The following athletes have been nominated for the Sask Sport Inc. May Athlete of the Month Award:

• Team Saskatchewan, Youth Darts. Team Saskatchewan's Youth Darts team captured the bronze medal at the Nodor Cup in Winnipeg as they competed against provincial teams from across Canada. The team later earned bronze at the Canada Cup event, which was also held in Winnipeg, where they once again competed against teams from every province. The team was nominated by the Saskatchewan Darts Association.

• Alexandra Wrubleski, 24, Regina. As a member of Team Canada, Wrubleski finished in fourth place out of 142 cyclists at the Tour de Berne race on the World Cup tour, ranking her seventh overall in the world. Her finish secured her one of the three spots available on the Canadian Cycling Women's Olympic Team. Wrubleski finished in fifth place at the Tour de L'Aude in France out of 105 cyclists from 14 countries, and she finished in 20th place at the Montreal World Cup against 123 cyclists from 13 countries. She was nominated by the Saskatchewan Cycling Association.

• Danette Doetzel, 25, Macklin. Doetzel captured gold in the 10,000m event at the NCAA Big East Championships in Villanova, Pennsylvania, breaking a 27-year-old Saskatchewan Native and Open record in the process. She is also the current holder of the Senior Women's 5,000m event in Saskatchewan. Doetzel was nominated by Saskatchewan Athletics.

• Sam Valentine, 13, Saskatoon. Valentine won three gold medals - in the 1m, 3m, and platform diving events - at the Hilary Grivich Memorial Invitational in Houston, Texas in May. Ten top ranked junior level athletes from New Zealand and Texas competed in each of his events. Valentine dominated each of the competitions, and he recorded near perfect scores in the platform event. He was nominated by Saskatchewan Diving Inc.

• Jessica Guenther, 16, Saskatoon. At the National Team Trials in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Guenther finished in the top 10 out of the 32 high performance swimmers who were chosen as members of the Synchro Canada National Junior Team. She was one of only three swimmers selected from Western Canada to join the team. Guenther also competed at the Canadian Open Synchronized National Swimming Championships, where her team, the Saskatoon Aqualenes, captured the silver medal. She also finished in fourth in the Tier 7 Junior Figures and seventh in the Tier 7 Junior Solo events. Her accomplishments have earned her a spot at the XI FINA World Junior Synchro Championships in Russia this July. Guenther was nominated by Synchro Saskatchewan.

• Ilana Duff, 22, Saskatoon. As a member of the Cyclones Road and Track Club, Duff captured two gold medals and a fourth place finish at the Daniela Jutzeler Memorial competition in Ibach, Switzerland. At the Bahnmeeting Muttenz 2008 competition in Switzerland, she won a gold and bronze medal and a fifth place finish, and she also earned three gold medals at the Dogwood Meet in Victoria, BC. Each of her gold medals set Canadian Wheelchair Athletics records, and three of the first place finishes were personal best times. Her accomplishments have earned her a spot on Team Canada's Beijing Paralympics team. She was nominated by Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports.

• Team Saskatchewan, Hockey. Team Saskatchewan, which consisted of 22 members, earned gold at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in May. Three Team Saskatchewan members were also named All-Stars at the event. A total of 10 teams, representing nine Canadian provinces, participated in the competition. The team was nominated by the Saskatchewan Hockey Association.

• Henry Pan, 16, Saskatoon. At the Junior National Singles Badminton Championship in Winnipeg, Pan captured the gold medal, making him the first Saskatchewan junior player to win a Canadian Championship title. A total of 64 athletes from 10 provinces competed at the event, and due to Pan's strong performances, he earned the right to compete at this year's World Junior Badminton Championships and Pan-Am Junior Championships. He was nominated by the Saskatchewan Badminton Association.

The recipient will be named next week. For more information contact Pat Rediger at (306) 780-9307 or email prediger@sasksport.sk.ca

For information regarding the Athlete of the Month Awards program, including previous nominees and recipients, visit www.sasksport.sk.ca/awards.php

June 6, 2008