It was another busy weekend for Red Deer Polytechnic’s Kings and Queens. Here’s a look at what went down. 

Rodeo

In RDP Royals action this past weekend in Fort Macleod, Cayden Nickel finished in second place on Sunday in Steer Wrestling with a time of 9.7 seconds. Nickel would also get second in Tie Down Roping on Saturday but would follow this performance up with an impressive 9.8-second finish on Sunday to finish in first place. 

 

Queens Basketball

The Queens saw the Ambrose University Lions on Friday and Saturday (October 27 ad 28th).

The Queens continued their winning ways as they used a strong push in the fourth quarter to defeat the Ambrose University Lions 80-57. Guard Sandra Garcia-Bernal (Educational Assistant) was awarded the player of the game with 10 points and 10 steals. With a total of 268 assists now in her career, Garcia-Bernal is the new RDP Women’s Basketball Assist record holder as she surpassed Jody Potts, who had 261 helpers in 61 games. 

And the ACAC regular season winning streak continues for the Queens as they now have stretched it to 16 consecutive games going back to last season with a low-scoring 66-45 victory over the Lions. It was slow start for both teams as the Queens had a 10-9 lead after the first quarter but both team’s offense picked up as the game went on especially in the fourth with the Polytechnic scoring 22 while holding the Lions to just five points. Forward Peighton Melton (Bachelor of Arts in Multidisciplinary Studies) had herself quite the night as she finished with 17 points, three steals and four rebounds in the win. 

 

Kings Basketball

The Kings also saw the Ambrose University Lions on Friday and Saturday (October 27 ad 28th).

The Kings used a strong second-half performance to defeat the Ambrose University Lions 88-65 and bounce back after a tough loss to the SAIT Trojans last Sunday. Guard Efe Iyamu (Open Studies) had an impressive night with 22 points and eight rebounds while playing 36 minutes. 

The Kings offense exploded on Saturday night in a very high scoring game in Calgary in their rematch against the Lions. RDP scored an outstanding 41 points off the bench. Twenty of those buckets came from guard Derrick Amponsa (Open Studies) who was awarded the player of the game in the Kings 110-98 victory. 

 

Queens Volleyball

The Queens saw the Ambrose University Lions on Friday and Saturday (October 27 ad 28th).

The Queens stayed undefeated on Friday night as they swept the Ambrose University Lions in three straight sets (25-23, 25-21, 25-19). On offense, the Queens were led by middle-blocker Autumn Roos (Bachelor of Education) who finished her night with nine kills. However, libero Frankie Sandini (Justice Studies) was awarded the player of the game for her outstanding performance on defense while digging up seven balls throughout the match. 

It was a tough Saturday for the Queens as they would drop their first match of the season to the Lions in four sets. The Polytechnic would go 2-0 in the match but they stayed in it by winning the third set. However, the Lions came ready to take the match in the fourth set and they did just that as they walked away with a 25-19 fourth set victory. Roos was awarded the player of the match with five kills to give her a total of 15 on the weekend. 

 

Kings Volleyball

The Kings also saw the Ambrose University Lions on Friday and Saturday (October 27 ad 28th).

The Kings would follow suit and defeat the Ambrose University Lions in three straight sets as well (29-27, 25-20, 25-19). On offence, the Kings were led by outside-hitter Noah Carlson who had 13 kills for a kill percentage of .407 in the match. But the offence couldn’t have been run more efficiently without setter Tom Wass (Open Studies) who finished the three-set match with an impressive 31 assists. He was named player of the match. 

They would take this momentum into Saturday nights rematch against the Lions and walk away with a victory. But Ambrose University did take a set off RDP as the vistors won 25-23 in the second. The Kings would take the next two sets to win the match in four. Middle-blocker Spencer Purdie (Open Studies) was awarded the player of the match with nine kills and two blocks. 

 

Queens Hockey

The Queens saw the Medicine Hat College Rattlers on Friday and Saturday (October 27 ad 28th).

The Queens offense was on fire in their inaugural weekend in Medicine Hat, when they battled with the Rattlers. The Polytechnic managed to score 12 goals and just allowed one. Goaltender Izzy Palumbo earned her first shutout of the season stopping all 17 shots she faced. 

In the 5-0 victory on Friday night, forward Molly Flynn (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) was awarded the player of the game for her grit and effort in the win. Forward Alli Soyko (Bachelor of Education) took home the honours on Saturday afternoon with a goal and an assist in the 7-1 victory. In the two games, Soyko finished the weekend with four points, two goals and two assists and forward Jenna Sellen (Bachelor of Education) also had four points with all of them being assists 

 

Kings Hockey

The Kings saw they Portage College Voyageurs on Friday and Saturday (October 27 ad 28th).

On Friday night, the Kings would give up the first goal but countered with seven consecutive goals to defeat the Portage College Voyageurs 7-1. In this blowout, forward Erik Miller (Bachelor of Business Administration) had a hat trick and an assist. He was named the player of the game. 

It was a much closer contest on Saturday afternoon with the Kings defeating the Voyageurs 3-2. Forward Hayden Clayton was the hero with his goal in the second period and was named the player of the game for his heroics. 

With his four-point performance on Friday night, Miller was the team leader this past weekend despite being held off the scoresheet on Saturday afternoon. 

 

Kings and Queens Cross-Country

The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Queens Cross-Country teams came up just short of their goals in Lethbridge at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Championships as they were both up against a very strong SAIT Trojans team. However, the Kings and Queens still were able to come home with a silver medal and have now booked their ticket to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships in Truro, Nova Scotia from November 10-11, 2023. 

Justine Larson (Bachelor of Education) continued to lead the Queens as she was once again the top finisher for her team, placing sixth with a time of 25:33 which was 46 seconds faster than her time at the Grand Prix event that was hosted on the same course. The next Queens runners to cross the finish line to round out the top three on the team were Myah Cota (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and Georgia Sawchuk (Bachelor of Arts in Psychology). Cota finished in eighth with a time of 26:11 and 19 seconds later Sawchuk crossed the line to finish in ninth. 

On the men’s side, Dan Szucs (Bachelor of Business Administration) ran his best race of the season after battling with a lingering foot injury as he finished in fourth overall which was almost two minutes faster than his time at the Lethbridge College Grand Prix. Ben House (Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences) was the next runner to cross the finish line with a time of 27:21 to finish in fifth. Rounding out the top three runners for the Kings was Jordan Coen (Bachelor of Kinesiology) in eighth, 24 seconds behind House. 

The season is not done there as the Polytechnic’s Cross-Country team will now prepare to travel out east to compete at the CCAA National Championships in Nova Scotia in two weeks.

Stay tuned to our social media platforms for an announcement about the awards the Cross-Country team won over the weekend. 

You can read more about Red Deer Polytechnic’s athletics by clicking here.