C.C.C.C!
OK, there was one more race for some Manitoulin runners! In fact, seven Mustangs were running inside Track North, singlets at the 2023 Canadian Cross Country Championships last week in Ottawa! The Island featured these dedicated and well-trained athletes.
Alan Wilkin ran in the U20 Boys’ race, finishing 109th against the best in the country! In the U18 contest, Brodie Pennie finished 61st and teammates Xavi Mara 198, T.J. Green (225) and Matt Wilkin (279) as well as Track North teammate, Max Portelance from Sudbury (236) to qualify a team 27th of 29 teams.
In the U18 Girls’ event, Maren Kasunich ran an amazing race finishing 21st and MSS teammate, Mackenzie Green (163) combined with Track North’s Lauren Pineau (144), Georgia Lepage (89) and Katelyn De Poli (169) the team placed 12th of 21 teams!
Off their rock, hockey!
Catch-up time for Kohyn Eshkawkogan! He is currently playing the 2023/24 season with North York Rangers U16 AAA of the GTHL U16 where he has 4 goals, 14 assist in 25 games played as a defenseman. He and his team are leading the league and are ranked 6th in Canada on My Hockey Rankings!
His team has an Instagram page with lots of fun team info. Kohyn is a popular player and is now being referred to as “The Ko Show” in the league! He takes pride in his defensive play and being a + player while helping chip in offensively when the opportunity presents itself. For instance, he scored the GWG just this Saturday in the last minute of play! He’s putting in the work and definitely on the radar of many OHL teams. Keep up the hard work, Kohyn!
As a side note, two of his teammates have Manitoulin connections. Owen Barfoot and his family have a hunt camp near Kagawong and Charlie Ashcroft and his family have a camp on Manitou.
A true Sportsman, Lew will be missed.
Lew Lanktree from Mindemoya, passed away recently. Lew was one of those rare personalities who helped define our community, making it a much better place for him being there. He was a tireless, altruistic volunteer that everyone wanted for their event because of his gregarious, positivity. He was that charismatic character who connected with people and always a quick wit, keeping things light. He wasn’t the type who would not, simply acknowledge you on the street, he would take the time to actually engage with you. Even if you didn’t know the man, but have been at an event in the township, you likely saw him there or he was behind the scenes in some capacity!
I reached out to his daughter Sue (Whynott) during this emotional time and she very generously put together a few memories. Sue says that Lew had a lifelong love of sports that started while he was growing up on the family farm in Spring Bay. Dad, along with his brothers and cousins would either get a ball game going in the summer or a hockey game going in the winter complete with a horse turd for a puck … or so Lew would tell the story!
“Fastball was definitely one of Dad’s main passions as he was either playing, coaching (men’s and women’s teams in Spring Bay and Mindemoya over a 30-year span) or helping to organize a tournament. Dad was the main ‘diamond’ guy in Mindemoya for the last couple of decades, always making sure the fields were ready for others to utilize. He assisted the Special Olympics organization by ensuring the diamonds were in tip top shape for their annual, Manitoulin Special Olympics ball tournament. On behalf of the Lions Club, of which Dad is a member, he organized and ran the Homecoming Men’s Fastball Tournament for many years, up until COVID put the kibosh on that. He also helped out Greg Lockeyer in regards to the Youth Tournament, Karlene Scott for many years in regards to prepping the diamonds for Pearson Cup and CMPS in regards to the Island elementary tournament.”
Lew started curling when he lived and worked in Elliot Lake in the early ’60s and this sport turned out to be his number-one, lifelong athletic passion and he was still curling last season at the age of 89, over 60 years after throwing his first stone. He was fiercely competitive and won more than his share of bonspiels, both off and on the Island. He also enjoyed golfing and for years took part in Seniors mornings at Brookwood Brae.
Sue recalls, “Dad loved to watch his children and grandchildren play sports. He never missed a basketball, fastball, blooperball or a hockey game if a granddaughter was playing, and just this past Pearson Cup, Dad at the age of 89, coached his daughters when Sherry and I resurrected (after a 20 year hiatus) our ‘Circus Purple’ team. We didn’t win a game but that wasn’t the coach’s fault!”
Lew loved to watch sportsman hockey and would travel to every town depending on where the tournament was on any particular weekend. He was fiercely proud of how many great athletes the Island produced.
After receiving my message, Sue went the extra km and reached out to a few people who knew Lew in a variety of sports-minded ways to see if they would like to send her a quote. Of course, people from all over the Island were quick to share. Here are a few!
JP Peltier related, “Lew always welcomed the Wiky Lumberjacks to Mindemoya’s Homecoming Weekend tournament, which was the best fastball tournament held on Manitoulin, attracting teams and players from all over Ontario. We are going to miss seeing Lew’s smile at the ball diamond!”
Janet Anning laments the loss with, “Lew got involved in Special Olympics in 2006 when we hosted our first softball tournament. Lew said he would take care of our fields that year and then helped us to run this tournament for the next 12 years. Everyone looked forward to seeing Lew, he was the first one to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at the end of the day. When our athletes started curling, Lew stepped up to help with that as well, preparing the ice so it was ready for our athletes to practice on. Lew was so well loved and respected by all of our athletes and volunteers, and his words of wisdom will be missed by all.”
Todd Bailey had the neatest anecdote. “I knew Lew for the greater part of my life, mostly through curling. But, I preferred the last few years as I was curling with him rather than against him! 2017 was the first year we curled the Island circuit together, resulting in the most memorable curling year of my life. Lew, at the age of 83, skipped us through 6 bonspiels – winning 2 of them, coming in as runner-up in the 1st event final in 3 of them and winning the 2nd event final in the 6th spiel.
There were many lessons to be learned curling with Lew. The most important was while at a Mindemoya men’s spiel. I was having a particularly poor game and was upset. Lew looked at me with that half grin and said “You know Todd, if we made all the shots, we wouldn’t be curling here! Well, my old friend, wherever you are now, I hope you’re “making them all!”
Indeed.
