Sports hall unveils class of ’17
HALL INDUCTEES FOR 2017 NAMED; MCALLISTER AND STEACY SELECTED SPORTS PERSONS OF THE YEAR
This year’s Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. The 2017 inductees represent 32 years of recognizing the sports achievements in Lethbridge and the region. Rob Kossuth, chair for the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame, said the public is invited to send in nominations for athletes, builders, special awards, and team awards.
“It’s important that we keep a record of what people and teams have done,” he said.
This year’s inductees include:
Team:
• The 1985 Lethbridge Senior Little League Baseball Team, which won the Senior Little League Prairies and Canadian Championships, and represented Canada at the 1985 Senior Little League World Series in Gary, Ind.
Athletes:
• Mike Mezei, one of the city’s most successful golfers who competed as an amateur between 1997 and 2005, and then professionally until 2013.
• Stacy Roest, a Coaldale native who enjoyed a long hockey career in North America and Europe. Roest spent four years in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild before heading to Europe to play nine years with Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Swiss National League.
Builder:
• Morgan Munroe, who spent 15 years with the CCH football team and had a distinguished career as a basketball official.
Special:
• Knud Petersen, a volunteer in Lethbridge who distinguished himself as coach, official, administrator, founder, and fundraiser. He has been heavily involved in local soccer for many years and also with the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame as treasurer for many years.
Additionally, the Kinsmen Sports Persons of the Year were announced on Tuesday.
Ashley Steacy was a member of the Canadian Sevens Rugby Team that captured the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She played her university rugby at the U of L and led the team to three national titles from 2007 to 2009.
Zack McAllister was a swimmer at the 2016 Rio Paralympics who made the finals in both the 100-metre and 50-metre events, as well as a seventh-place finish with the 4x100-metre relay. He is the first U of L swimmer to make an Olympic team.
Kossuth said people may be surprised about the calibre of athletes produced in Lethbridge, as well as the people who work hard behind the scenes to make sure these opportunities exist.
He added recognition is not something most members of the Hall are looking for.
“I bet if you were to ask the people who were being inducted, they wouldn’t see (recognition) as the primary focus, but I think when we can look up to certain individuals and groups, and see what they are doing to inspire us to continue what we are doing.”
Petersen joked he finds the time to be involved in so many projects by “inventing another day of the week.”
“It’s a day I used to go for coffee with my friends,” he said.
Petersen said he became involved in youth sports when his children started showing interest.
“When the kids got old enough to participate, I found the time to do it,” he said. “I saw the fruits of kids being involved in sports. That’s my biggest motivator.”
Petersen said he subscribes to the idea of “healthy bodies, healthy minds” and that examples of this can be seen at the university level.
“You look at university and college sports, and there are some outstanding students among the athletes,” he said.
“It’s not just a bunch of jocks out there. How active they are in athletics and physical activity really defines their futures. One of my biggest beefs is that there is not a lot of emphasis on physical education at the school level. I think that’s a real sad story.”
The Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet will take place May 6 at the Enmax Centre.
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