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Kings Soccer club hunting for another trip to Nationals

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Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Soccer team on quest to return to nationals

Face division rivals at home to start new campaign

There’s a quiet confidence surrounding the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Soccer team as they prepare for the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) 2021/2022 season, and for good reason.

When the Kings last played in November 2019, they placed sixth at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Soccer National Championship, which was the highest ranking of the two ACAC teams. The Lethbridge College Kodiaks finished eighth in Ontario.

The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings, who won an ACAC 2019 silver medal, are believed to be equally as talented this year, and some may argue that they have more skill.

With months of practicing and training, and two exhibition games under their belt, the RDP Kings are enthusiastic and looking to put all the pieces together as they hit the field for a shortened six game schedule after nearly a two-year absence of ACAC games due to COVID-19.

“It is absolutely outstanding to be back on the pitch,” says Gerald Grobmeier, Kings Soccer Head Coach. “This year is a sprint. From the moment we hear the first whistle we must be on our game. We want to build on our accomplishments from 2019 and return to nationals.”

With a large contingent of student-athletes around central Alberta this past summer, the Kings were able to start training sooner.

“We had a large core of players here, so we were able to start practicing in early June just as the COVID- 19 public health measures were aligned,” says Grobmeier. “We are very fortunate because much of this team is made up of Red Deer Renegades alumni. Then we had more players show up in July, so we’ve had a good month and half of practices with the team all together.”

Renegades alumni Kristofer Grobmeier, defender Hayden Jacobs, midfielders Kaidri Bornyi, Gabriel Martins Fonseca and All-Conference selection Pedro Humberto Mourao Neto, along with forward Gabriel Fleury de Queiroz are returning this year from the 2019/2020 Kings. This group will be counted on for their contributions on and off the field.

“One of our leaders this year is my son Kristofer, who is a third-year centre back, so we look towards him,” says Grobmeier. “We also look towards the student-athletes from Brazil to show the others what it takes to compete in the ACAC.”

Third-years Gabriel Martins Fonseca and Gabriel Fleury de Queiroz, both Bachelor of Business Administration General Management students, and Pedro Humberto Mourao Neto, who is enrolled in Kinesiology Fitness and Health, comprise the trio of gifted Brazilians.

“We also rely on some of the newer guys for leadership like Ajdin [Sarcevic], Kirkland [Moody] and Jared [St. Thomas],” explains Grobmeier. “Although they are new to the program, they come with a lot of experience. Ajdin played in the Bosnia, Kirkland has competed internationally, and Jared played at a very high level in Ontario.”

Sarcevic, who is Renegades alumni, competed as a midfielder for NK Prodgrmec Sanski in the Bosnian Division II league. Red Deer’s Moody played professional soccer in Jamaica. Lacombe’s St. Thomas has experience as a goalkeeper with Ottawa South United, which is a semi-professional soccer team.

Along with Sarcevic, Moody, and St. Thomas, the RDP Kings have added some key players for 2021/2022. Musa Abedi, Isaiah Albright, Jesus Amaris, Carson Coady, Brian Grantham, Nicholas Min, Wataru Oguchi, Adan Sanchez-Pimental, Sheku Sesay, Emmanuel Siaw, Wakuto Tamura, Garrett Thompson and Thomson Wellie will wear the Kings uniform this season.

Two familiar student-athletes will return to the team after an absence. Renegades alumni Osvaldo Aguilar, who last competed at the Polytechnic in 2018/2019, and Masoum Zaher, who played in 2016/2017, are back on the Kings roster.

In a pair of exhibition games, the RDP Kings tied the Keyano College Huskies 1-1 and then they shutout The King’s University Eagles 5-0. Those experiences provided the student-athletes and coaches with a range of learning opportunities.

“Those two days of exhibition games were extremely helpful for us,” says Grobmeier. “In the first half against the Eagles, we created a lot of chances, but we couldn’t put the ball in the net. It started to come to us in the second half, but it still needs to be cleaned up.”

