After a 10-year drought of banner-less basketball, the Douglas College Royals men’s team made up for that and then some in 2018. They first stormed past the Vancouver Island Mariners 96-85 to win the PacWest championship. Grant Campbell, a fifth-year forward, counted 24 points en route to being named the tourney MVP. At the nationals, only the Seneca Sting of Ontario proved better, taking the final 86-73. Receiving first team all-star honours were Kameron Johnson and Reese, while Noah DeRappard-Yuswack was named to the second team… New Westminster’s Justin Morneau officially hung up the baseball cleats in January, putting the wraps to a career that covered 14 MLB seasons, 247 home runs and 1,603 runs batted in with three teams. The longtime Minnesota Twins first baseman, who won the 2006 American League MVP award, ended up joining the Twins organization’s management department… New West Secondary’s wrestling program enjoyed a big reunion in February to celebrate back-to-back championships, but also mark the history of the trophy that is the coveted prize for grapplers around the province. The hefty hardware, which is an ivory statue of two Greco wrestlers, was a donation back in the early 1970s from New West resident Harvey Tuura, following the program’s first of two-back-to-back titles… Hyack Swim Club’s Peter Huang and Madisen Jacques carved out a host of new records at the B.C. Tier 2 swimming championships. Huang, 12, set new national marks in the 100- and 200-metre butterfly and 800m freestyle events, while Jacques did the same in her division’s 100m fly… New West’s Nicholas Susanto racked up a u-13 badminton provincial title in both singles and doubles. His older brother, Franklin, ran the table until the final, finishing second in u15 doubles… Going first overall, Connor Robinson became a Langley Thunder player to start the Western Lacrosse Association's junior draft. The B.C. junior MVP had starred with the New West junior Salmonbellies for five seasons, as well as played a big role in the senior 'Bellies run to the 2017 Mann Cup final... Earning silver at the provincial track and field championships in the junior javelin was NWSS’ Lauryn Savela, while placing fourth were teammates Ella Foster, in senior girls pole vault, and Ryan Jensen, in 110m hurdles. St. Thomas More athlete, and Royal City track club member Kate Stewart-Barnett, meanwhile finished second in junior girls high jump and fourth in the 3000m race… The United Rugby Club’s under-23 men’s team rolled to a B.C. title with a 64-5 decision over Capilano. The New West-based squad capped a tremendous season in which the program found its game in recruiting players like New West’s Scott Bowers… Shasta Trampoline Club’s Declan McLean teamed with Nova Scotia’s Kai Dwyer to collect bronze in men’s synchronized trampoline final at the Junior Pan American championships… The New Westminster Salmonbellies celebrated another of its greats in 2018, retiring the No. 10 jersey of Dave Durante. The one-time ’Bellies legend was a dominating force during much of his 20-year WLA career… Sara Bergen and Florenz Knauer caught the big prizes, but New West’s Lilly Ujfalusi was a hometown favourite at the second annual New West Grand Prix. Just 14, Ujfalusi showed composure and cycling smarts in finishing second in the youth women’s race. Bergen topped the elite women’s division with a powerful finish, while Knauer successfully defended his 2017 title… The Douglas College Royals women’s volleyball team were on a roll right to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championship final, where they fell 3-1 to long-time rival Vancouver Island in a rematch of the provincial final. At the provincials, Douglas swept Vancouver Island 3-0. Second-year right side hitter Vania Oliveira was named MVP of the provincials and would add a CCAA All-Canadian honour, while libero Claudia Corneil joined her on the national first all-star team...New West’s Kyle Carragher catapulted to a pair of golds at the Shasta Club’s Aaron Johnson Memorial Cup and Trampoline Provincial Cup in Burnaby. Carragher topped the senior men’s national individual trampoline and double-mini events, while teammate Sam Smith won the senior women’s individual trampoline title… It was a familiar gold for New Westminster Hyacks senior wrestler Sammy Sidhu. The dual sport athlete repeated as the 84-kilogram B.C. champ. Picking up silver was Isaiah James in the 130kg division, while Yanni Angelopolous, in 110kg, Daniel Dordevic, in 130kg, and Hosein Shidfar, in 78kg, collected bronze… The New West junior girls Salmonbellies capped a strong season by edging PoCo 7-6 to take the provincial title. Hannah-Lise Bernoe tallied with six seconds left in overtime to force extra time. Christel Blesch clinched it in the second overtime stanza. Named as all-stars was Nadine Stewart… In B.C. junior A lacrosse, the New West junior Salmonbellies ran up against an immovable force, falling 4-2 to the perennial powerhouse Coquitlam Adanacs. Despite winning the first two games of the series, the ‘Bellies couldn’t stop the Adanacs powerful offence, as the rivals would carry on to claim the Minto Cup title…. It was even more swift an end for the New West senior A ‘Bellies, who could not repeat last year’s dramatic semifinal win over Maple Ridge. This time, the Burrards exacted their revenge with a four-game sweep over New West, ending their hopes of another Mann Cup appearance… Despite a disappointing early semifinal exit to the Western Lacrosse Association season, New West Salmonbellies’ Logan Schuss and Mike Messenger walked away with league hardware. Schuss picked up the Commission Trophy as the league MVP, the Denny Huddleston Memorial Award as the league’s leading scorer, and the Three Star Award. Messenger was chosen the Gordon Nicholson Memorial Award recipient as the league’s top defender. Both were named to the WLA’s first all-star team, while netminder Alexis Buque earned a spot on the second team… Clearing the biggest hurdle in fine form, New West’s Katelyn Stewart-Barnett won the u16 women’s 1500m steeplechase at the Legion national track and field championships. A member of Team B.C., Stewart-Barnett also place third in the high jump… At the national female box lacrosse championships, New West midget Lauren Black led all scorers in a run to a silver medal. Black scored seven times over five games, as New West would build momentum right to the title game, which Ontario won 8-3… New West’s Nicholas Toews joined forces with Markus Wong to rise to the top of the charts on the provincial 16-under beach volleyball circuit… The Royal City Track and Field Club’s Ava Forsyth, Max Holmes and Katie Stewart Barnett took top spot in their respective divisions at the B.C. cross country championships in October… The Douglas College Royals women’s soccer team played the hosts and finished fourth at the national championships. Their shot at a bronze medal was ripped away with a last-minute goal by the Fanshaw Falcons. Earning All-Canadian honours was captain Samantha Kell, while defender Preet Thandi was named to the championship all-star team… The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame named its 2019 list of honourees, and the New Westminster Salmonbellies’ 1968 champions are the latest inductees. The ‘Bellies were underdogs in the playoffs of the new semipro circuit, the National Lacrosse Association, beating Portland and then Eastern Division champ Detroit for the world crown… The Hyack Swim Club quartet of Paul Orogo, Hao Sheng Zhang, Justin Jung and Kane Pan kicked their way to a pair of new national records at the Brad Reid Memorial Invitational in November. The foursome delivered new standards in the male 12-and-under 200- and 400-metre medley relays. Both times were also new provincial and club marks… New West’s Kairo Chiang delivered stellar returns in some new-found passions – the pole vault and triple jump – to earn a B.C. Athletic Award. Chiang proved a quick learner in both events, improving and creating new personal bests right to the end of the season…
