St. JOHN’S -- Team Saskatchewan has it’s first gold medal of the 2024 Canada Summer Games.
Moose Jaw’s Leo Zheng did the honours in the pool on Tuesday, putting up a total of 823 points to finish first in the Para Men’s 50m (S-15) / 100m (S6-14) backstroke. It was Zheng’s second first place finish of the day as he put up 806 points in his 100m qualifying race to advance to the A Final.
Regina’s Baer Robertson also found the podium on Tuesday, winning bronze in the C-1 Canoe 1,000 metres.
Saskatchewan now has two medals through the first three days of competition, sitting tied with Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island.
Here’s a look at all the rest of the action from Tuesday. All photos by Michael Scraper / Team Saskatchewan
Men’s Baseball
Saskatchewan closed out their round robin with a 2-0 loss to B.C. and finish with a 2-2 record in Pool A, good enough for third place and a spot in the qualification round.
There, they’ll face Quebec on Wednesday for a chance to advance to the medal round.
B.C. scored their runs in the third and fourth inning, and that was enough offence to get the job done as Sask was held to only four two hits.
Saskatoon’s Casey Rauckman and Reid Olfert were the only hitters to reach base.
Saskatoon’s Reese Brons turned in a decent pitching performance but took the loss after giving up two runs on seven hits over 4 ⅓ innings. Yorkton’s Jackson Bradford tossed two scoreless innings to close things out.
Men’s Basketball
Team Sask rolled to a 94-64 win over the Yukon to improve to 2-1 and sit in third place in Pool C.
Things were relatively close in the opening quarter as Saskatchewan built a 25-17 lead, but a 31-point second frame would see Team Sask leading 56-37 at half.
Prince Albert’s Zane Litzenberger had and impressive outing with 26 points and seven rebounds, while North Battleford’s Nate Fransoo had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Regina’s Isaiah Yemba picked up 16 points and Saskatoon’s Kaden MacAngus added 15.
Saskatchewan closes out the round robin on Wednesday when they face 3-0 Nova Scotia.
Women’s Basketball
It was another commanding win for Saskatchewan as they defeated Yukon 98-16 to improve to improve to 3-0 in the round robin.
The result was never in doubt, as Team Sask took a 29-6 lead out of the opening 15 minutes and led 45-10 at half.
Saskatoon’s Rylan Deutscher picked 16 points and added 15 rebounds to lead Saskatchewan while Regina’s Hayden Kot scored 12, Regina’s Sarah Cameron added 15 and and Regina’s Kai-Lynn Clive added 10. Saskatoon’s Sloane Holt-Mellor finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Team Sask’s final preliminary round game is Wednesday against 3-0 Manitoba.
Women’s Box Lacrosse
There were tense times in the lead-up to play on Tuesday, as a forest fire on the outskirts of St. John’s threatened the lacrosse venue. A massive effort to move to an arena further away from the fire worked perfectly, and the event was able to continue.
Team Sask wrapped up their round robin with a 10-1 win over Newfoundland, finishing 3-1 and tied with Manitoba for first place in Pool B.
Saskatchewan roared out to a 6-1 lead in the first period and after a scoreless second added four more goals in the third.
Riceton’s Hunter Moon scored twice and added an assist while Weyburn’s Ella Schenher and Regina’s Amy Teichler each picked up a pair of goals. Regina’s Aleena Kinaschuk, White City’s Mandy Moen, Regina’s Sami Riou and Wakaw’s Marti Burechailo all had single markers. Regina’s Leightyn Duthie picked up three assists.
Saskatchewan now advances to the quarter-final, where they’ll face Ontario on Monday.
Canoe / Kayak
Men’s C-1 1,000 metres: Regina’s Baer Robertson had a time of 5:31.775 to win bronze in the Medal Heat.
Men’s C-2 500 metres: Regina’s Baer Robertson and Emmett Patterson had a time of 2:27.67 to finish second in the Consolation Heat.
Women’s C-2 1,000 metres: Saskatoon’s Kaelynn Rochefort and Casa Rio’s Amanda Walker had a time of 5:57.18 to finish second in the Consolation Heat.
Women’s IC-4 500 metres: Rochefort, Walker, Regina’s Hayley Bosovich and Saskatoon Abbie Brook had a time of 3:04.21 to finish second in the Consolation Heat.
Women’s K-1 1,000 metres: Regina’s Eve Wilson had a time of 5:31.07 to finish fourth in the Medal Heat, 10 seconds off of bronze.
Women’s K-2 500 metres: Wilson and Regina’s Isabella Nikitovic had a time of 2:30.88 to win the Consolation Heat and finish sixth overall.
Men’s K-2 1,000 metres: Regina’s Nic LaHaye and Saskatoon’s Sabe Robertson had a time of 4:25.06 to finish fifth in the Medal Heat.
Men’s K-4 500 metres: LaHaye, Robertson, Saskatoon’s Lakai Madsen and Saskatoon’s Ashton Rochefort had a time of 1:53.03 to finish first in the Consolation Heat.
Men’s Rugby Sevens
Team Sask closed out their round robin with a 31-10 loss to New Brunswick to finish with a 1-3-0 record and in fourth place in Pool A. That sent them to the quarter-final against B.C., where they’d drop a 43-0 decision and fall from medal contention.
Regina’s Logan Jones and Prince Albert’s Matthew Tysiaczny scored Saskatchewan’s trys against New Brunswick.
Team Sask closes out their Canada Games appearance on Wednesday when they face Newfoundland in a qualification game.
Women’s Rugby Sevens
Saskatchewan wrapped up the preliminary round with a 46-0 win over Yukon, finishing with a 2-2 record and in fourth place in Pool A. They then took on Alberta in the quarter-final, where they fell 32-7 and are out of medal contention.
