Alicia Easthope wrapped up the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour season with a second-place result at the recent invitation-only tournament in Phoenix.
The Sandpiper Golf & Country Club member shot rounds of 77-72-70 for second place and six shots back of Sarah Lawrence of Duvall, Wa. in the 15 to 19 female division at The Legacy Golf Resort.
Lawrence, 18, carded rounds of 71-76-66 to claim her second MJT female overall champion’s crown.
Easthope, 18, was also recognized as the winner of the MJT skills competition in her age division.
It’s been a banner season on the links for Bellerose Composite High School graduate.
At the MJT International Team Challenge in September, Easthope shot 76-75 to finish in a three-way tie for third at the Hunters Pointe Golf Club in Welland, near Niagara Falls, Ont.
Easthope was one of two female provincial qualifiers for the MJT event after rounds of 73-82 as the 15 to 19 age-division winner by nine shots at the tour stop at The Links in Spruce Grove
Easthope also placed fourth at junior provincials and tied for ninth at the Alberta Ladies Amateur.
In her junior national debut, Easthope was 42nd out of 70 golfers who made the cut. Her scores were 83-83-74-77 for plus-29 at the Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S.
Easthope was also the runner-up at the Edmonton Ladies Amateur by six shots at 71-78 as the youngest golfer in the tournament.
Noah Cunningham of the Alberta Golden Bears was named the most valuable player at the recent national university men’s soccer championship.
The St. Albert soccer product and FC Edmonton Academy graduate contributed to Alberta’s fifth national title in team history and the first since 2006, as the Golden Bears beat the UQAM Citadins 1-0 in Guelph, Ont.
Cunningham, a defender, was also among four Golden Bears selected to the tournament all-star team.
The Golden Bears were seeded third at nationals after defeating the UBC Thunderbirds on penalty kicks in the Canada West final and Cunningham was one of four Golden Bears to score in penalty kicks after a 1-1 deadlock in regulation time.
Meanwhile, Zach Rochat of St. Albert and the FC Edmonton Academy teammate of Cunningham, is an NCAA soccer freshman with the University of Texas at Tyler.
Also, goalkeeper Ivan Hirankunda and midfielder Ousman Maheshe of the 2016 St. Albert Impact U14 Tier I provincial champions received invites to the U15 national team identification camp for players born in 2002. The camp was held last week in Toronto.
The FC Edmonton Academy players contributed to the first St. Albert boys’ team to qualify for nationals since the 1989 gold-medal winning U18 Cougars and at nationals the Impact finished fourth with a 3-2 record.
Maheshe was the Impact’s top scorer at nationals with six goals.
The St. Albert High Skyhawks ended the season on a losing note in football.
The 61-0 throttling by the Holy Rosary Raiders of Lloydminster in Saturday's Tier III provincial north final at Clarke Park marked one of the worst losses in the history of the St. Albert Catholic High School team.
The Skyhawks barely recorded a first down in the blowout.
The Raiders scored 28 points in the first quarter and led by 46 at halftime.
The Skyhawks also gave up two safeties while in punt formation and the kicker in the endzone.
The Raiders added another safety with a tackle in the endzone and the Skyhawks scrimmaging from their one-yard line.
The second half was basically played with running time.
Head coach Sam Johnson was also ejected in the third quarter for voicing his displeasure over the officiating.
The Raiders also had two punt returns for touchdowns nullified because of penalties in the lopsided contest.
The Skyhawks struggled through multiple injuries, including the loss of Grade 12 quarterback Sam Cuciz in the north semifinal.
Last year the Raiders blanked the Skyhawks 28-0 in the north final in Lloydminster.
The Raiders (12-0) were listed No. 2 and the Skyhawks were No. 7 in the final Tier III (450 to 749 students) Football Alberta rankings.
The Raiders, winners of three consecutive Wheatland Football League championships, have lost only one game over the past three years, 55-0 to the Cochrane Cobras in the 2015 Tier III Alberta Bowl, and in 2014 won the Tier IV (449 or less students) provincial final.
The Skyhawks qualified for their fourth north final in six years by defeating the Peace Wapiti Academy Titans (6-6) of Grande Prairie 22-7 in the north semifinals.
The Skyhawks finished 4-6 after their fourth shutout loss. The Miles conference division two semifinalists in the metro Edmonton league also failed to win back-to-back games.
The only Tier III team in the Miles was 6-5 last year.
