The Whistler Secondary School (WSS) Storm boys' basketball team is closing in on a provincial berth.
The Storm upset Collingwood 77-69 in North Shore "AA" League playoff action on Feb. 12 to finish third in the league and advance to the Vancouver regional playoffs. Collingwood was ranked ninth in the province entering the game.
WSS is set to face Collingwood in a rematch in the Vancouver regional playoffs on Feb. 19. Whistler enters as the fourth-ranked team while Collingwood is No. 5. A win would advance the Storm to the semifinals with a great chance of claiming a provincial berth as the top three teams qualify.
Head coach Scott Riley said the Storm trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half before cutting the deficit to three at the midpoint and taking over to close out the Feb. 12 contest.
"The guys played the best they possibly could as a team," he said. "We were working for a long time to get these guys to play as one unit and they did. They were able to play awesome defence, score at will, and it was a team effort, for sure."
Luke Haasen, named to the league's first all-star team, led the way with 28 points while Brent Amores (22 points) and Joel Delmendo (19 points) also hit double digits.
"Luke has been a leader. He's been a person who has a great deal of basketball sense and knowledge, and is able to share with individuals to help their learning along the way," Riley said of Haasen. "He's been a driving force along the way and teams have been keying on him because he's been so good."
Haasen, who is in Grade 12, is weighing his options to play university basketball next year.
After a rebuilding year last season, Riley estimates WSS won roughly 60 per cent of its games this year and is the best squad the school has put on the court in recent memory.
"I've been helping coach for the last five years and this is the first time that they've reached this level," he said.
Seger hits NorAm podium twice
Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) alum Riley Seger took a pair of second-place finishes in NorAm Cup racing action at New York's Whiteface Mountain earlier this month.
Seger's ascent to the podium began with the Feb. 11 single-run super-G, where he was 0.19 seconds back of fellow Canuck Sam Mulligan. Fellow WMSC grad Kyle Alexander also finished strong, taking fifth, while Nathan Romanin took 27th, Tait Jordan was 34th, and Asher Jordan was 50th.
The run counted towards the Alpine combined contest, in which Seger took sixth, Alexander 10th, Romanin 20th, Asher Jordan 22nd, and Tait Jordan 23rd.
Seger also took second in the Feb. 13 giant slalom, coming in 0.29 seconds back of American Bridger Gile.
Alexander took another top-10 appearance, placing ninth, while Asher Jordan was 20th, Romanin 28th, and Tait Jordan 46th.
Earlier in the week, Seger posted a fifth-place finish in the Feb. 10 super-G, 0.48 seconds back of winner Jimmy Krupka and 0.21 seconds off the podium. Alexander hit the top 10 in seventh, while Romanin placed 21st, Asher Jordan was 31st and Tait Jordan took 41st.
On the women's side, Stefanie Fleckenstein hit the top 10 in all four of her races.
Fleckenstein started the week with a ninth-place showing in the super-G on Feb. 10, 1.03 seconds back of winner Patricia Mangan of the United States. Meanwhile, Ella Renzoni took 11th.
Those results also carried over into the alpine combined, in which Fleckenstein climbed to fourth, 0.16 seconds back of Mangan and Storm Klomhaus, who tied for first, and just 0.03 seconds off the podium. Renzoni, meanwhile, wrapped the day in 14th.
Fleckenstein then skied into sixth in the Feb. 11 super-G, 1.10 seconds back of champion Mangan, while Renzoni took another 11th-place showing.
Wrapping her time at Whiteface, Fleckenstein was again sixth in the Feb. 12 giant slalom, 1.32 seconds back of winner A.J. Hurt of the U.S., with Renzoni coming in 25th.
The scene then shifted to the National Winter Activity Center in New Jersey for a Valentine's Day parallel slalom.
Asher Jordan made it to the semifinals before being eliminated from the men's competition, earning a tie for fifth, while on then women's side, Fleckenstein was toppled in the quarters as she took a tie for ninth.
Seger cracks World Cup top 30
Whistler Mountain Ski Club grad Brodie Seger put up his fifth top-30 finish of the season in FIS World Cup super-G action at Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria on Feb. 14.
The top Canadian in the race, Seger came in 27th, 1.94 seconds back of winner Aleksandr Aamodt Kilde of Norway, while Switzerland's Mauro Caviezel and Germany's Thomas Dressen rounded out the podium. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Read placed 33rd and James Crawford took 38th.
