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News Advertiser Sports
Mannville Mammoths U13 Squad Earn Silver Medals at Provincials
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The Mannville Mammoths U13 baseball team came off a banner season earning a berth in the Provincial Tier 1 A Championships which took place July 21-23 in Hanna.
Head Coach Josh Gryschuk said, “Just getting into Tier 1 is a huge accomplishment.” So, he and his 12 player squad were thrilled to have made it to Provincials. Gryschuk said they came from behind to win their semi-final game before the championship final.
Overcoming a 4-0 deficit in the final to take a four run lead into the final inning where it came down to the final play of the game with two outs, resulting in a 13-12 loss.” Although the loss was a tough pill to swallow at the time, Gryschuk said, “The coaching staff and players are very proud to bring home a silver medal to the community of Mannville.
We recognize that none of this would have been possible without all of our parents, sponsors and supporters. We get an overwhelming amount of support, such as the almost $3,000 bottle drive we completed. Thank you to everyone who has supported Mannville Minor Ball, this was all made possible through your generosity.”
The Mammoths first entered the Battle River Minor Baseball League five years ago and won their first championship after defeating Irma on June 29. “This was our first league title across any age category since entering into the league in 2018. Knowing we had a strong team we decided to enter into the Baseball Alberta Provincials, where we went 6-0 through the tiering games to find ourselves in the Tier 1 finals. From there we went 3-0 on the final weekend to make it to the championship game, playing the final back to back immediately after finishing the semi-final,” noted Gryschuk.
It was a complete team effort with all the players contributing to the overall success of season, added Gryschuk, who can rest easy knowing they gave it their all and left everything they had out on the field.
Night Drags at Vegreville Speedway
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
There has been some changes with the Board of Vegreville Speedway lately. Treasurer Tisha Giese explained that on June 13, 2023 they held their annual Annual General Meeting. At this time, a new executive was elected which consist of President Sean Chilibecki, Vice President Dennis Melenka, Secretary Carly Ferguson, Treasurer Tisha Giese, Director Darren Berezan, and Director Walter Gegolick.
There was a lot of fast action when on July 28 and 29, the first races for the 2023 season happened at Vegreville Airport.
“There were Night Races on July 28 which saw 30 racers and 131 spectators. Friday’s races ended at 11 pm a little earlier than usual as a vehicle had a mechanical failure so we were unable to run a King of the Hill race.
The winners were First Place Andre Doiron from Elk Point Driving a 1966 Mustang 302, Second Place Aaron Tillapaugh from Vegreville driving a 1989 S10 Blazer, and Third Place Dustin Gegolick from Vegreville driving a 1980 Chevy Malibu.
The Day Race on July 29th featured 28 racers and had 93 spectators.
The winners were First Place Sean Chilibecki from Vegreville driving a 1967 Mustang Fastback, Second Place Nat Brousseau from Clandonald driving a 2017 Infiniti Q60, Third Place Wanda Lutych-Neufeld from Vegreville driving a 2014 Mustang GT, and King of the Hill Kent Smith from Wainright driving a 2006 Mustang GT.
