Paul Chauvin loves the outdoors, camping and fishing. It just won't ever hold a candle, however, to track.

One of the top junior-aged 400m runners in the country, Chauvin entered the season hoping to find his way into the 48-second range, a goal that he checked off his list en route to earning a bronze medal at OFSAA, and finishing eighth in the 800m, posting a time of 1:55 despite running out of gas in the last two hundred.

"He's still a novice in the 800m, but once he learns the difference in tactics and mental approach, he'll be a very good two-lapper," noted Track North coach Dick Moss. Chauvin will head to Algonquin College in Ottawa in September, equally as anxious to run with the Ottawa Lions Club, a haven for ultra-speedy training partners.

"For me, when I run the 400m, it's that second turn that I love," he said. "It feels like you're sling-shot around the turn, it's a pretty good feeling."

A rash of undisciplined penalties and an inability to hold on to an early lead conspired to hand the Sudbury Spartans their fourth loss in five games, dropping a 28-13 decision to the North Bay Bulldogs.

With the Spartans enjoying some first quarter success on the ground, the homeside would open the scoring courtesy of a major from running back Geoff Richer. Trailing 8-7 to start the second frame, coach Paddy Walsh and company took full advantage of some outstanding field position, courtesy of a botched kickoff.

Quarterback Reg Bonin connected with Brandon Dougan for the score, but that would be the last points that Sudbury would put on the board. Star North Bay receiver Steve Asselin hauled in three touchdown passes in the second half, as the Bulldogs improved to 5-0 on the year.

"The refs changed the momentum of the game with that one drive when they were flag-happy," suggested Walsh. "That gave them a drive and that turned it there."

Mari DeMarco could not have asked for a much better send off in her final year at Mercyhurst College.

Despite describing the rowing season as "tough, mass confusion and brutal", the team did manage to crack the NCAA Division finals, just part of the reason that the Sudbury native was rewarded at year's end, selected as the outstanding student-athlete of the year, the first time ever that a female rower had claimed the award.

"The season turned out as well as it possibly could have," DeMarco suggested. Needing to work their way through the repechage round in the Lightweight division, DeMarco and teammates crossed the line first in their race, edging the second place boat by 39/100th of a second.

"If other crews pushed on us, we weren't going to let that phase us," she said. "We were just going to stick to it and know that it's the fastest to the finish line, not a ping-pong game down the course."

Female boxers accounted for the preliminary entertainment at the Italian Festival in Sudbury, with fans of pugilism treated to a two country showdown in the main event, with Canada and Italy squaring off in the end, each squad registering three victories.

Jamie Lea Pollock (Top Glove Boxing) was awarded a unanimous decision over Marina Mavros (Kitchener/Waterloo) before Wendy Lee (Ottawa) evened the scored for the out-of-towners, besting Laura Ranelli from Valley East in a tightly contested affair.

Kevin Van Den Oetellaar (Ottawa), B.J. Adams (Top Glove) and Ryan O'Connor (Ottawa) accounted for the remaining Canadian victories, with Andre Pelletier (Top Glove), Andy Mavros (Kitchener/Waterloo) and Anthony Russell (Kitchener/Waterloo) all going down at the hands of their Italian opponents.

A total of 20 Northern Ontario junior and juvenile golfers, including more than half from Sudbury and area, qualified from a regional event in Blind River, advancing to the Ontario Junior Golf Championships being held at Timberwolf Golf Club in mid-July, with a handful more moving on to the Bantam provincials in Cambridge.

Leading the pack was Matt Bortolotto (Idylwylde), who ran away field in the bantam boys grouping (ages 13 and under), carving out a 13-stroke win, while Mike Jakubo (Cedar Green) finished second in the junior bracket, seven strokes back of Ken Gilmour of Sault Ste Marie.

Remaining qualifiers included Nick Yawney (Cedar Green), Jesse Dumas (Lively), Mike Gonko (Cedar Green), Jordan Lund (Idylwylde), Yves Fraser (Idylwylde), Matt Dumontelle (Cedar Green), Brian Ceasar (Lively), Tyler Lebouthillier (Clearview) and Eric Vickman (Lively).

The Sudbury Canadians are in good shape heading into day two of the Ontario Cup Girls U16 soccer playdowns, with games taking place at both the Delki Dozzi Field, and the Lily Creek Sports Complex.

The Canadians capped off their busy schedule with a 3-1 win over Ajax United, only hours after blanking the Oakville Rebels 4-0 earlier in the day. Goals from Fran Malvaso, Kailey Smith, Jenna Caccio and Karla Winters proved more than enough for the locals in their opener, with the team set to face the same two opponents to close out the double round robin schedule of the quarter-final qualifier.

"I think we should go into it (day two) not too cocky, just because we're playing the teams tomorrow," said Winters. "I think if we go in playing hard, we should do okay." In other local Ontario Cup action, the Sudbury Panhellenic U16 boys were saddled with a pair of losses, beaten by both the Toronto York Jets (7-0) and Croatia Mississauga (2-0).

After 13 years as commissioner of the NOJHA (Northern Ontario Junior "A" Hockey Association), Joe Drago is ready to move on.

"It was a tough decision to make," stated Drago, just days after making the announcement at the league's AGM on the weekend. "After becoming vice-president of the Ontario Hockey Federation's board of governors, it created a conflict of interest."

"When I came aboard, my mandates were to keep the league alive and be recognized throughout the country. As a league, we've managed to do that. We're the smallest junior league in the country, but we've remained stable, despite some lean times."