred Heart High School boys soccer team brought home a provincial title in the 2A division in October. The tournament was held in Prince Albert. The provincial championship gold medal game put the Saints against the host team, Se Se Wa Hum. The final score was 7-2. The goals for Sacred Heart were scored by Nick Fetsch (4), Austin Thomas, Jarius Pellatt and Louis Shin. In the past two years, the team made it into the provincial gold medal game, but had only come away with the silver medal. But this year, they had an extra surge of hunger to claim the gold medal. This gold medal secures the team a spot in next year’s provincial championships, which will be held at Sacred Heart
1. Trent Cassan moves on from Terriers
After eight seasons with the Terriers, Trent Cassan resigned as head coach in September to move forward with his coaching career. He accepted an assistant coaching position with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. On the same day, previous assistant coach Casey O’Brien was appointed to the head coaching position. O’Brien has spent the past five years working with Cassan and the Terriers organization. Cassan found a lot of success in his years with the Terriers, winning two league championships and one national championship. The desire to move forward in his career was understood by everyone in the organization, from board members to players. With O’Brien taking over the head coaching position, the assistant coaching position was up for grabs. O’Brien hired Mat Hehr for the position in November.
