NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 23, 2014
ALL 16 SWIMMERS MEDAL ON DAY ONE, 72 MEDALS FOR TEAM BC!
Rylee Mitchell’s javelin toss wins gold by 15.8 meters
REGINA, SK – All 16 Team BC swimmers win medals on the first day of competitions—22 swimming medals in total! “We took the cue from the rest of Team BC,” said Head Coach, Leanne Sirup. “Our teams are performing so well, we had to step up too.” And they dove right in with 20 personal bests out of 33 events at the Kinsmen Sportsplex in Moose Jaw. Swimming competitions continue Thursday.
Rylee Mitchell started the medal count for athletics today with a gold-winning javelin toss landing at 54.87 meters; 15.8 meters ahead of his next opponent! Three gold medals followed from Mateya Haintz in U14 female shot put, Jake Firlotte in U16 male 100m dash, and Begiizhik Nahwegahbow in U16 female 100m. Malyn Morven, U19 female 100m and Brayden McCall, U19 male javelin both won silver bringing the athletics’ medal count to six for day one. BC has brought its largest track and field team since 2002 to Regina.
The U19 boys’ basketball take the championship game for gold! “We had a dream team of players who played unselfish basketball,” said Head Coach, Pam Baker. “It was fun watching them come together like they did.” The boys continued their dominating performance against Wisconsin winning the gold medal with their fifth straight win. All games were won by double-digit scores. In the final, the team was led by Corey Hauck (16 points, 5 rebounds), Nate Vogstad (17 points, 5 rebounds), and Joel Richardson (21 points, 10 rebounds) for a final score of 88-71.
The U16 boys’ basketball team won silver in the gold medal game against Wisconson with a final score of 48-78. The boys put everything on the line and ran into a hot-shooting Wisconsin team. They trailed early in the game but went on a run to close the gap to five just before halftime. Wisconsin’s shooting never cooled down and they began to pull away in the third quarter. BC fought hard but came up short in the end. They had solid contribution by Sterling Peterson, Hayden Jeffrey, and Treyton Waardenburg who all scored in double digits. “I’m proud of how our team came together,” said Head Coach Davey Sundher. “The boys should be thrilled to leave with a silver medal!”
Another medal for Team BC Basketball! The U14 boys played Colorado in the bronze medal game. The boys overcame a Colorado player hitting five three-pointers in the game. Their balanced team effort was too much and key plays by Kobe McKnight and Davin McDonald sealed the win and a bronze medal.
Five wins for Team BC Softball! The U16 girls won both games today, beating Saskatchewan in their first game 9-1 with Kyra Buchan’s clutch hitting and a dominant pitching performance by Mariyah Jones. They beat Manitoba in their second win of the day, 13-0. Sydney Crow threw a complete game shutout and Ashley Gutherie went three-for-three with two singles and a triple.
The U19 boys beat Alberta 13-7 and the U19 girls’ won in extra innings, beating Wisconsin 16-12. Annabelle Williams hit a leadoff homerun while Chelsey Wilson struck out the final three hitters! They defeated Saskatchewan in their second game of the day 8-4.
Six target shooters on the BC rifle team are currently in medal standings—results will be calculated for Thursday’s final medal standings.
Both the U18 boys’ and girls’ soccer teams had a great day of soccer. The boys’ were down by one at the half but made a great comeback, defeating Manitoba 6-3 for the final score. The girls’ beat Wisconsin 4-1 and play in the semi-final on Friday against Saskatchewan.
Both girls’ volleyball teams had great matches on the court. The U16’s beat Manitoba and the U19’s defeated Eastern Door two matches to none.
For complete sport competition schedules and results including score sheets, go to http://naig2014.gems.pro.
About Team BC
The Partners Council is responsible for managing the Team BC Program for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). Through the support and oversight of its Team BC Work Group and Provincial Sport Committees, the Partners Council has established a coordinated Team BC program that includes the development of a comprehensive process to select the dedicated team of 500 Aboriginal athletes, coaches, managers, chaperones and mission staff to represent British Columbia at the 2014 NAIG
About the North American Indigenous Games
The North American Indigenous Games is an international multi-sport event, involving North American Indigenous athletes from 13 provinces and territories Canada and 13 regions in the United States staged intermittently since 1990. The 2014 NAIG will take place in the City of Regina on July 20-27, 2014 and will bring together 6,000 athletes and coaches and more than 3,000 host community volunteers and 200 Cultural and Entertainment performers.
About the Partners Council
The Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Partners Council (Partners Council) is a consortium of the First Nations Health Authority, BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres and the Métis Nation BC. The Partners Council has established six regions across BC inclusive of the Northwest, Northeast, Interior, Fraser, Vancouver Coastal, and Vancouver Island. This structure brings together sport, recreation, physical activity and health leaders from within each Region to establish committees, set priorities and create annual plans for advancing sport, recreation and physical activity in their communities.
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Media contact: Felicia Greekas, Team BC Communication Manager 250-732-2044 or fgreekas@bcaafc.com
