NORTHBAYNUGGET
nugget
SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL: Swain, Udeschini, Hunter set all-time marks
Trio set NOSSA track records
Nugget Staff
Sarah Swain and Luke Udes-
chini of the Chippewa Raiders
and Ryan Hunter of the Algo-
nquin Barons set all-time
records at the NOSSA track and
field championships in Sudbury.
Swain cleared 3.35 metres in
the senior girls’ pole vault during
the opening day of competition
Wednesday at Laurentian Uni-
versity, erasing her own all-time
mark of 3.22 from 2009. Swain
also won the 100-metre hurdles
in 14.54 seconds to qualify for
OFSAA in a second event.
In the junior boys’ discus,
Hunter’s toss of 49.31 metres
eclipsed West Ferris Trojan Dale
Valade’s all-time record of 47.13
from 2008. He also won the
junior boys’ shot put Thursday
with a heave of 13.92 metres.
Thursday, Udeschini wiped
out the junior boys’ 300-metre
BASKETBALL: Top-ranked team at D-5 provincial championships beginning today in Waterloo
Spartans hope to live up to OBA billing
JORDAN ERCIT
The Nugget
Living up to their seeding
landed the West Ferris Spartans
a bronze medal last year.
If they can do that it in 2011 at
the Ontario Basketball Associa-
tion championships in Waterloo,
they’ll be golden.
The Spartans head to the
under-19 junior provincial play-
downs as the top-ranked team
out of eight Division 5 clubs
when play starts today at Water-
loo Collegiate at 4:30 p.m.
against No. 5 Blessed Sacrament
from Hamilton.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said
guard Sam Levac, one of five
players moving on to the post-
secondary level after this season.
“It’s not really where we wanted
to be — we wanted to be in a
higher division — but we’ll take
it. I think they did a fair job of
placing teams where they should
be.
“But we’re No. 1 and we’re the
favourites and we should come
out with a gold medal and that’s
our goal. Last year we came out
and got a bronze, even though
we wanted the gold. So this is
our last crack at it.”
Despite dropping a division —
they were in Division 4 last year
— the Spartans will have a
tougher field to go through in
Waterloo. The OBA sliced the
size of its divisions in half at the
provincial championships,
meaning the top 40 teams in the
province compete in divisions 1
through 5.
Last year, there were 64 teams
in divisions 1 through 4.
“There’s so much parity in the
OBA this year,” Spartans coach
Larry Tougas said. “We have a
really good chance to go 3-0 and
we have a really good chance of
going 0-3.
“It’s so tough. If we have a
sub-par performance for even
one game, our chance at a gold
medal will be shot.”
The Spartans, however, should
OBITUARY: Friends will miss fun-loving multi-sport athlete
Former Brier skip, fastball ace loses battle with cancer
Nugget Staff
One of the North’s top multi-
sport athletes has passed away.
Gord McKnight, who lived
most of his life in New Liskeard
before moving to North Bay sev-
eral years ago, recently died after
a short battle with cancer.
McKnight excelled in fastball,
curling and golf for several
decades and also played hockey
in the late 1950s with the New
Liskeard Cub Juveniles.
McKnight was among a long
line of elite fastball pitchers in
Northern Ontario during the late
50s and 60s, that also included
Larry Hillman, Luke Lefebvre,
Gerry Boucher, Sonny Jim McK-
innon, Marty Reynolds and
Gerry Gelinas. He also curled in
two national championships,
including the Brier, and captured
two Northern Golf Association
bestball championships as well
as several titles on the Northland
Fastball Association’s tourna-
ment circuit.
One of the most memorable
NFA playoff series McKnight
pitched in was in 1961, when
hurdles mark in a time of 41.57
seconds, a full two seconds
faster than the previous record of
43.94 set in 2005 by Sudbury’s
Kyle Beaudry.
