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Mustangs wrap season up at provincials

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The Morrin Mustangs Senior Girls Volleyball team is coming off one of their best seasons in recent history, with a win at zones, and a respectable finish at provincials.
The Mustangs wrapped up their season at the 1A provincial championship at Central Alberta Christian High School (CACHS) in Lacombe on November 25-27.
On Thursday, the Mustangs faced CACHS and lost in two sets, but bounced back and topped Picture Butte in three sets. On Friday they were bested by Parkland Emmanual but beat École Des Beaux Lacs from Bonnyville. This put them in third place in their pool.
On Saturday they crossed over and faced Consort, who defeated the Mustangs. There were quality teams at the tournament with close matches. The teams that defeated the Mustangs went on to claim gold, bronze, and fourth place.
Coach Amanda Batty is very proud of the team throughout the season.
“They are, by far, the most positive, fun-loving group I have ever coached,” said coach Batty. “They are never negative with each other, they are building each other up, and no matter what the score on the scoreboard is they find ways to have fun. We get comments everywhere we go. They are just a really special group.”
This squad has been together for a couple of seasons. Last year while they had no senior players and a lack of playing time due to COVID, they developed their skills and team play.
This paid off with a win at Zones defeating Rosemary and earning a spot at provincials.
Batty says they have three players graduating and have five players coming up to the senior level next season. Because they had a short bench at provincials because of injuries, they brought up some Grade 9 players to play.
“I have been telling them all season how proud I am of them. Not even volleyball skill-wise, that has all been great, but just for the atmosphere they have created with each other, we’ve been more like a family than a team,” said Batty.
The last time the Mustangs competed at provincials was 2015, and before that, 1996.

Disc golf enthusiasts upgrade Riverside course

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Drumheller Disc golf players have seen a resurgence of the sport in the valley and have made their newest course more permanent.
Drumheller has been a popular destination for disc golfers for many years, with the popular Wayne course that has hosted the annual Lost Egg Classic for years, as well as a course in Midland Provincial Park. This summer saw the installation of a new course in the Riverside area. And throughout the summer, it was rare not to see a cohort of players making their way around the course.
Over the weekend, they made the course more permanent.
“We have a local player who works in the oilfield industry who has made spec baskets, and has donated them to the course,” said Cameron White.
White and his wife Megan began Fire Coulee Discs, coming into the pandemic having their love of the sport reignited and just wanted to put discs in other players’ hands.
We just wanted people to play the sport of disc golf,’ said White. “It is one of the fastest-growing sports right now.”
The course near Riverside is what they are calling their practice course. Geographically, it is flat and has no challenging terrain to maneuver, making it accessible to any player. It is also accessible in terms of player capabilities. It is a great beginner course and is in a highly-visible space, and with the new baskets can be played even through the winter.
“We tried to find a spot in town where anyone of any age could play,” he said, adding the Wayne and Midland Courses are much more technical courses, and harder to play.
“The course we have set up you could play in a wheelchair.”
The course has flourished. The course has been well used by locals, as well as visitors. White explains the course is listed on Udisc, an app with a directory of courses.
“We have had over 70 entries on our little course, and most of them are from out of town,” said White.
Enthusiasts are also looking at installing a course on the Stampede Barn land, and have begun to map out a trophy course.
The Midland Course also saw some action this season with a Charity Classic in October for the local Food Bank, organized by a player from Edmonton.
He hopes the momentum will continue to grow the sport for locals and visitors.
‘We will have people not just coming here to see dinosaurs but coming here to play disc golf,” said White.

Dragons split games on weekend road trip

The Dragons split over the weekend with a loss to the Sherwood Park Crusaders but regrouped to top the Olds Grizzlys with an overtime win.
The Dragons were on the road this weekend, and Friday, November 26, they were in Sherwood Park to take on the Crusaders.
The Crusaders jumped out right away and by the end of the first period they were up by three goals, the Dragons outshot the Crusaders 30-27, but Sherwood Park added two more as they shut out the Dragons 5-0.
On Saturday, November 27, they were in Olds to take on the Grizzlys. The Grizzlys scored first with 27 seconds left in the first period. The Dragons quickly tied it up with just four seconds left in the first with a goal from Griffin Asham-Moroz.
Just 38 seconds into the second period, Luke Fennig put the Dragons up. He scored his second at the 9:47 mark, but Olds drew closer with a goal, just 13 seconds later. The Grizzlys tied it at three with a goal at 3:14 into the third period and held on for overtime. Just 3:41 into the extra period Ty Daneault scored his 10th goal as a Dragon for the win. Dragons Outshot the Grizzlys 44-21.
The Dragons hosted the Canmore Eagles on Tuesday, November 30, results not available at press time. This Saturday, they host the Olds Grizzlys, and then on Tuesday, December 7, they travel to Calgary to play the Canucks.

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