Tristan Alexander capped a golden judo season with, what else, a gold medal at the Judo Canada National Championships at Calgary Olympic Oval.
Alexander used an ippon pin in the final to win the U-21 100-kilogram division. And Alexander wasn’t finished there. The next day the Victoria Judo Club member went up to the senior division and earned a bronze medal.
Alexander’s double-medal effort earned him a spot on Team Canada for the Pan American Championships this summer in Argentina. This season, Alexander has won gold medals at the Rainier Cup, Quebec Open, Saskatchewan Open, B.C. provincials and the Pacific International meet.
On the women’s side in Calgary, Victoria-based Mira Calder won gold in the U-16 70-kilogram class.
Vikes runner eyes national title
University of Victoria Vikes cross-country team member Josh Kozelj will try to add to his medal collection this weekend when he represents B.C. at the Canadian 10-kilometre Championships in Ottawa.
Kozelj will race today on the road course in downtown Ottawa. The second-year Vike was selected for team B.C. because of his impressive showings this season, that included winning the Vancouver Island Race Series’ Bazan Bay 5K and a 15th-place finish in the Vancouver Sun Run.
Kozelj, from Coquitlam, was named a Canada West Second Team All-star at the U Sports Cross-Country National Championships.
Caron bests all at Cedar Hill Open
Amateur Jordan Caron held off a flurry from some veteran pros to win the recent Cedar Hill Open.
Caron fired rounds of 64 and 61 (9-under par) to beat senior pro Rick Gibson (63-63) by one stroke. Steven LeCuyer was third, while defending champion Jim Rutledge shot two rounds of 64 to finish fourth. Gord Scutt rounded out the top five with rounds of 65 and 64. Amateur Kevin Carrigan came in sixth after shooting 62 and 67.
The overall low net winner was Ali Ibrahim, while the John Merriman Memorial Trophy (low net Cedar Hill member) went to Tom White.
Reaume revved up in Charlotte
Some wet weather and a minor fender bender wasn’t enough to slow up Victoria’s Josh Reaume in last weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
Reaume made a late push to finish 24th overall after starting from the 29th spot on the grid at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race was interrupted by rain and to make matters worse for Reaume, his Colonial Countertops Toyota Tundra got tangled up with another truck forcing him into the pits. But some quick work by the crew allowed Reaume to get back on the track and have a strong finish.
Reaume now takes couple of weeks of before returning to action in Texas.
Falcon gymnasts right at home
Falcon Gymnastics members wrapped up their season in style and at home last weekend with impressive showings at the annual Garden City Invitational meet at Pearkes Arena.
The Falcon team won 15 all-around medals with a team gold in the Junior Olympic 5-6 division.
Julia Widdowson set a club record with a near-perfect 9.90 gold-medal performance on the vault.
In Junior Olympic 7(2002-2005), Karley Telford earned all-around gold thanks wins on the vault, beam and floor.
Gabrielle Tsui won all-around gold in the Junior Olympic 6 (2005-10) division after finishing first on the bars and floor.
Keira Leibel won all-around gold in the Junior Olympic 4 (2009-10) division after she won individual golds on the bars and floor.
