Mills qualifies for PGA playoffs

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Jon Mills has qualified for the PGA playoffs for the first time.

The 30-year-old Oshawa native, in his second go-round on the PGA Tour, currently sits 137th in the FedEx Cup standings, meaning he's among the 144 invited to this week's Barclays tournament at the Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey, the first round of playoffs.

Mills remained among the top-144 this past weekend, when he finished tied for 30th at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina. He carded rounds of 68-69-65-68 to finish 10-under-par, 11 strokes back of winner Carl Pettersson.

He will now have to play his way into the top-120 in order to continue on to the second round, the Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston the following weekend.

The top-30 will ultimately play in the final round, the Tour Championship Sept. 25-28 in Atlanta.

Mills will still have as many as seven tournaments after the playoffs in order to work his way up to the top-125 on the money list, which would allow him to retain his card for 2009. He currently sits 136th with $489,510 in earnings this season.

Mills has enjoyed a much more productive and consistent season than he did in 2006, when he failed to retain his card, but he's still looking for his first career top-10 finish.

He has made the cut 16 times in 24 events, including nine of the last 10, and has cracked the top-20 four times.

Turul turns it on for the scouts

SAGINAW, Mich. -- The Oshawa Turul 1992 girls' soccer team made quite an impression at the annual North American College Showcase recently.

About 25 coaches from both Canadian and U.S. schools were on hand and 10 teams competed in the U-16 division that the Turul was part of.

The Turul team went undefeated in three games, winning their first game against Vardar FC Orange 3-1 and then prevailing 2-1 over the favourite Gators FC, who have 10 players in the Michigan state program and five on the Olympic Development program.

In the final game, Turul won 7-0 against Vadar FC Red.

"It's not about winning cups or trophies but giving the players the opportunities to advance their education, be it at a Canadian or U.S. school through scholarship offers," said Turul head coach John Brown. "With the feedback we got back this weekend was a complete success and we plan to play in more of these showcase tournaments in the future."

Soccer teams kicks it up a notch

OTTAWA -- An Oshawa team put the Kick in the 'Kickin' in the Capital Tournament' held in Ottawa recently.

The Oshawa Kicks Under-11 boys' team, to be precise.

The boys went undefeated through the rounds before beating the Ottawa Royals A team 1-0 in a hard fought semifinal game.

Oshawa then met the Nepean Warriors in the final, where they won an exciting game 1-0. The boys played a very disciplined system throughout the tournament scoring 14 goals and allowing only one goal against in five matches.

The Kicks U11 team is currently in first place in their division in the CESL, having lost only one game thus far.

Team members include Brady Baker, Ori Black, Cole Creary, Ashon Elliott, Matthew Koziarski, Justen Long, Marco Pereira, Gianni Romano, Kadeem Small, Daniel Talman, Matthew Whalen, Hunter Hyland, Cole Brown-LaFoy.

Coaches are Stu Creary, Gary Talman and manager Kristine Talman. Nina Romano from State Farm Insurance is the team's sponsor.

Royals head back to the Nationals

BRANDON, Man. -- The Oshawa Royals hope to take at least one step forward and reach the medal podium when they compete at the Baseball Canada Senior Men Championship for a second straight year.

The Royals qualified for the Aug. 21-24 tournament in Manitoba by finishing a close second to Windsor at the Senior A Provincial Championships in Windsor recently.

The Royals rolled to a 6-0 start with wins over Leaside Leafs, Ajax Spartans, St. Catharines Metros, Thornhill Reds, Windsor Stars and Markham Pioneers before losing two tough games to the host team in the finals.

It was only fitting that the Royals and Stars were the two teams standing at the end of the marathon weekend, which featured 21 teams from across the province. The Royals and Stars have played four times this season with three games decided in extra innings.

Oshawa hopes to get another chance against the Stars in Brandon.

The Royals were led by their signature precision pitching and outstanding defence and managed to capitalize on key scoring opportunities to reach the final. Matt McGovern was especially dominant, throwing two complete game shutouts, including a 16-strikeout gem in the tourney opener against Leaside.

Shane Quinn also threw a complete game six-hitter against Windsor in the preliminary rounds, outduelling John Picco (widely regarded the best amateur pitcher in Canada) in a 2-1 win.

Ken Rogers led the team offensively with a great tournament at the plate.

Having finished fourth at the nationals last year, coach Ryan McBride expects to win Oshawa's first ever medal, at any age group, at a National Championship.

In just their third year of existence, the Royals head to Brandon with 29-9 record this season and a 121-32 franchise mark.