At half-time, the Kings and Eagles were knotted 0-0. Then Red Deer Polytechnic exploded for five goals in the second half.

“In those games we learned a lot about the players, lineup combinations, and what works and what doesn’t work for us,” says Grobmeier. “In both games, for about 20 minutes into the first half we lost our way, but we got back on track and it showed our players that if we stick to our system, it really works. These boys are extremely dedicated. They all have an extremely high soccer IQ and are very coachable which makes my job easier.”

The 2021/2022 Kings roster is diverse, with players from around the world.

“We have a lot of different nationalities on the team, so it is fun,” says Grobmeier. “Different nationalities play the game in different ways, so we are melding that all together into one cohesive system.”

Along with Canada, the student-athletes have identified their hometowns in Brazil, Iran, Japan, and the United States.

The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings have one more non-conference game against the Olds College Broncos at home on September 12 as a final tune up before the regular season begins against the defending ACAC Champions, the Lethbridge College Kodiaks, five days later.

“It’ll be a great test for us, and it’ll show us where we are at. I know the Kodiaks will be well coached and ready to go with high profile players,” says Grobmeier. “We’ve had good battles with them over the past few years and I expect it to be a one goal game, in our favour.”

In 2019, the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (8-1-3) finished second in the ACAC Men’s Soccer South Division. The Kings (7-3-2) were third.

On Friday, September 17, the Kings will host the Kodiaks at the Red Deer Polytechnic Main Field at 4 pm to begin the new campaign.

“Training is fine, but we do this to be on the pitch and battle. I love it,” says Grobmeier. “All the boys love it, and this is why we play soccer.”

 

 

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RDPolytech Athletics

RDP Kings claim consecutive ACAC Championships

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The Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) Kings are back-to-back Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men’s Hockey Champions.

The Concordia University Thunder played their best in this elimination game, but Kings’ forward Jaxon Steele ended game three 3-2 in double overtime and ultimately the best-of-five championship series.

“We talked about it before the game, during the periods and going into overtime about sticking to the process. A line I used with them is, don’t go out there and think that I got to score and put that pressure on yourself. We’re going to get it done,” said Trevor Keeper, Kings Hockey Head Coach. “If you play like that, you play with less fear and make things happen. Jaxon Steele got the winner because of that kind of attitude.”

Longjohn (11)

The RDP Kings opened the scoring at 11:41 of the middle frame. Captain Chance Longjohn picked up the puck on the left boards, drove wide and tucked it inside the far post behind Thunder goaltender Griffin Bowerman.

The Concordia University Thunder evened the contest 1-1 with 12:23 remaining in the third period. On a five-on three Thunder power play, Kings goaltender Arik Weersink made the initial save, but Concordia’s Isaac Leik cashed in the rebound.

Miller (94)

Then the Kings’ power play went to work nine minutes later. Longjohn, a Second All-Conference team selection, skated behind the Thunder net and sent it out front for teammate Erik Miller. The third-year Bachelor of Business Administration student roofed it over Bowerman’s glove.

With Bowerman pulled for the extra skater, the visitors knotted it up 2-2 with less than two minutes left in the third period. Concordia’s fourth-year forward Brandon Wallis found room on Weersink’s glove side, but it didn’t seem to faze the fifth-year netminder.

Weersink (72)

“I have to be the calmest guy on the ice. If you’re shaky behind them, they will be shaky in front of you,” said Weersink. “That was my biggest thing – breathe. I’ve been here before. I have full confidence in them and in return they have full confidence in me and it showed.”

In the second overtime period, Bowerman kicked out a shot from Kings’ forward Dawson Leroux to the slot where teammate Steele deposited the rebound into the net at 7:30.

Then the Kings flooded the ice in celebration

.

“Every guy wants to win his last game and we are fortunate that we did,” added Weersink, who was named the North Star Sports Kings Player of the Game and the Playoff MVP “There is no other group than I’d rather do this with.”

