Branning, a Central grad and sophomore with the University of Regina Cougars, ran 21.97 seconds in the men’s 200 metres final on Saturday in Swift Current to take silver behind Manitoba’s Luc Deleau.
And sure enough it was an epic battle right to the finish line – Branning finished only three hundredths of a second behind Deleau’s 21.94 and 12 hundredths ahead of bronze medalist Seb Regnier from Manitoba.
Branning went into the final with the top time in the heats at 22.47 seconds.
Peacock grad Camryn Gillies was also back in action Saturday, finishing eighth in the 800 metres in a time of 2:33.30. Saskatoon’s Jasmine Fehr won gold, crossing the line in 2:12.76.
Moose Jaw Kinsmen Wrestling Club competitor Alexis Bradish will be coming home with a medal from the Western Canada Summer Games.
The only question remaining is which colour.
Bradish and her Team Sask teammates sat tied for first place with Alberta in the womens’ dual meet competition, with both teams holding perfect 4-0 records heading into the final match between each other Saturday night.
The first-year standout did her part in a commanding 43-6 win over Manitoba earlier in the day, defeating Myhalia Taylor by pinfall 52 seconds into their 65-kg bout to pick up five points for her team.
Fellow Moose Jaw competitors Payton Kell and Kyle Yamniuk didn’t have as much luck as each picked up a loss in a heartbreaking 26-25 loss to Manitoba.
Kell saw his first action on the mats in the 39-42 kg class after three earlier byes and lost by technical fall 14-4 to Ebraheim Alder.
Yamniuk found himself in a close 63-kg battle with Samuel Pereira and lost by decision 8-3.
The men’s dual meet team holds a 3-1 record heading into their match with unbeaten Alberta (4-0) later in the day.
With the final day of competition on the horizon, Saskatchewan has all but locked up second place in the Western Canada Summer Games medal standings with 52 gold, 61 silver and 61 bronze for 174 total. Alberta will take first place, sitting at 101 gold, 82 silver and 252 medals total while Manitoba will finish third with 40 gold, 50 silver and 140 medals.
