NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 27, 2014
TEAM BC’S FINAL DAY BRING TOTAL MEDAL COUNT TO 160
REGINA, SK – After a week of competitions at the Regina 2014 North American Indigenous Games, Team BC had a successful final day adding eleven medals to bring the total medal count of 160. The rain couldn’t dampen BC fans, which were out in large numbers cheering on Team BC athletes in the final matches on Saturday.
The day started at Kaplan Field for the U19 girls’ softball final against Wisconsin, a team they beat in a previous match-up at the start of their tournament 16-12. BC had a big advantage on the mound, starting with pitcher Chelsey Wilson putting in seven scoreless innings to earn the shutout. Their offense was sparked by the speedster Tanelle Smith (Upper Nicola Band) who went five for five at the plate. BC took advantage of a number of Wisconsin errors and kept piling on the runs late in the game, scoring three in the final inning to seal the win. They finished their road to gold with a final score of 9-0.
“I am proud of this team for the way they have come together this week,” said Coach Michelle Webster. “I could not have asked for a better group of girls to go through this experience with. We had contribution through the line up every day; every last one of them left everything they had out there.”
Over at Liebel Field, the girls’ U16 soccer team played an intense championship game against Ontario that went into extra time. A penalty shot taken by Ontario put them in the lead for the 0-1 win. BC played an impressive week of competitions going into the final with two wins, two ties and no losses.
Back at Kaplan Field, the male U19 softball team took their turn at bat after earning their way into the gold medal game with a big win on Friday over the undefeated Team Ontario boys in the semi-final. BC continued their solid play in the championship game, with a clutch pitching performance by Josh Anderson. He pitched a complete game gem and helped his own cause by belting a key two-run home run. Team BC defeated Saskatchewan 13-5 for gold.
Team BC archers won three medals—one gold, two bronze after five sessions at the Wascana Archery Range. Alex Rousseau, shooting with a traditional bow, completed five sessions for a total score of 648 winning gold. He posted the best score in each of the first three sessions and cruised to victory with solid scores in the final two sessions.
Archers Taylor and Talon Baptiste both won bronze after their five sessions. Taylor completed with a total score of 696 in the girls’ U16 category and Talon finished with a total score of 408 in the girls’ U14 category. Both girls have been involved in archery since 2013 with the Twisted Arrows Archery Group with the Osoyoos Indian Band.
Marquesis Haintz won her fifth medal, taking gold in girls’ U14 cross country, the final event for Team BC athletics bringing their medal count for three days of competitions to 21.
The U18 girls’ soccer team won bronze after an impressive performance against Wisconsin. They entered the second half scoreless until Brittany Harry scored for BC. The action continued and BC kept the pressure up with two more goals for Brittany Harry, her twelfth goal in four games making her the highest scoring female soccer athlete at NAIG. The final score was 3-0 for BC, winning them bronze.
Team BC U16 boys’ soccer team played their final game on Saturday afternoon, defeating Saskatchewan 2-1. BC scored two quick goals in the first ten minutes of the second half. Saskatchewan scored with 18 minutes left in the game but BC held the lead to take the championship.
The U19 Girls cruised into the gold medal round as winners of eight straight matches in just four days of competition. They faced a scare in the first set as Team Eastern Door (EDN) and the North held a 24-22 lead. BC rallied off four straight points to win the set. After taking a 2-0 lead and having two match points in the third set, EDN fought them off and took the set 27-25. The fourth set was dominated by BC as they showed their athleticism at the net and superior passing skills to control the game, defeating EDN to win gold. Aly Benson finished with 12 blocks, Skye Supernant had 18 kills and Samantha Horth had 10 kills.
The U18 boys’ soccer team made it to the gold medal match after winning over Manitoba 4-0 on Friday. They were defeated 0-4 by Saskatchewan in the final game, placing second overall in their division, winning silver for Team BC.
Team BC Alumni welcome 372 Team BC athletes that competed in 13 sports during the 2014 North American Indigenous Games from July 20-27, 2014.
For the final 2014 NAIG medal standing, event highlights, results and 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.
-30-
Media contact: Felicia Greekas, Team BC Communication Manager 250-732-2044 or fgreekas@bcaafc.com
