Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

DeMerit nominated for Hall of Fame

Sports briefs: Manny takes season-high fifth; Youth nationals held at WSC
sports_results3-1-fa0f8160bf2623ef
ON THE BALLOT Former Vancouver Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit is eligible for the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Photo by Bob Frid/Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Former Vancouver Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit, the husband of 2010 Olympic ski-cross champion Ashleigh McIvor-DeMerit, could be enshrined in U.S. Soccer's National Soccer Hall of Fame.

On March 12, the organization revealed a list of 32 players that are eligible for induction this year. Voters can choose 10 players per ballot. Those with 66.7 or more per cent of votes will be inducted, while those with less than five per cent will be dropped in future years.

On Twitter, the native of Green Bay, Wis. said he is "honored" by the opportunity.

Manny takes season-high fifth

Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus Manny Osborne-Paradis hasn't had the results he'd hoped for in 2017-18, but he pulled out a timely top-five over the weekend.

The 34-year-old snagged his second top-10 of the year with a fifth-place finish in the Kvitfjell, Norway super-G on March 11. He was just 0.44 seconds back of Norway's Kjetil Jansrud, the winner, while Switzerland's Beat Feuz and Brice Roger were the runners-up.

"Turns out using the front of the ski is fast! So happy to finish 5th and qualify for the World Cup Finals in Super G," Osborne-Paradis posted to Facebook after the race.

Other Canadians also performed well, with Ben Thomsen and Dustin Cook placing 21st and 24th, respectively, while Whistler's Broderick Thompson was 34th.

Osborne-Paradis was also the top Canadian the day before in the downhill, taking 14th. Germany's Thomas Dressen edged out Feuz and Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal for the win. Thomsen was just behind Osborne-Paradis in 16th while Thompson placed 56th.

Youth luge nationals held at WSC

The local sliding season began to wind down with Luge Canada's Youth Canadian Championships at Whistler Sliding Centre on March 3.

In youth A men's action, Alberta's Colton Clarke edged B.C.'s Garrett Reid and fellow Albertan Devin Wardrope while on the women's side, B.C.'s Natalie Corless eked past national-level athlete Trinity Ellis of Pemberton and B.C.'s Caitlin Nash.

In the doubles race, Ellis and Nash took the win over Midori Holland and Corless and the Alberta duo of Gineva Miller and Jenna Smith. Albertans Wardrope and Ryan Kuehn were the lone sled on the men's side.

At the youth B level, only three Alberta athletes competed in the men's race as Oli Gionet cruised past Caden Struth and Theo Downey, who tied for second. On the women's side, Alberta dominated as Tora Yacey bested Jolie Brodylo and Tehya Baylis.

In youth C, Alberta's Giada Pfaff edged Abbie Clarke in the women's race, while in youth D, B.C.'s Fiona Campbell slid past fellow British Columbians Poppy Robinson and Soia Letchford. B.C.'s Liam McNolty was the lone youth D athlete on the men's side, as was B.C.'s Holden Zerebeski in open C12.

Lastly, in the youth consistency race, where sliders strive for two runs that are identical as possible regardless of total time, Noah Melun of B.C. pulled out the win over Alberta's Juliette Thompson and B.C.'s Matthew Susko.

Full results are online at luge.ca.

Pemby hoopsters make provincials

Both the Pemberton Secondary School boys' and girls' basketball teams competed at their respective provincial tournaments last week.

In the girls' single-A event in Chilliwack, the ninth-ranked Red Devils placed eighth after putting up a 1-3 record. Pemberton won its first game, edging No. 8 Grand Forks 43-41 to stay on the A side of the bracket. However, they ran into No. 1 Credo Christian, falling 75-24, before dropping decisions of 61-49 to No. 4 Nechako Christian and 51-47 to No. 6 Heritage Christian.

On the boys' side, the 14th-ranked Red Devils faced a tough draw. Pemberton dropped its four contests, starting with a 113-33 loss to No. 3 Kelowna Christian before drawing closer in defeats to No. 11 St. Andrew's (69-48), to No. 15 Fraser Lake (70-64) and to No. 16 Gold River (57-42) to finish 16th overall.