Athletic excellence was on full display during the second-last day of the Estevan 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
In equestrian, Rivers West athlete Denver Van Metre captured a gold medal in the individual co-ed barrel racing event scoring a combined time of 1:11.328, while Lakeland's Jesse Gaudry snagged first place in individual co-ed dressage with a mark of 129.388 per cent. Prairie Central's Hunter Duff won the gold medal in individual co-ed jumping by capturing 38 points with her teammate Jessica Renkas taking top spot at individual co-ed reining with a score of 72.
As of press time, four teams remained in the male soccer competition. Saskatoon is set to take on South West in one semifinal, while Prairie Central has a goal of getting past Regina in the other.
The playoffs have begun in the volleyball tournament. Rivers West beat Prairie Central, Lakeland got past Parkland Valley and South West defeated North in the first games of the female postseason. On the boys side, Regina handed Parkland Valley a loss, while Rivers West downed the North.
In the sole female singles match in tennis on Friday afternoon, Regina's Esmee Wasylynka scored a win over Rivers West's Shy Craig. Regina's William Lowe kept the Queen City's hopes for a medal up in boys singles by beating Rivers West's Ethan Pigott. Parkland Valley's Colby Kirsch may have something to say about who will win the gold medal by notching another win on Friday against Rivers West's Ethan Pigott. South East's Hunter Wallster also scored a win against North's Evan Madarash, while Saskatoon's William Preciado beat Lakeland's Nathan Ellingson.
In female doubles tennis, Regina got a win against Rivers West and Saskatoon also scored a victory against Prairie Central. The male doubles tournament was busy on Friday with Regina defeating Lakeland and Rivers West, Parkland Valley getting past Rivers West, Lakeland beating South West and South East notching a victory against North. Regina also scored a win in mixed doubles against Rivers West, which was matched by Saskatoon getting past Prairie Central.
Saskatoon shutout Parkland Valley 15-0 in softball action on Friday with Prairie Central also getting past Parkland Valley 10-4. Rivers West got into the win column with a 7-2 victory over South West, who also fell by a score of 4-0 to Regina.
While no medal winners were announced in the swimming competition as of press time, the canoe/kayak competition featured a treasure of medals being won by athletes from Saskatoon. Regina's McKenzie Millar won gold in the female K1 1000m event, while Saskatoon's Daniel McCullough captured first place in the male K1 1000m race. Shayla Robinson also notched a gold medal for Saskatoon in female K1 4000m with McCullough grabbing his second first-place finish in male K1 4000m.
McCullough then teamed up with Noah Corbett to grab the male K2 1000m gold medal for Saskatoon. Corbett then joined Makayla Douglas to win the K2 1000m mixed event for Saskatoon. Makenna MacAuley and Robinson scored a gold medal for Saskatoon in the female K2 4000m race. North's team of Presley McCallum and Caley Morin won the gold medal in the female C2 1000m race before Saskatoon got back on the board with a win by Jayden Hingley and Jillian Hingley in the C2 1000m mixed event.
South East scored a win for the home crowd by earning the gold medal in the C2 4000m male race, while Saskatoon's team of Fergus English, Jayden Hingley, Robinson and Logan Taylor won the gold medal in the C4 1000m mixed event.
