Community roundup: 3 Silvertips earn gold at junior worlds

It may have come seven months later than expected, but three members of the Everett Silvertips organization have claimed gold.

Defensemen Olen Zellweger and Ronan Seeley and head coach Dennis Williams were members of the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships which were held Aug. 9-20 in Edmonton, Alberta. The tournament was postponed from January, when it had to be shut down because of a coronavirus outbreak.

Zellweger was one of the tournament’s stars, leading all defensemen in scoring with 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in seven games. The 18-year-old from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, had an assist on Canada’s second goal in the gold-medal game as the Canadians topped Finland 3-2 in overtime. He also finished first in the tournament in plus/minus at plus-14. He was named one of Canada’s top three players in the tournament along with forwards Mason McTavish and Logan Stankoven.

Seeley, a 20-year-old from Olds, Alberta, was also one of Canada’s stalwart blueliners. He registered four assists in the seven games and finished a plus-10.

Williams served as one of Canada’s assistant coaches.

Also among Silvertips at the tournament, former Everett defenseman Kasper Puutio had four goals and three assists in seven games in helping the Finns take silver, while center Michal Gut had three goals and two assists in seven games for a Czechia team that placed fourth.

Reif prevails in ARCA race at Evergreen

Tanner Reif of Henderson, Nevada, took the checkered flag in the ARCA Menards Series West’s NAPA Auto Parts 150, which took place Saturday on the 5/8-mile track at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe.

Reif edged Sunrise Ford Racing teammate Jake Drew for the victory in the 1,000th race of the touring series that features some of the best stock car drivers in the west. Drew had won the series’ previous three races. The victory was Reif’s second of the season. Joey Iest finished third.

Also contested Saturday was the Central Welding Supply 125, one of Evergreen’s premier races for Pro Late Models (Evergreen’s top class) which was run on the 3/8-mile track. Thomas Stanford beat out Naima Lang to move ahead of Lang into first place in the standings by a single point with just one race remaining. Daniel Moore finished third.

Markovc places fifth at European Championships

Glacier Peak High School graduate Amy-Eloise (Neale) Markovc, who represents Great Britain internationally, placed fifth in the women’s 5,000 meters at the European Athletics Championships held Aug. 15-21 in Munich, Germany.

Markovc completed the race in a time of 15 minutes, 8.75 seconds. The race was won by Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen in 14:50.47.

Markovc is the reigning European indoor champion in the 3,000.

Luton re-signed by NFL’s Jaguars

A week after being cut, former Marysville Pilchuck High School star quarterback Jake Luton is back with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars as he was re-signed Tuesday.

Luton, originally a sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft by Jacksonville, was waived last week as the Jaguars trimmed their roster from 90 to 85 players. However, quarterback C.J. Beathard is still trying to recover from a hamstring injury, and starter Trevor Lawrence isn’t expected to play in Jacksonville’s final preseason game Saturday at Atlanta. Therefore, Luton an undrafted rookie E.J. Perry will share the snaps against the Falcons.

Gaye named preseason All-SEC in football

Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate Ali Gaye, now a senior defensive end on the LSU football team, was named to the Preseason Coaches All-Southeastern Conference second team.

Gaye was second-team All-SEC in 2020, but injuries limited him to four games last season, when he recorded 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks. After the season he chose to return for a fifth year of college football rather than enter the NFL draft.

Fifita tagged for Polynesian college football award

Glacier Peak High School graduate Ma’ake Fifita, now a sophomore offensive lineman on the Washington State University football team, was named to the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award watch list.

Fifita, who is of Tongan descent, appeared in all 13 of the Cougars’ games last season, including five starts. He was one of 85 players from FBS schools named to the watch list.

Mariner H.S. cheer excels at camp

The Mariner High School cheer and dance team took home several awards from the Universal Cheerleaders Association camp that took place on July 25-28 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma.

Competing in the Traditional Small Varsity division, Mariner earned first place in Camp Dance and received a first-place Superior trophy, while also taking second in Overall Game Day and Game Day Cheer. Individually, John Vesin and Lilly Chambers earned Pin It Forward awards and were invited to try out for the Universal Cheerleaders Association. Vesin, Chambers, Ja’Kyrie Wheeler and Leili Nurieva were named All-Americans.

Other members of the team include Keioria Brown, Samaria Abraham, Daniela Peinado, Amira Zerahaimanot, Raquel Renander and Jayleen Guevara-Cruz. They are coached by Katrina Craddock.

If you have an item for the community sports roundup, email Nick Patterson at npatterson@heraldnet.com.