In five playoff games, Lethbridge’s Weersink won all five starts and recorded an impressive 1.89 goals against average and 0.934 save percentage.

“He’s our all-time leader in wins. This year, he’s 27 years old. We had to do some management with him – his knees were bugging him,” noted Keeper. “In the playoffs, he just played through the pain. He was really dialed in and focused and really deserving of the Playoff MVP.”

Over five seasons in a Kings’ uniform, Weersink had an outstanding record in net, winning 44 regular season games and only dropping 17.

Bowerman received the Thunder Player of the Game.

Both teams went one-for-five on the power play.

It is challenging to win an ACAC Championship, let along back-to-back gold medals.

“It’s going to mean a lot more in the future, I think. It hasn’t sunk in yet. Al Ferchuk texted me tonight and he said winning back-to-back is hard to do,” noted Keeper. “This program hasn’t done it since he coached. It was a really nice message to get from Al before the game.”

The RDP Kings last won consecutive championships in 1977 and 1978.

As Weersink wears the Kings’ uniform for the final time, he reflects on his time at Red Deer Polytechnic fondly.

“Hopefully, I get into Optometry School, which is sad to say because it’s the end of the road for RDP and playing hockey. It’s tough to give up the game because I’ve been playing it my entire life,” he shared. “You build these relationships. Those I’ll take with me. We will have another banner that will hang up there forever. I won’t forget about any of these guys, that’s for sure.”

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RDPolytech Athletics

Wiens and Iyamu leading RDP Athletics into final weekend of 2023

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Red Deer Polytechnic is proud to announce The Gutter RDP Athletes of the Week:

1. Dani Wiens
Hometown: Regina, SK
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (3rd year)

Despite just playing one match this weekend, Queens setter Dani Wiens had an outstanding match on both sides of the court in their three-set win against the Concordia University Thunder. Coming off a three-set loss to The Kings University Eagles, the Queens were really looking to bounce back with a dominant performance and so they did. RDP managed to sweep the Thunder in three straight sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-15) to improve to 7-2 on the season and sit at the top of the South Division with one match left to go in 2023.

Wiens was named the player of the match for her outstanding 39 assists and 12 dig performance in the win. This averaged out to 13 assists per set which is incredible, but it was not a match or career-high for the setter out of Regina. Earlier this season, she had 44 in their four-set win against the SAIT Trojans and this past February, she tied the RDP and ACAC single-match record for assists with 57.

Head Coach Talbot Walton said this was a pretty impressive feat and explained Wiens started out the set strong which led to her running an effective offence throughout the rest of the match. “Thirteen assists per set is huge for a setter. Dani got into the groove of the game in the early goings of the
match and was able to move our hitters around to find some gaps to attack in. But she was also big for us at the net, blocking balls as well as going on runs from the service line.”

She now sits in seventh place in the conference in assists, averaging seven per set with the ACAC leader just under 10. The Queens will hit the road this weekend for a clash with the Lethbridge College Kodiaks.

Congratulations Dani and keep running the efficient offence like we know you can!

2. Efe Iyamu
Hometown: Toronto, ON
Open Studies (3rd year)

Kings guard Efe Iyamu and the Kings Basketball team extended their winning streak to six games with victories over the Concordia University Thunder on Friday and The Kings University Eagles on Saturday. The Kings now sit in a three-way tie for first in the South Division with the St. Mary’s Lightning and the SAIT Trojans.

Iyamu played an important role in the Polytechnic’s win against the Thunder on Friday night. The guard from Toronto dropped an incredible 20 points in the first half of the game and finished with a career-high 28 points in the Kings 87-83 victory. Despite being held to just eight points in the second half, Iyamu finished 10-for-19 from the field and went five-for-eight from downtown Red Deer.

On Saturday night in the massive 116-83 victory over the Eagles, the Open Studies student-athlete had 11 points in 21 minutes played. He currently is averaging 16.4 points per game which is a team-high and is shooting 43 per cent from the field in his first season in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC).