Udeschini also came within
seven one-hundreths of a
second of tying the all-time
junior boys’ sprint hurdles
record Wednesday. However, his
winning 14.87-second time was
still good enough to break the
post-2004 mark.
West Ferris’ Graham Hansel
set a pair of modern NOSSA
records in the junior boys’ 1,500-
and 3,000-metre runs.
Wednesday, the lanky Trojan
finished the 1,500 in 4:09.87,
almost five seconds better than
Matt Walters, a former West
Ferris distance runner who set
the previous mark in 2005.
Hansel made it two records on
two separate days by running the
3,000 in 9:06.88 Thursday, shat-
There’s so much
parity in the OBA
this year. We have a really
good chance to go 3-0 and
we have a really good
chance of going 0-3.”
Larry Tougas
have experience and chemistry
on their side for the three-game
round robin, which also includes
games against the No. 8 Etobi-
coke Thunder and the No. 4
Oakville Thunder Saturday.
The top-two teams make it to
the semifinals Sunday morning
beginning at 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, in Niagara, the
North Bay Bulls are seeded fifth
in the under-17 juvenile Division
6 championships and open the
tournament today against the
top-ranked Cambridge Cen-
taurs.
Eight players on the Spartans’
10-man roster have returned
from last year’s bronze-medal
squad. It’s a veritable NDA all-
star team with names like Levac,
Shawn Humphrey, Charlie Han-
cock, Joey Puddister, Tyler
Cameron, Jake Tougas, Spencer
Brear and Chris Kangur making
up the roster.
With newcomers Michael
Cuncins and Will Christian
rounding out the Spartans
bench, its mean four NDA
schools (West Ferris, Widdifield,
Chippewa and Northern) will be
represented in Waterloo.
“I leave everything on the
court, so anything between
Chippewa and Ferris (is in the
past),” said Humphrey, a former
NDA MVP for the Raiders who
clashed against Trojans Levac,
Hancock, Puddister, Tougas,
Kangur and Brear two seasons
ago in the NDA finals, which
West Ferris won. “We don’t hold
anything against each other.
see SPARTANS | Page C3
New Liskeard’s Campsall Electric
and North Bay Brown Supply
Golden Seals met in the NFA
intermediate final.
McKnight struck out 80 batters
in the five-game series. He
retired 22 Brownie batters via the
strikeout in the opening game as
the New Liskeard squad won the
first two games in the best-of-
five series before Browns
charged back with three straight
wins, including one in
which McKnight threw a one-
hitter but lost.
Two years later, McKnight,
while enrolled in teacher’s col-
lege in North Bay, signed with
the RCAF Voodoos of the Gate-
way Fastball Association, com-
piling a perfect 12-0 record,
highlighted by striking out
21 Brown Supply batters in a
seven-inning game.
McKnight and Brown’s
catcher Garry Meehan were at
opposite sides of the field during
the 1961 series, but were soon to
join forces at North Bay
Teacher’s College.
“Not only were we going to the
same school, Gord and I were
tering Jeremy Cooper’s 2009
mark of 9:18.68 by more than 11
seconds.
Northern Braves thrower Jesse
Demers qualified for a pair of
OFSAA events Thursday. He won
the midget boys’ javelin with a
throw of 39.28 metres and fol-
lowed that up with a 32.19-metre
toss to win the discus event.
OFSAA IN SUDBURY
The OFSAA track and field
championships are June 2-4 and
will also be held at Laurentian
University in Sudbury.
Other locals winning boys’
events included Brad Piper of
West Ferris in the senior javelin
(48.21), Mathyeu Simard of Algo-
nquin in the junior triple jump
(12.69), Cooper Chirico of Wid-
difield in the midget long jump
(5.61), Malcolm McCubbin of
Widdifield in the midget 1,500
(4:38.51) and Mark Wang of
West Ferris Spartans’ Spencer Brear goes for a layup Thursday during practice at West Ferris Secondary
School. The Spartans are the top-ranked favourites in the OBA Division 5 championships beginning today
in Waterloo.
assigned the same desk,” said
Meehan, a North Bay Sports Hall
of Famer. “I first wondered how
things would work out. As it
turned out, Gord and I became
good friends.