In the Feb. 13 downhill, meanwhile, Benjamin Thomsen was the top Canuck in 33rd, 2.25 seconds back of Dressen, who topped Swiss racers Beat Feuz and Caviezel for first. Crawford, meanwhile, was 35th, Cameron Alexander placed 38th and Seger was 40th.
The Canadian women put up some solid slalom results in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on Feb. 16.
Erin Mielzynski led the charge with a 14th-place showing, 2.99 seconds back of champion Petra Vlhova of Slovakia. Switzerland's Wendy Holdener came in second while Austria's Katharina Truppe placed third. Other Canadians included Roni Remme in 17th and Ali Nullmeyer in 19th.
No Canadians competed in the giant slalom on Feb. 15. New Zealand's Alice Robinson came away with the win, with Vlhova taking second and Slovenia's Meta Hrovat and Holdener tying for third.
Bennett earns two medals at Kimberley FIS races
WMSC's Emeline Bennett came away with a pair of medals from a series of speed races in Kimberley earlier this month.
Bennett came away with the win in the Feb. 2 downhill while on the men's side, Alexander Katrusiak was the top team member in ninth.
The following day, in another downhill, Bennett scored fifth while Callum Clarke was the top WMSC racer in 10th.
In the Feb. 4 super-G, Bennett was just off the podium in fourth while Ryuji Gaman came in 12th. In the slalom that evening, Gaman hit the men's podium in third while Gemma Bexton was the top women's racer, taking fifth.
Lastly, in the Feb. 5 super-G, Bennett wrapped the week with a podium appearance, taking second, while Clarke led the WMSC men in 17th.
Full results are online at www.fis-ski.com.
Capicik takes ninth in Utah
Freestyle Whistler alumnus Chase Capicik cracked the top 10 in NorAm Cup moguls competition in Deer Valley, Utah on Feb. 13.
Capicik skied to a ninth-place finish in dual moguls action, making it to the eighth-finals before bowing out. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Schwinghammer placed 28th, Jessica Linton was 30th and Malica Malherbe (representing South Africa) took 37th.
In single moguls action on Feb. 13, Capicik placed 24th, while Malherbe took 33rd and Maya Mikkelsen was 34th.
As for the men, Sam Cordell took a 22nd-place finish in the dual moguls event, while Phillip Kang (representing South Korea) took 43rd.
In the singles contest, Cordell placed 35th, Josh Maga took 45th, and Kang placed 50th.
Sea to Sky Nordics biathletes hit BC Cup podium
Sea to Sky Nordics biathletes claimed six total medals from the BC Cup competition at Burns Lake's Omineca Ski Club on Feb. 8 and 9.
To start, Gary Tate took second in the master's men's 6-km sprint, as did Sofie Hill in the senior girls' 6-km sprint. Sean Benson, meanwhile, placed third in the senior boys' 6-km sprint. Andrew Benson ended up sixth in the men's recreation 3-km sprint.
The next day, Hill won the senior girls' 7.49-km individual event, while Taylor Fulton bounced back from a crash on Day 1 to take fourth in the same category. Sean Benson also scored a win in the senior boys' 7.49-km individual division, while Tate wrapped the weekend in second in the master's men's 10-km individual race.
Locals prepping for BC Winter Games
Fourteen athletes from Whistler, Pemberton and Mount Currie are making their way north to Fort St. John for the 2020 BC Winter Games from Feb. 20 to 23.
In alpine skiing, athletes include: Braden Aitken; Sophia Cross; Joseph James Gibbons; Lola Gilbert; Olivia Imregi; Hannah Jensen; Thomas Legg; Vanessa Young; and Seth Robert. As well, coaches include Kate Angus, Eloise Julliand and Henry Yeigh.
As for cross-country, Tyler Thuma and Talon Pascal are going, as is figure skating official Lyse Prendergast. Biathlon also makes up a major contingent, with athletes Graham Benson, Ryan Clark, and Sophie Firth, as well as coaches Andrew Benson and Katrina Nightingale, and official Dave Clark.
Wolves to host first registration night
The Whistler Wolves Rugby League Club is getting set for the 2020 season.
The Wolves are hosting an information and registration night at Tapley's Pub on Thursday, Feb. 20 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
For more information, visit the team's Facebook page at facebook.com/WhistlerWolvesRL.
