WEST Vancouver's Helen Crofts helped Team Canada score a silver-medal finish on the track in the women's 4x400-metre relay at the World University Games held earlier this month in Kazan, Russia.
Crofts, a recent Simon Fraser University grad, teamed with Noelle Montcalm, Alicia Brown and Sarah Wells, all of Ontario, to finish second behind the host Russians and ahead of third-place South Africa.
Crofts and fellow SFU alum Jessica Smith, a North Vancouver resident, also competed in the 800-m race with Smith finishing sixth in the final in a time of 2:00.43 followed closely by Crofts who placed seventh in 2:03.30. Smith's time was a season best and put her just 0.43 seconds shy of the 'A' qualification standard for the World Track and Field Championships. Both Smith and Crofts will attempt to meet the standard at races over the next few weeks to earn a berth in the World Championships scheduled for Aug. 10-18 in Moscow.
North Vancouver's Chantelle Groenewoud, a University of Illinois grad, also made the trip to Ukraine for the Universiade and just missed the medals, finishing fourth in 3,000-m steeplechase in a personal best time of 9:51.17.
North Vancouver's Kristjana Young also represented Canada at the Games, helping the women's basketball team to an eighth-place finish. Canada recorded a 1-2 record in pool play to finish second in their group and advance to the quarterfinals but playoff losses to Australia, Sweden and Hungary pushed them into eighth place in the 16-team tournament.
Five North Shore players helped Team B.C. win gold at the Red River Cup elite under-16 football tournament held earlier this month at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
Argyle offensive lineman Troy Martell, West Vancouver secondary receiver Christopher Andrews and Handsworth receiver Jacob Ghazizadeh all suited up for the provincial squad, as did running back and West Vancouver native Alexsander Akpata and linebacker and North Van native Christopher Ellis, both of whom play high school football at Vancouver College.
Team B.C. knocked off Winnipeg West 34-21 in the tournament final to claim top spot. Akpata ripped off a 40-yard touchdown run that helped B.C. race out to a 27-0 lead in the final.
"(We) came to play," said Team B.C. head coach Sean Roden in a release. "It was by far our best game of the tournament." The B.C. boys finished the tournament with a 3-2 record.
Two Reinharts and a Rielly will represent West Vancouver at Hockey Canada's National Junior Team summer development camp set for Aug. 4-10 in Brossard, Que. and Lake Placid, N.Y. Brothers Griffin and Sam Reinhart will take part in the camp along with Morgan Rielly. The camp is part of Hockey Canada's selection process for the IIHF World Junior Championship team that will represent the country in Malmo, Sweden Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The development camp will also feature three exhibition games against national junior teams from Finland, Sweden and the United States.
Defencemen Griffin Reinhart and Rielly will take part in the camp but will not suit up for the exhibition games - both were top-five NHL draft picks in 2012 and are expected to battle for NHL roster spots this fall with the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively. Both players also suited up for the junior national team during the 2012-13 tournament.
Forward Sam Reinhart, Griffin's younger brother, is already rumoured as a potential candidate for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft.
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