“He had a changeup and that
was a pitch I
couldn’t hit.
Someone told
Gord and the
result was a
steady diet of
them. He’d
throw one, I’d
swing and miss
and in doing so
I would let out McKnight
a loud a grunt
and groan. It
was embarrass-
ing, “
Former North Bay Nugget
sports writer Mike Umphrey, a
longtime friend of the McKnight
family, believes the lanky pitcher
was one of the best fastball
pitchers in the North who could
have been even better had he
not given up the sport in favour
of golf.
“Gord and I have been good
Friday, May27, 2011 • 475-2187 • sports@nugget.ca
Chippewa in the senior discus
(36.58).
Other local winning girls
events included Taylor Murphy
of the Bears in the midget long
jump (4.80), Madison Fraser of
Chippewa in the midget 1,500
(5:18.72), Cassandra Romain of
F.J. McElligott in the junior shot
put (8.49) and Maryse Boulay of
Algonquin in the midget 800
(2:36.36).
In the 4X100-metre relays, top
finishes went to the St. Joseph
Scollard Hall junior boys (Mason
Dominico, Skyler Graham, Jake
Ibbitson and Tyler Kennedy) and
senior boys (Spencer Brooks,
Gabe Hamilton, Jeremy Poeta
and Isaac Sullivan) and the
Chippewa senior girls (Swain,
Alison Fung, Lindsay Goodridge
and Gabriella Deubelbeiss-
Mathieu).
The Algonquin Barons girls
(Molly McCann, Shannon
friends for an awfully long time,
close to five decades,” said
Umphrey. “He’s been a great
friend to me. I’ll miss him big
time.
“As for the decision to trade
his bat and glove for a golf club
and ball, only Gord knew when
the time was right. A great love
for golf proved costly in the
negotiations to keep Gord on the
fastball roster for at least one
more season. But Gord said ‘no’,
that was it, he was hanging up
his spikes.”
In the early 1970s, McKnight
said pitching fastball was having
an adverse effect on his golf
game and, while he was still one
of the top hurlers in the North,
he packed in the sport and con-
centrated on golf.
McKnight was a top-notch
golfer who competed effectively
on the Northern tournament
trail on a regular basis, winning a
pair of Northern Ontario bestball
championships, one partnered
with Bobby Laronde and the
other with Butch Wall.
In curling, teams McKnight
skipped qualified for two
Jerome, Ariane Lefebvre and
Johanna Van Shie-Copol) fin-
ished second in the 4X400-metre
relay.
St. Joseph-Scollard Hall’s
Poeta (senior boys’ 400), Skyler
Graham (junior boys’ discus)
and Shelby Martin (midget girls’
discus), Chippewa’s Alison Fung
(senior girls’ pole vault) and
Ryan Daley (junior boys’ 3,000),
Algonquin’s Lefebvre (midget
girls’ 400), Corrie Oukes (senior
boys’ discus) and Johanna Van
Shie-Copol (junior girls’ 800),
Widdifield’s Patricia Smith
(junior girls’ long jump) and
West Ferris’ Kiefer Uuksulainen
(senior boys’ 800) also qualified
for OFSAA by finishing second in
their events.
Results for the 100- and 200-
metre finals were not immedi-
ately available.
sports@nugget.ca
JORDAN ERCIT The Nugget
national curling championships
and several provincial play-
downs.
His greatest accomplishment
came in 1984 when he and team-
mates Bill Johnson, Bud Carr
and Reg Gardner won the North-
ern Ontario men’s curling cham-
pionship and qualified for the
Labatt Brier in Kamloops, B.C.
The Northerners finished with a
6-5 record and missed the play-
offs by a single win.
