Author: Marty Hastings

It seems fitting to pen a column on Megan Pretorius in a Chronicle sports section that includes an article on superb swimmer Mia Wittal. They share trajectory and pedigree, albeit in separate sports, and are among the most promising young athletes in the Tournament Capital. Pretorius landed on my radar last year when my mountain-bike-loving-cousin…

Mia Wittal put an exclamation point on an extraordinary period of her young career at the B.C. Summer Swimming Championships last month at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre. The 13-year-old Kamloops Classic Swimming athlete racked up five medals — two gold, one silver and two bronze — and broke four club records at the meet.…

Logan Stankoven rampaged through the playoffs and cemented his place among Kamloops hockey royalty, becoming the first player from the city to hoist the Stanley Cup since Mark Recchi in 2011. “It just didn’t feel real,” said Stankoven, whose Carolina Hurricanes knocked off the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 last month in the Cup final series.…

Elijah Olaybal is bringing undeniable enthusiasm into his ball club, the Kamloops NorthPaws’ rookie outfielder happy to demonstrate potential home-run celebrations upon request. “I might blank out and just start screaming, just throwing everything,” he said while waving his arms wildly. “You guys will see that in person, for sure.” Olaybal will have ample opportunity…

Logan Stankoven may soon parade down Victoria Street holding the Stanley Cup. “It’s what you dream of as a kid — to hoist that Cup some day — and to have your name on that Cup,” said Stankoven, the 5-foot-8 Carolina Hurricanes’ forward from Kamloops. “It’s great to have that in the back of your…

Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes is an early candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy, which is handed to the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Adding to the weight of his breakout performance in Round 1 — four goals and five points in four games in a sweep of the Ottawa Senators — is his physical condition heading into the series. “I was in bed…

Teenage Dream, a 2010 dance-pop number by Katy Perry, was the anthem last season. This year, the provincials-bound Westsyde Whundas’ senior boys basketball team jams to a 2012 Carly Rae Jepsen joint. “Every time we win, we play Call Me Maybe and sing along to it,” Whundas’ shooting guard Jaren Porter said. Those tracks are…

Recently disbanded Team Brown will be remembered among the greatest Kamloops curling rinks. With a history of covering skip Corryn Brown, third Erin Pincott, and lead Samantha Fisher that dates back to the early 2010s (when they were Justin Bieber-loving teenagers), I’ve been looking forward to sharing a few words on my professional relationship with…

The Kamloops Storm have never won the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League title. They are positioned well to change that dubious fact this season, sitting atop league standings as of the Chronicle’s publication deadline and running away with the Doug Birks Division. The Storm — who have been to the final four times since the…