Pony Club members compete for spots at Regionals

BROOKLIN -- Here are results from the third Central Ontario Qualifier for the Regional Show Jumping Finals, held recently at Springfield Stables Riding Academy, hosted by the Brooklin Pony Club.

Selection for the Regionals are based on scores achieved at this meet and two other qualifiers, one held in June and the other in July.

In this show, three divisions of Pre-Entry riders competed in two classes each: a single round plus jump-off class, and a medal class judged on equitation both over fences and at various gaits on the flat. The higher divisions competed in three classes each, a single round plus jump-off class, a power and speed class and a medal class, to determine a champion and a reserve in each division.

Pre-Entry Division A-2

In the single round with jump-off class, the winner was Michael McLachlan of the Brooklin Pony Club, riding Nevada. Second place went to Rachel Scott of the Victoria Pony Club on Peanut, with Victoria Odell of Brooklin taking third place on Simply Sassy. McLachlan also won the medal class, with Scott again second, and Michelle Treen of the Durham Pony club third aboard Darnet Garnet. McLachlan was the division champion, with Scott the reserve.

Pre-Entry Division B

In Class 1, the single round with jump-off, Anna Toaze of the Oshawa Pony Club took the honours on Driving Miss Daisy, with Dalton Wright of the Durham Pony Club second on Pollyanna and Sunny Willert of the Maple Pony Club third riding Pico. Toaze also won Class 2, the medal class, with Wright second and Kaisha Barber of the Ajax Pony Club third aboard Sundance. Champion Toaze, reserve was Wright.

Pre-Entry Schooling Division

Class 1, the single round with jump-off class, was won by Jessica Lloyd of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club on Crusher. Andrea McGill of Durham took second aboard Roll the Dice, with Jane Stephenson of Uxbridge-Scugog third riding Irish Park's Turf Fire. In the medal class, McGill took top spot, with Lloyd second and Nicole Russell-Poliquin of Oshawa third on Everybody Loves Raymond. McGill was champion, with Lloyd the reserve.

Entry Division (First Qualifying Level)

Emily White-Williams of the Maple Pony Club took first place in the single round with jump-off class on Sweet Judy Blue Eye, with Stacy Bootsma of the Rising Star Pony Club second riding Reesez Piecez and Maggie Brims of the Whitchurch Pony Club third on M and M. Bootsma won the power and speed class, with Jenna Meeser of Rising Star second riding In the Ribbons, and Taylor Ryan of Whitchurch third on Sammy's Girl. In Class 3, the medal class, Brims finished first, with Bootsma second and Meeser third. Champion was Bootsma and reserve was Brims.

Starter Division

In the single round with jump-off class, the winner was Kassandra Sloan of the Oshawa Pony Club on Finders Keepers. Sarah Smith of the Maple Pony Club was second riding Mad About You, and third place went to another Maple Rider, Shay Lucas on Father Christmas. Samantha Lobbezoo of Brooklin won Class 2, the power and speed class, aboard Ride 'Em Harley Style, with Kendra Abbey of Uxbridge-Scugog second on Willow, and Sloan third. Sloan won Class 3, the medal class, with second place going to Smith and third to Abbey. Champion was Sloan, reserve was Smith.

Beginner Division

Kristina Brown of the Maple Pony Club took first place in the single round with jump-off class riding Serendipity, with Karly Coles of the Brooklin Pony Club second on Rock Bottom and Carrie Doorenspleet of Durham third aboard Gold Rush Frontier. Brown also won Class 2, the power and speed class, Patrick Kosa of the Whitchurch Pony Club taking second spot on Milo, and Hanna Peach of Whitchurch third riding Oliver. Brown completed her sweep by taking the honours in Class 3, the medal class, with Peach second, and Kataryna Borysiak of Oshawa third on Midnight Magic. Champion was Brown, reserve was Borysiak.

Novice Division

Stephanie Rutherford of the Oshawa Pony Club took the honours in the single round with jump-off class aboard Royal Court Jester, with Jessica McVittie of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club second riding Cute as a Button, and Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa third on Mya. In the power and speed class, McKeen was first, McVittie second and Rutherford third. McKeen again finished first in the medal class, with Rutherford second and McVittie third. Champion was McKeen, reserve was Rutherford.

Intermediate Division

Andrea McGill of Durham won Class 1, the single round with jump-off, this time riding Phoenix, with Kyra Holmes of Maple second on Heart and Soul. The order of finish was the same in the power and speed class, but reversed in the medal class. McGill was champion, Holmes was reserve.