Richmond Christian B.C. champs—Eagles win all three badminton titles up for grabs

The Richmond Christian Eagles are flying high.

The local secondary school won all three B.C. Christian School Sports Athletic Association badminton titles up for grabs at the recent championships.

The senior team defeated Langley's Credo Kodiaks in the tournament final May 1, after the teams tied for top spot with 19 points each. Fraser Valley Christian placed third. The Eagles edged out Fraser Valley for the Junior Division title, and clipped Surrey Christian for the Bantam Division crown.

This is only the second time in the history of the association that a team has won all three trophies in the same year. The last time was 2002 when Richmond Christian also accomplished the feat. However, this is the third year in a row the senior team has won the provincial title.

"These are great kids who have worked really hard," coach Brian Roddnick said. "All those early mornings and long Saturday practices finally paid off."

Richmond Christian's success prompted Surrey Christian School principal John Bron to suggest Richmond Christian be renamed "Badminton Christian School."

Local runner double winner

Middle distance runner Jerry Ziak of Richmond led the University of B.C. men's team to the Achilles Cup Saturday in Burnaby.

Ziak was the only double event winner of the track and field competition between UBC and Simon Fraser University. He won the 800 metres and was the first finisher in the 1500 metres as well, winning the latter race in 3:49.12.

Both university teams are heading to Louisville, Kentucky for the national collegiate championships May 27 to 29

Isles pay homage to Forsyth—Local team wins tourney in honour of former Richmond

The Richmond Islanders `90B girls' softball team paid homage to Craig Forsyth the best way they knew how last weekend: by winning the first annual memorial tournament in his honour in Ladner.

In a fitting conclusion, the Islanders defeated the Richmond Invaders `90Bs (a team Forsyth previously coached) 7-1 in the final. Pitcher Danica Stanley threw 15 strikeouts in a complete game seven-inning victory.

The Islanders were 3-1 in round-robin play defeating the North Vancouver Stars, White Rock Thunder (Erin Semancik hit a home run and Dana Winter was a standout defensively), and Abbotsford (highlighted by a pair of shoestring outfield catches by A.J. Bureyko). The only loss was to the Surrey Storm, but the locals wasted no time gaining revenge with a 11-0 win in the first game of the playoffs. Bureyko had 10 strikeouts in four innings, while Moni Vataiki was 3-for-3 at the

plate and Bianca Verde Rios hit one of her two monster home runs in the tournament. The Islanders reached the final with a 5-1 win over the Richmond Invaders '91 team led by clutch hitting by Mackenzie Fletcher, Patricia Griffith and Jenny Mackinnon. Meghan Talbot, Katie Clarke and tournament addition Kelci French also played well.

Islander Rachel Ramsden was out of the lineup playing for the Vancouver Junior Whitecaps soccer team in Spokane, Washington.

Forsyth died unexpectedly last year. He grew up in Richmond and was a respected family man who always gave back to the community.

"Craig was one of the real good guys," Islanders coach Tom Clarke said.

Mustangs victorious in Newton tourney

The bats were hot and the fly balls caught in a weekend where everything seemed to go right for the Richmond Mustangs.

The local Peewee C Division girls' softball team went undefeated to win the Newton tournament, capped by a 10-9 final-game victory over the Langley Royals on Sunday. Tournament additions Jennifer Haas and Monika Gorgopa both played well for Richmond.

The Mustangs won all three of their round-robin games in convincing fashion downing the Newton Kaos 14-2, Coquitlam Mudd Dawgs 14-4 and North Vancouver Thunder 10-2. They then tripped the Newton Attitude 9-3 and North Delta Scorpions 10-8 in playoff action, getting good efforts from several players including Jessica Fainstein, Caitlyn Lee, Stephanie Chen, Leah Sedola, Erika Hardacre and Melanie McPhail.

Linette Ocariza, Alana Barbour, Heather MacMillan, Allison Gulbranson, Stephanie Santa Cruz, Sarah Chapman and Shandel Grimm also played well for the Mustangs who are slated to play in a Ladner tournament this weekend gearing up for the district playdowns at the end of the month.

Jaguars hit for five in sixth to win Squirt division crown

The Jaguars showed a flair for the dramatic Sunday to win the Richmond Girls' Softball Association Squirt Division house tournament.

Shannon Grant's hit to left field in the bottom of the sixth and final inning capped a five-run explosion to lift the Jaguars past the Eagles 13-12 in the championship game. Catcher Grant and third base Katie Sherlock combined on an out in the top of the inning to assure a comeback was possible. Second base Katelyn Cartwright made a memorable catch earlier in the game.

The teams were tied for first place with two wins and a draw after round-robin play, with the Eagles being awarded top spot with fewer runs against.

'Runners' confidence growing—Coach sees many positives in Bantam A lacrosse team

The Richmond Roadrunners lost the game, but assistant coach Terry Rolfe saw many positives on which to build.

"You can see the confidence and strength of the team growing," Rolfe said after Richmond's 6-4 loss to the Delta Renegades in Bantam A2 Divison lacrosse Wednesday.

Richmond showed good resolve after being down 3-0 early and wore down Delta physically, Rolfe suggested. But despite pulling their goaltender in the final minute and peppering the Renegade net with shots, Richmond was unable to earn a point in the standings.

Delta, a combination of players from last year's North and South Delta teams, got a couple of early breaks and a questionable goal with the 30-second shot clock expired to take a 3-0 lead. Richmond fought back to tie the game at 3-3 despite the absence of two key offensive players from their lineup.

Richmond was coming off an 11-3 setback Monday against Port Moody and a 10-3 win over Langley and a narrow loss to Chilliwack in tiering-round play.

Ben Harris played well in net in both of the games.

Stealers rocked in men's fastball opener

The Linus Software Stealers didn't get the kind of start they were hoping for Wednesday.

In fact, they didn't get the result either.

The Steveston-based senior men's fastball team, defending Western Canadian champions, lost 8-3 to the Vancouver Meralomas in their Vancouver Premier league opener at Steveston Park.

It seemed like the Meralomas could do no wrong, scoring a run in the first innning on a Derek Mason double and then adding five more in the fourth to coast to victory.

The Stealers briefly tied the game in the bottom of the first on singles by Scott Mitchell and Doug Miller, but the Meralomas regained the lead in the second when Todd Ballard walked and scored on a single by Eric Badlwin. Kiko Payano doubled to score three Vancouver runs in their five-run fourth inning explosion.

The Stealers got one run back in the fifth on a double by Cory Manns and another in the sixth on a single by Darren Strang.

The Stealers are shceduled to play again next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Port Coquitlam at Steveston Park.

Terry Fox Run seeks assistance

By mid-summer last year interest in the Terry Fox Run in Richmond had dwindled to a dangerously low level when a small group of individuals stepped forward.

This group, led by chairperson Peter Bond, took on the challenges of venue, registration, food and drink, entertainment and publicity all on very short notice. Their efforts helped attract upwards of 300 participants and raised $12,500 towards cancer research. And the group is back again this year with renewed enthusiasm, but with a goal of increasing participation by businesses and ethnic communities.

The organizing committee is seeking additional members with expertise in business and publicity. Should you wish to join in these or any other capacities you are asked to contact Bond at 604-271-9484.