Rustlers Weekend Recap - January 19, 2026
Rustlers Athletics picked up victory after victory on the busiest weekend of the season.
Almost every squad competed in the past few days, whether at home or on the road. Two sports, Curling and Futsal, had critical regional competitions to attempt to qualify for the postseason.
Rustlers Curling
Curling was in Edmonton for their Winter Regional, which solidified the playoff picture for the ACAC Championship. The men's team had a 2-3 record, which wasn't enough to hang on to the fourth spot, but the women mixed squads each went 4-2. Combined with their performances in the Fall Regional, they finish third in league standings and will compete at the Conference Championship Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at Portage College.
Rustlers Futsal
Women's and men's futsal traveled to Fort McMurray for their first regional, matched up against the host Keyano Huskies, the King's Eagles and the Portage Voyageurs. The women tied the hosts 2-2, defeated the Voyageurs 5-1 and lost to the Eagles 1-2, giving them a record of 1-1-1, good for third, while the men fared slightly better, losing to the Huskies 2-3, and winning against Portage and TKU 6-0 and 7-4. The men are sitting in second place, but both teams will need to continue to perform in February to qualify for the postseason, when they face these teams again.
Rustlers Hockey
Women's hockey was also on the road for a pair of games against the Olds Broncos, winning 5-2 and 9-0. Several players had a multi-point weekend, led by Addison Eurich with three assists on Friday and a hattrick on Saturday. This improves the Rustlers to 16-1, leaving them a firm grip on first in the ACAC standings.
Rustlers Basketball
Lakeland's basketball teams faced the King's Eagles, a very different set of matchups for the weekend. The women's team from TKU currently sits atop the ACAC standings, while the Rustlers men faced a lower ranked Eagles squad, but with key players Baha Salma and David Dimaano sitting out with injuries.
In the women's games, the more physical Eagles prevailed 83-37 and 74-29. Declynn Wood and Sadie Spenrath with the leading scorers of the respective games with 11 and 10 points, while on Friday, Reese Fenrich had 10 points and 15 rebounds. The men's team faced a stern effort from the Eagles both nights but won 85-76 and 81-69. Taleh Wade had a game high 23 points Friday, while Jordan Horobetz-Simpson had 23 points and 12 rebounds the following evening at home. This improves the Rustlers men to 11-3, still good for first in the ACAC North.
Rustlers Volleyball
Finally, men's and women's volleyball also had a home and away with the Eagles. The men were in desperate need of two victories to keep their playoff hopes alive, while the women were looking to extend their winning streak to five matches.
Each women's match was a dominant, 3-0 affair (25-18, 25-18, 25-17 and 25-12, 25-14, 25-18). Avery Bates and Carly Hawryluk combined for 49 kills over the weekend, as the Rustlers improve to one win back of the fourth place NWP Wolves, their next opponent on Jan. 30.
The men were pushed a little harder by the Eagles, but still came away 3-1 and 3-0 wins (25-27, 25-20, 25-23, 26-24 and 25-23, 25-22, 25-22). Izmo Ueda and Noah Alexander each had 20 kills over the two matches, while middle Noah Espetveidt had 10 blocks. They now sit two wins back of a postseason birth.
What's Coming Up
This week is a quieter one for Lakeland Athletics, though there's still a few events to attend. This Wednesday is Bell Let's Talk Day, with festivities being held in the cafeteria on Lloydminster Campus. Then women's hockey make their home return Jan. 23 against the NAIT Ooks. Puck drop is at 7:15 pm in the Cenovus Energy Hub, with the teams playing again the following evening in Edmonton at 6:00 pm.