Regina’s Abby Hall and Abby McDonald each scored three trys, Avonlea’s Molly Watson and Saskatoon’s Kate Martin had their other major scores. Rouleau’s Kaia Nolan added two converts.
Against Alberta, McDonald picked up Saskatchewan try and Nolan had a convert.
Team Sask wraps up their Canada Games when they take on New Brunswick in a qualification game.
Sailing
The sailing competition has been delayed until Friday due to the forest fire conditions around St. John’s.
Men’s Soccer
Saskatchewan (0-2) had Tuesday off after finishing third in Group B and will take on the Yukon (0-2) -- who finished third in Group C -- in a qualification game on Wednesday.
Women’s Softball
Team Sask rolled to an 11-4 win over Prince Edward Island to finish with a 2-2 record in Pool B and advance to the qualification round.
It was a quick start for Saskatchewan, as three in the first inning and five in the second led to a quick 8-1 lead. P.E.I. got back to 8-4 in the fourth, but two more Sask runs the next inning and another in the seventh would finish things off.
Debden’s Rhyan Amundson went 3-for-4 with a triple, three runs scored and two RBI to lead Team Sask’s offence. Moose Jaw’s Blake Maltais was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI, while Oxbow’s Rayelle Cooley went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Moose Jaw’s Aubrey Clarke had two hits and scored two runs.
All that offence was more than enough for Rosetown’s Hailey Burton to pick up the win, as she allowed three runs on three hits over the first three innings. Saskatoon’s Ireland Trevarthen pitched the last four frames and allowed a single run, striking out eight.
Saskatchewan will now face the winner of Nova Scotia and Quebec in their first playoff game on Wednesday.
Swimming
Men’s 400m freestyle: White City’s Inigo Gutierrez (4:20.11) finished second in the B Final, Regina’s Owen Eisler (4:29.29) finished seventh in the same race. Saskatoon’s Noah Findlay (4:35.70) finished 30th overall.
Women’s 400m freestyle: Regina’s Macy Harlos (4:35.53) finished seventh in the A Final, Regina’s Gillian Gimens (4:45.97) finished sixth in the B Final. Saskatoon’s Piper Lejbak (4:55.29) finished 26th, Regina’s Tenley Rogina (5:07.63) finished 29th.
Mens 50m backstroke: Regina’s Soren Hanson (28.33) finished third in the B Final, Martensville’s Scott Heinbigner (29.17) finished fifth in the same race. Regina’s Max Zhao (29.29) finished 22nd, Saskatoon’s Kian Wu (29.74) finished 25th.
Women’s 50m backstroke: Regina’s Cashis Taypotat (30.95) finished first in the B Final, Prince Albert’s Clara Gelhorn (31.21) was fifth in the same race. Regina’s Jasmine Rogoza (32.47) and Martensville Nicole Godbout (33.07) finished 23rd and 30th respectively.
Para Men’s 50m (S-15) / 100m (S6-14) backstroke: Moose Jaw’s Leo Zheng won gold with 823 points.
Men’s Special Olympics 100m backstroke: Swift Current’s Tate Zimmerman (2:02.66) finished 14th and Gull Lake’s Chayce Foster (2:11.48) finished 16th.
Women’s Special Olympics 100m backstroke: Swift Current’s Avery Underhill (2:20.46) finished 14th and Rahimay Priebe (2:29.38) finished 15th.
Men’s 200m breaststroke: Wu (2:32.54) finished fourth in the B Final, Genest (2:46.34) finished 25th, Saskatoon’s Landon Kennedy (2:48.38) finished 27th.
Women’s 200m breaststroke: Regina’s Sarah Beare (2:47.84) finished fourth in the B Final, Saskatoon’s Avery Houle (2:53.09) was seventh in the same race. Regina’s Bella George (2:56.67) finished 21st.
Men’s 100m butterfly: Regina’s Joshua Austin-Koyl (59.42) finished third in the B Final, Gutierrez (59.49) finished fourth in the same race. Warman’s Austyn Spiller (1:01.57) finished 22nd, Saskatoon’s Foster Fourney (1:07.49) finished 37th.
Women’s 100m butterfly: Rogina (1:08.29) finished third in the B Final, Kimens (1:09.39) finished sixth in the same race. Rogoza (1:10.23) finished 24th, Godbout (1:10.52) finished 25th.
Tennis
Canada Games tennis is played under a team format, with two men’s singles, two women’s singles, a men’s doubles and a women’s doubles team making up each match.
Saskatchewan suffered their first loss on Tuesday, dropping a 4-2 decision to Nova Scotia and finishing the round robin with a 2-1 record and second place in Pool B.
Men’s Singles: Kieryn Minor defeated Regina’s Ethan Guo 6-2, 6-4 and Caden Colburne defeated Regina’s Arya Guha 6-0, 6-1
Women’s Singles: Regina’s Karina Berksa defeated Paige Ramsay 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 and Regina’s Isabella Yau defeated Meghan Hnand 6-4, 6-2.
Men’s Doubles: Regina’s Kaiden Gui and Michael Liu lost 6-1, 6-0 to Simon Mujoomdar and Jacob Propper.
Women’s Doubles: Regina’s Anna Klemner and Saskatoon’s Margarita Ter-Grigoryan lost 6-1, 6-2 to Vida Campbell and Sofie Hajek.
Saskatchewan next faces Northwest Territories in the qualification round, with a spot in the quarter-final on the line.
Beach Volleyball
Both the men’s and women’s competitions have been postponed until Thursday due to a wildfire threatening the venue.