The Kings will be in action for their final two games of the 2023 year this weekend. They will head to Olds College on Friday night to battle with the Broncos before heading back up to Red Deer for an 8 pm tip-off on Saturday for a rematch.

Congratulations Efe and welcome to RDP!

This Week in Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics

In the final week of regular season action of 2023, all Red Deer Polytechnic teams will be in action starting with the Queens Hockey team in Olds College on Thursday to take on the Broncos. The Queens will return to Red Deer on Friday for a rematch against the Broncos. In other hockey action, the Kings Hockey team will head out on the road for two games against the Briercrest College Clippers to close out the first half of the season.

The basketball teams will head down to Olds College to battle the Broncos on Friday before returning home on Saturday for the second game of the doubleheader.

In volleyball action, the Kings and Queens will also be on the road to close out the 2023 calendar year as they head down to Lethbridge College to take on the Kodiaks for two matches.

Lastly, the curling teams will make their 2023/2024 season debut this weekend as they compete in the Fall Regional hosted at the Lloydminster Golf & Curling Centre.

Please refer to the information below for more details regarding the weekend games and matches.

Basketball

Queens (8-0) vs Olds College Broncos (1-7)
• Friday, November 24 | 6 pm in Olds
• Saturday, November 25 | 6 pm in Red Deer

Coming off two victories over the Concordia University Thunder and The Kings University Eagles, the
Queens will look to take their undefeated season into the new year as they battle the Olds College Broncos this weekend. Last season in February, the Queens swept the season series against the Broncos with two victories.

Guard Sandra Garcia-Bernal had 13 points while playing all 40 minutes in the 79-71 victory. She followed this up with a double-double performance with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Spanish guard will be someone to watch in the next few games as she is currently 18 steals away from tying the all-time ACAC record of 350 that took the current record-holder Shea-Lynn Noyes 110 games to accomplish. Garcia-Bernal has played in a total of 88 games in her five-year career with RDP and is averaging eight steals per game this season. This past weekend she broke the ACAC single-game record for steals with 12 in the win against the Thunder.

The Queens will be in Olds on Friday night before heading back home for the second game against the Broncos which will close out the 2023 calendar year for both teams.

Kings (7-1) vs Olds College Broncos (3-5)
• Friday, November 24 | 8 pm in Olds
• Saturday, November 25 | 8 pm in Red Deer

Following two victories this past weekend, the Kings will put their six-game winning streak on the line as they face the Olds College Broncos on Friday and Saturday. In the pre-season, the Broncos gave the Polytechnic a run for their money and forced overtime. But the Kings came out on top with a 92-88 victory with centre Jose Mauro (Business Diploma) dropping 27 points and guard Tyrique Walters (Open Studies) scoring 17 points off the bench.

The Kings also swept the Broncos in the season series last February with two victories over the central
Alberta post-secondary school. Guard Eduardo Crespo (Business Diploma) finished the two games with match-highs in points with 22 in the 88-56 win and 29 in the 85-77 victory. After a game at Olds College on Friday night, the Kings will host the Broncos for a game that will tip-off at 8 pm in Red Deer.

Hockey

Queens (11-2) vs Olds College Broncos (2-10)
• Thursday, November 23 | 7 pm in Olds
• Friday, November 24 | 7 pm in Red Deer (Friends and Family night)

Like a lot of the teams inside RDP Athletics, the Queens Hockey team is also riding an impressive winning streak into the final week of game action of 2023. Following two losses against the Lakeland College Rustlers in the second week of the season, the Queens have won the next nine and now sit in first place in the conference. This winning streak includes three important wins over the NAIT Ooks.

