8 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014 A smashing victory Badminton duo wins national title By EDRICK DUDANG t took eight years, but the Langara Falcons badminton team has once again brought home national gold after beating teams from around the country in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championships in Edmonton on March 1. The team performed remarkably as the Falcons’ Nathan Choi and Ashley Jang won gold in the mixed doubles di- vision, Matt Chan won silver in men’s singles and Shurman Chan and Hugh Leung won silver in men’s doubles. Both Choi and Jang faced tough com- petition to win gold. Battling Humber College for first place, the duo won the tight first set 21-17. They improved on that in the second set, winning 21-16 to bag the gold medal in straight sets. “The feeling that I had after Nathan and I won the fi- nals’ match point was beyond imag- inable. I felt my heart stop,” Jang said. “It was one of those few mo- ments in life that is MARC PETREMAN CCAA badminton coach of the year never _ forgotten, where my breath was completely taken away.” According to the CCAA, the men’s singles was the “most anticipated” match of the tournament. Falcons’ Matt Chan faced off against Lei Chen from the Alberta Collegiate Athletic Confer- ence for gold. The two provincial cham- pions played a close first set, with Chan losing 21-16. But the ACAC’s champion, Chen, broke away in the second set, winning 21-9 and secured his national title. Langara’s men’s duo of Chan and Leung fought hard against their rivals from Douglas College in the finals. De- spite beating them at provincials, the NATIONL CHAMPINS BONNIE CHENG photo Nathan Choi and Ashley Jang claim their title after winning straight sets. Falcons lost to the Royals in three sets, 21-19, 16-21 and 21-16. “They worked hard all year and all deserved their spot at nationals,” said assistant coach Bonnie Cheng. “The team was as prepared as they can be.” Langara’s star players weren’t the only ones to walk away with star recog- nition. Falcons’ head coach Marc Petre- man was named CCAA’s badminton coach of the year. EDITOR TRICIA LO SS poris Langara grad's run gig turns 10 Hudson credits Langara for preparing him to launch his organization By MEGAN BOBETSIS Try Events hosted its first ever Vancouver Hot Chocolate Run on March 1. Participants chose between a five- kilometre or 10.4-kilometre route, and every person at the Stanley Park Pavil- lion to cross the finish line won a med- al. Hudson said that is what makes his event different from others. “Everybody’s a winner,” Hudson said. “For me, that [five-kilometre run] is somebody’s marathon - everybody deserves a medal when they achieve their fitness goal.” Hudson and his then partner, Pat Palmiere, founded Try Events 10 years ago to take advantage of the Lower Mainland’s beautiful scenery and dedi- cated running communities. “lve always had a passion for health and fitness, so my goal has always been to be in that sort of industry and help people reach their fitness goals,” Hud- son said. Hudson said the courses he took at Langara in health and fitness and small business management were his first stepping stones toward creating Try Events. “If people are interested in getting into event management, the Key is defi- nitely having your knowledge back- ground,” Hudson said. “It’s important to take the courses you need to take in order to get a good strong base.” Try Events hosts an average of eight events per year in locations like White Rock and Burnaby Lake. Hudson said the events are a charity platform for organizations to fundraise and create awareness. The organiza- tion has already donated more than $75,000 to charities. Le alumnus Mitchell Hudson’s MITCHELL HUDSON Co-founder of Try Events 66 Everybody deserves a gold medal when they achieve their fitness goal Next Runs GREEN SOCK HALF & SHAMROCK'N RACE Sunday, March 16 at Burnaby Lake Clubhouse Half marathon, 7 Milers and 5K distances Start time: 9 a.m. MOTHER DUCKY HALF Sunday, May 11 at Burnaby Lake Clubhouse Half marathon, 7 Milers and 5K distances Start time: 9 a.m. CANADA DAY ROCK Tuesday, July 1st at Semiahmoo Park 10K and 5K distances Start time: 8 a.m. B.C.'s hoops champs shoot for national gold 66 We area team hungry for a national champi- onship. A provincial champion- ship is a stepping stone to our team’s ultimate goal ELLIOT MASON Falcons score 36 points in the fourth quarter to pull off come-from-behind win By LESLIE KAM nationals after defeating the Vic- toria Island University Mariners 90-84 to win the PacWest provincial basketball championship for a second consecutive time. The Falcons returned to the provin- cial finals March 1 after a nearly per- fect regular season, finishing 20-1 to tie the PacWest record they set last year. Langara’s reigning _ provincial champs opened the weekend at Doug- las College with a 97-76 win over the Capilano Blues in the semi-finals be- fore taking on the 2013 Canadian Col- legiate Athletic Association national champions. In the provincial gold medal rematch against the VIU Mariners, the Falcons stormed out to an early 12-point lead. Brody Greig weaved past the de- fence in the first quarter to score eight of his 33 points. Greig finished with eight rebounds, five assists and the honour of tournament MVP. Despite poor shooting in the second quarter, Langara held onto the lead un- til VIU gained momentum in the last five minutes of the first half. T: Langara Falcons are heading to Brandon Jones, Mariners guard and league leader in points shrugged off his slow start and began piling up his game total of 32 points and 18 rebounds. After Liam Horne capped off VIU’s 22-3 run with a buzzer-beating, one- handed, three-point heave, Langara headed into halftime down 48-38. Both teams continued to trade blows in the third quarter, but the Falcons started to pull away in the fourth. Langara’s Elliot Mason stepped up to score 15 of his 19 points to take the lead. “He hit some key [shots], a couple of threes just at the right time to get the momentum in our favour. It was huge,” said Langara coach Paul Eberhardt. VIU kept it close, but the 36 points they allowed in the fourth quarter made it too difficult for the Mariners to overcome. Langara will be heading to the CCAA national tournament at Quest Univer- sity in Squamish as the No. 1 team in the country. After taking the bronze last year, the Falcons are aiming for gold. “We are a team hungry for a national championship,” Mason said. “A provincial championship is a step- ping stone to our team’s ultimate goal.” Coach Eberhardt agreed. “It’s going to be tough, but our goal is to bring back that national champion- ship to Langara.” LESLIE KAM photo Langara men’s basketball team hoist their provincial trophy in celebration.