The first artistic gymnastics qualifier of the season is now in the books with the Sudbury Laurels crew returning to town with plenty of noteworthy results. Following is a breakdown of the competing Laurels' atheletes:

Two athletes from Sudbury's Track North Athletic Club competed at the Canadian Cross-Country Running Championships in Vancouver recently. Leila Angrand finished 18th with a time of 23:11 over a muddy, snowy 6k course. Her finish places her in the selection pool for the Canadian National team that will compete in North American, Central America and Caribbean XC championships (NACAC) in March.

Angrand, a Laurentian varsity runner, was only one spot behind Laura Moulton, the silver medalist at the CIS championships. Lindsy McNicoll, also a Laurentian runner, placed 26th in her first Nationals, with a time of 23:57. She was only two spots removed from making the selection pool. Put into perspective, Lisa Labrecque was 14th in her first nationals. She eventually went on to race for Canada in two world championships.

"This was an excellent effort at a level that is a step up from university competition," said coach Dick Moss. "These are the runners from whom our national teams are chosen." Also competing for Track North were Katie Scott, who placed 22nd with a time of 22:24. Katie, who is from Mitchell, ON, runs for Sudbury native Steve Eles at Lake Superior State but wore the Track North colours in Vancouver. Eles raced as well, placing 46th with a time of 34:40 over the 10k course.

Ringette fans take note - City TV’s Breakfast Television will be at the Whitby Ringette Tournament on Friday, January 12th. The show is expected to air from 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m., with four live segments broadcast directly from Whitby, each approximately three to four minutes in length.

A Provincial Petite game between Whitby and Ajax will be featured beginning at 8:00 a.m. – anyone expecting to be within the City TV broadcast area on January 12th is welcome to tune in as Whitby Ringette will do their best to promote the sport of ringette.

It is with profound sadness that we've been informed of the passing of former Sudbury Wolves' player and assistant coach, Mike Savage. A strong supporter of the Sudbury Wolves organization, Savage passed away on December 19th at the age of 42 after a courageous battle with cancer.

The Sudbury-native and brother of recently retired NHLer Brian Savage played with the Wolves between 1980 and 1984, garnering 25 points and 111 penalty minutes in 98 games. Savage was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets and served as an assistant coach with the Wolves during the 1996-97 season.

A press release from the Wolves organization noted that, "Mike was a very well-liked individual and will be deeply missed by all in the Wolves' organization that knew him. The Wolves extend their sincere condolences to the Savage family." A moment of silence will be held in Savage's memory at the next Wolves' home game Friday, December 29th versus the Owen Sound Attack.

While most local basketball pundits firmly believe that Lasalle Secondary will be in a class of their own within the Senior boys basketball ranks, the race behind the Lancers could prove extremely interesting. Three or four teams are expected to challenge for the right to face the mighty Lancers and Tuesday evening, two of the contenders went toe to toe at College Notre-Dame.

The St Benedict Bears and Notre-Dame Alouettes met for the first time this year, with St Ben's improving to 5-1 with a 62-51 win. Football star Jonathan Mikus and guard Ryan Dockery topped the Bears offense with 20 points apiece while CND received a game-high 25-point effort from sweet-shooting George Seresse.

While it's only one game, it seemed apparent that St Benedict features a more balanced attack at this time, with Dockery and fellow guard Mario Marcantagni directing an offense that can move inside to the formidable presence of Mikus or dish off to an array of weapons that includes Chris Haddad, Tyrone Beauchamp and Chad MacNeil among others.

While ultra-hustling guard Chad Langevin returns to the senior Als this year, the team appears to be a year away from seriously challenging the likes of St Benedict. For as much as Seresse may be the most naturally talented athlete in the league, he continues to be challenged to show intensity throughout the tough battles.

Notre-Dame also seems to struggle in trying to find an offensive identity, relying greatly on Seresse's natural skills, perhaps at the cost of integrating the likes of Jonathan Roy, Mathieu Dugas-Ruest, Evan Jolicoeur and Tyson Rochon into the attack on a more consistent basis. At least, that's how it looked to me in this game anyways.

Ten games and counting for the College Notre-Dame hockey Alouettes. The team needed three goals in the final four minutes of the third period but it was enough as Alexandre Rancourt netted his second of the game with 1:44 remaining to lift the 10-0 Alouettes past the Lockerby Vikings 5-4 in action Tuesday afternoon at Countryside.

Former Nickel Capital Wolves defenseman Taylor Pigeau, Leonard Breault and Mathieu Arbour rounded out the CND scoring while Dean Cecutti, Matt Herrington, Sean Conlon and Derek Huffels replied in a losing cause for the Vikes, who saw their record fall to 7-3.

Notre-Dame is not out of the woods quite yet, facing 9-1 St Charles College Cardinals Wednesday afternoon at Carmichael and closing out arguably the toughest week any team is likely to face this season by taking on the Horizon Aigles (6-2-2) at Cambrian Arena Thursday afternoon.

For two periods, the goaltenders were actually enjoying the game as the SMHA Sterlings and walden Red Devils took to the ice in NEHL Bantam play Tuesday in Lively. That was until the snipers arose, giving way to an eleven goal outburst in the final period of play as the Sterlings bounced the Red Devils 8-6.

With the win, the SMHA Sterlings stretch their lead to five points on the Red Devils, with the teams holding down 10th and 11th place respectively in the 23-team division. Alain Malette fired the hat-trick to show the way for the Sterlings, with Erik Duhamel chipping in with a pair of goals.

Eric Malette, Kyle Simpson and Keith James round out the SMHA scoring while Nicolas Czaja and Matthew Sawdon answered with a pair of goals apiece for Walden. Robert Larose and Jordan Coleman complete the offensive display, with Austin Rysdale adding three assists for the home side.

The win may have come at a cost as Sterlings' captain Brandon Piche left midway through the first period with a foot injury, heading to hospital to have it x-rayed and hopeful the foot is not broken. Six more Bantam games on the schedule for Wednesday evening, including a pair of teams separated by just three points in the standings as Valley East Son Mar Security welcomes the Sudbury Lady Wolves to Capreol for an 8:00 p.m. puck-dropping.