The Queens will clash with the Olds College Broncos in their traditional Thursday evening game this week before playing in their final game of the 2023 year against the same Broncos. These two teams opened up the 2023/2024 season against each other with RDP coming out on top with a 3-0 win, backstopped by goaltender Tora Ward’s first ACAC shutout of her college career. Defence Kaedence Mollin (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) had a goal and an assist in the win. The puck will drop at 7 pm in both games.

Kings (4-6) at Briercrest College Clippers (8-2)
• Friday, November 24 | 6 pm
• Saturday, November 25 | 1 pm

After a week off from game action, the Kings will be rested and ready to get back into the win column this weekend. But it will not be easy as they will be on the road in Caronport, SK for both games against the Briercrest College Clippers this weekend. This road trip is never easy as it’s long and both games are less than 24 hours apart with the game on Friday commencing at 6 pm and the puck dropping on Saturday’s game at 1 pm.

The Clippers are going to be tough to beat with an 8-2 record so far this season. They currently sit in second place in the conference while the Kings have a 4-6 record and sit in fifth. On this road trip back in February, the Kings won both games and outscored the Clippers 8-6. RDP was actually victorious in all four games against Briercrest last season. The games can be live streamed on ACACTV.

Volleyball

Queens (7-2) at Lethbridge College Kodiaks (2-5)
• Friday, November 24 | 6 pm
• Saturday, November 25 | 1 pm

The Queens will head south for two matches against the Lethbridge College Kodiaks who will host the
ACAC Women’s Volleyball Championship in February 2024. The last time these two teams faced each other was at the ACAC Championship held at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre just a few months ago. The Queens and Kodiaks battled it out in the bronze medal with RDP coming out on top in the fifth set to cap off the season with a third-place finish.

Outside-hitter Jaiden Ferguson (Business Administration) finished with a match-high 25 kills with the Queens Athlete of the Week, Dani Wiens completing her season with a 24-assist performance.
Middle-blocker Autumn Roos (Bachelor of Education) sits in third place in the conference with 0.69 blocks per set with her teammate Rachel Perry coming in third in service aces, averaging 0.64 per set.
The matches can be live streamed on ACACTV at 6 pm on Friday and 1 pm on Saturday.

Kings (9-0) vs Lethbridge College Kodiaks (4-3)
• Friday, November 24 | 8 pm
• Saturday, November 25 | 3 pm

The Kings will join the Queens on the road trip down south to clash with the Lethbridge College Kodiaks who are coming off a tough road trip up north where they dropped two matches against the Keyano College Huskies and the Lakeland College Rustlers. The Kings have just played two matches in the last two weeks where they were victorious against The Kings University Eagles and most recently, the Concordia University Thunder.

In their two victories last November, the Kings did not drop a set against the Kodiaks. Outside-hitter Colby Nemeth (Bachelor of Commerce) led RDP’s offence with a total of 39 kills in the two matches with teammate Brett Lower (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) right behind him with 38. The Kings will have to keep their eyes out for Kodiaks outside-hitter Nolan Moes who is averaging 3.92 kills per set and sits in second in the conference in this category. Moes combined for 40 kills in the two losses
against RDP last season. The matches will start at 8 pm on Friday and 3 pm on Saturday.

Kings and Queens Curling (Fall Regional Bonspiel)

November 24-26 hosted by Lakeland College at the Lloydminster Golf & Curling Centre

The Red Deer Polytechnic Curling Club will slide into their 2023/2024 season debut this weekend as they compete at the Fall Regional Bonspiel held at the Lloydminster Golf & Curling Centre. Red Deer Polytechnic will compete in all three divisions this season: men’s, women’s and mixed. Head Coach Brad Hamilton expects all three teams to be competitive. The Fall Regional is the first of two
bonspiels the curling club will compete in with the second event taking place in January 2024.

After both events are finished, the top four teams from each division will move on to the ACAC Championships hosted by the SAIT Trojans in Airdrie from February 23-25. Stay tuned for the results on Sunday evening or check out www.acac.ab.ca for up-to-date results following each day of competition. All three teams will start at 3 pm on Friday afternoon.

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