The team of Steve Samways (who shares Western's offensive co-ordinator duties with head coach Larry Haylor), David Ozard from Gould Signs, Mark Hodgins from 3M and Free Press sports columnist Jim Kernaghan carded a collective 16-under-par to win the Mustang Football golf tournament at Pine Knot in Dorchester. As shocked as anyone, Kernaghan, in a classic bit of understatement, said: "I couldn't have done it without them. I was packaged with pros . . . I kept things light." He said the seventh hole nicely defined his group's tourney. Hodgins crushed his drive on the 340-yard, par-four hole (hitting it beyond the hole, actually). Then Ozard, applying his best golf spit and polish, canned his chip from 60 feet. "Eagle for us. A two on the par-four," said Kernaghan, who enjoys the game but rarely plays.

A field of 112, many of them former players, took part in the scramble event, which was administered by Marty O'Brien, an exec with the football program's Champions Club.

June-Marie Provost of London walked away -- literally -- with three golds and a silver at the 15th world masters track and field championships in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Competing in the women's 70-and-over division, Provost racewalked to gold in the 5,000 metres in a time of 34 minutes, 32.24 seconds, the 10-k in 1:10:30 and the 4x100-metre relay. Her 60-plus 10-k relay team won silver.

Linda Findley of Mt. Brydges, another of five London and area competitors on the 80-member Canadian team, had plenty of giddyup, too. Findley, racing in the women's 55-plus division, placed first in the 2,000-metre steeplechase in 9:20.22 along with capturing silver medals in the 800 metres in 2:47.78, the 1,500 in 5:40.74 and the 8-k cross-country run in 34:46.0. She rounded out an outstanding meet with a fifth in the 5,000 metres in 21:30.76.

Sherry Watts of London was fourth in a pair of women's 50-and-up races, the 5,000-metre racewalk in 32:00.62 and 10-k racewalk in 1:04:23. Aggie Ramsden, also in the 50-plus division, was fifth in the 5,000 racewalk in 33:45.73 and seventh over 10-k in 1:10:01. In the men's 55-up-and division, Don Ramsden placed eighth in the 5,000 racewalk in 30:19.82 and 10th in the 20-k in 2:13:53.

London Canoe Club paddlers and their training buddies from the fledgling Chippewa on the Thames Canoe Club had a heck of a day at the Balmy Beach regatta on Toronto Island's Long Pond, much to the delight of coaches Johnny Mantura and Joanna Radaczynski. The day's take included a silver and four bronze medals. A bronze by the Mroz twins, 17-year-old Mallory and Caitlin, racing in a field of older competitors in the open women's K-2, was a high point for the local paddlers.

In other medal efforts, eight-year-old Mariana Sofalvi, Beth Hammond, 13, and Allison Ball, 14, all London club members, helped West Rouge (Pickering) Canoe Club's bantam women's war canoe team to a silver medal, a race that prepared Ball for her bronze-medal performance in women's bantam K-1. Ball and Hammond weren't done there, either, joining Carlyn Johnston, 15, from Chippewa on the Thames to earn bronze on Balmy Beach's boat in the midget war canoe event. And capping a fine day, Alex Bogorin of the London club and Chippewa's Keir Johnston were third in an ever-so-close peewee men's K-2 race.

Jaleesa Rhoden, in People at Play just the other day for being among the final 15 players on the Ontario under-15 girls' basketball team roster, continues to make inroads on the national scene as well.

Rhoden, a London Ramblers club player and a top-of-the-class high school point guard for the Central Golden Ghosts senior girls' team, has been invited to the Canadian junior team training camp Aug. 16-26 in Windsor. Having just turned 15, she's the second youngest of the 20 players (14-17) invited.

It's a big deal to make a provincial team, even bigger to go nationally. Two inches bigger. The Canadian junior program lists the backcourt smoothie at five-feet-10 while her Ontario team puts her at five-eight.

"I'm definitely not five-10, I'm 5-8 1/2 ," Rhoden laughed as she cleared up the matter.

Meaggan Wilton, 27, of Blenheim is patrolling the outfield this week for the Canadian senior women's softball team in Puerto Rico in a bid to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

The event, officially called the Americas Region Olympic Qualifier, includes Venezuela, the Dominican Repub-lic, Cayman Islands as well as Canada and host Puerto Rico. Only the winner sews up a spot in Athens.

Meaggan's proud parents are Penny and Bev Wilton.