The drawmaster didn’t do the
McKnight rink any favours in
Kamloops, as they opened the
Brier against Saskatchewan
(Gary Bryden), Alberta (Ed
Lukowich) and Ontario (Ed
Werenich).
However, the New Liskeard
squad opened by defeating
Bryden and Werenich. The McK-
night-skipped quartet remained
in contention right up to the
final day, when a loss to New-
foundland eliminated them.
The McKnight rink’s appear-
ance at the Brier halted a pair of
streaks. They were the first Tri-
Town team to gain a Brier berth
since Bill Grozelle in 1967 (17
HIGH SCHOOL
C
Trojans
clinch first
in NDA
baseball
Nugget Staff
The West Ferris Trojans
locked up first place in the NDA
exhibition baseball league
Wednesday at Veterans Field
with a 13-2 victory over the St.
Joseph-Scollard Hall Bears.
Dale Valade pitched a solid
five innings, giving up two runs
on one hit while striking out 11
batters and walking six. Jake
Tougas pitched the final inning
in relief, allowing no runs on one
hit while striking out a batter.
Curtis Lacelle and Matt Salter
pitched for the Bears.
Tougas led the way for the
Trojans with three hits and four
runs batted in, Valade had a long
two-run homer to left-centre,
while Nick Scott, Thomas Hamil-
ton and Jake Shannon had two
hits apiece.
Jake Staples, Tom Pritchard
and Brian Johnston had one hit
each for the Trojans. Greg Grav-
elle and Matt Salter picked up a
hit each for the Bears.
The Algonquin Barons fin-
ished their regular season
Wednesday with a 13-8 win over
the Widdifield Wildcats.
Brad Berube earned the win,
striking out five before being
relieved by Jeremy Clouatre.
Miguel Champagne, who had
a pair of hits, and Eric Filion led
the way on offence with a triple
each for the Barons. Berube,
Clouatre, Lander Cook, Anthony
Yearington, Steve Champoux,
Marc-Antoine Gaudet and Chris
Depencier also picked up a hit.
Peter Quedent and John
Kortschaga split pitching duties
for the Wildcats.
Playoffs begin Monday with
the Trojans and Wildcats at 4
p.m. in the first semifinal at Vet-
erans Field. The Barons and
Bears take the mound in the
other semi Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The winners move on to the
championship game Thursday at
Veterans Field at 4 p.m.
sports@nugget.ca
sportsbriefs
LAKERS REGISTRATION
The Nipissing Lakers are holding
a registration session Saturday for
its annual summer hockey camp.
Members of the Lakers men’s
hockey team will be on hand from
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Skater’s Edge
Source for Sports on Fisher Street.
The camp, for kids six and up and
divided into three separate age
groups, includes two different ses-
sions on back-to-back weeks at
Memorial Gardens in late August.
The first session is Aug. 22-26 and
the second is Aug. 29 to Sept. 2.
The camp will be led by Lakers
head coach Mike McParland, who
has 20 years of coaching experi-
ence in the Swiss national league.
For information, visit
www.nipissingu.ca/athletics/
hockey.
years) and the first New Liskeard
team to play in the Brier since
1952 (32 years).
An altered lineup with McK-
night skipping but Johnson
throwing last rocks and Terry
Thib and Gardner on the front
end had a solid week in the 1996
Canadian senior men’s champi-
onship, reaching the televised
final where they fell to Team
Ontario. They returned to the
national seniors again the next
year but struggled to a 6-5
records.
Asked what he was going to
miss with the passing of his skip,
Johnson gave a one word
answer— “fun.”
“I’ll miss the fun and the good
times we had as a team. Playing
with Gord was fun, practising
with him was fun, and just sitting
around with him was fun. Play-
ing with Gord. That was what we
as a team had,” said Johnson.
A celebration of McKnight’s
life will be held Saturday
at 2 p.m. at the North Bay Gran-
ite Club.
sports@nugget.ca