FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2017
TEAM BC’S HEAVY MEDAL DAY FOR RIFLE SHOOTING, WRESTLING AND CANOE/KAYAK
Athletics Win Nine Medals, 14U Basketball Teams Advance to Finals and Volleyball Starts Strong
Toronto, ON – Team BC’s rifle shooters earned 14 medals after two days of heavy competition, winning three gold, eight silver and three bronze medals. “I am so proud of how our team performed today,” said Nicole Gerow, Rifle Shooting Head Coach. “The competition over the last three days has been extremely close and exciting.” Including triple gold-medalist Mark Anthony who won 3P, prone and overall in his category. Sunshine O’Donovan had an outstanding day at the range, collecting three silver medals for her performances in 3P, prone and overall in her category. Teammate Matthew Britton earned one bronze and two silver medals; Jared Erickson won two silver; and Anthony Joe won one silver and two bronze medals.
Another unbelievable day for Team BC Wrestlers, adding nine medals to the Team BC medal count! Daniel Coles, Kye Mills, and Mayben Crabbe placed Gold; Ottis Crabbe, Tristina Howse, and Ethan Parkinson placed Silver, and Connor Mills, Jayden Iversen, and Morgan Dagenais placed Bronze, with William Merry finishing fifth place. Daniel Coles, gold medalist reflects on his match, “Whenever I go into a hard match I think about what my ancestors went through and I think this is nothing compared to that, I can do this.”
Another great day on the water for the Canoe/Kayak team with many exciting finishes! The team continued to build on yesterday’s win of 15 medals, unofficially earning an additional nine medals today. Official results will be confirmed tomorrow. The Canoe/Kayak team will begin its third and final day on the water tomorrow with canoe events for all age categories in singles, doubles, and mixed races.
Athletics had a great first day of track and field competition, winning 9 medals! The team’s throwers started off strong, adding three medals to Team BC’s count. Jacob Taylor won the first gold for the team in the 16U discus category with a toss of 42.31. Jaden Knight won silver in 14U male shotput. Mateya Haintz took home a gold medal for in the discus event, bettering her personal record by over two meters. While her sister, Marquesis Haintz earned her second medal of the Games, winning a silver in the 16U female 1200M event. Evening athletics events were postponed due to extreme heat but are expected to continue tomorrow at York Lions Stadium.
The 14U female and male basketball teams and 16U females all won their semifinal matches today! The 14U girls fought their way to a 49-35 win over Team Ontario. Coach Montana Howe, who has led these athletes to win three out of four games during NAIG commented, “Our team takes pride in the Team BC logo on our jerseys and every game we’ve played for our province and individual Nations.”
The 16U female soccer team played an intense game against Team Saskatchewan. The first goal was scored by the opposing team but Team BC quickly refocused and answered back with two crucial goals in the last half resulting in a final score of 2-1. The 19U female soccer team defeated Team Ontario with a final score of 3-1. The team was encouraged by the 19U male soccer team who came with their drums and sang Team BC’s theme song – Yehalilyha. The game was ultimately called to an early end after the opposing team suffered two injuries.
The 16U male soccer team, 94 Calls, defeated Team New York with a final score of 4-0, which advanced them to the semifinals. After heat delays, the 19U male soccer team swept Team Yukon 14-0 and advance to tomorrow’s semifinals. The teams showed sportsmanship after the game, circling together with Team Yukon to drum and sing.
Badminton Doubles Team Jarin Davison and Courtney Anderson advance to the quarterfinals tomorrow in the mixed doubles category. Kyler Wilson will look to advance out of the quarterfinals tomorrow in the singles category.
Team BC Volleyball teams ended their first day of competition with both the 19U and 16U females going undefeated and the 19U males winning three out of four games. The morning started with the 19U females winning games against Colorado and Manitoba. Natalie Heinze said, “Manitoba was definitely a tougher team, but we still pushed through and got the win.” The girls have been training with Head Coach Jeff Ross, who commented, “If the girls keep learning and supporting each other I think we have a good shot at gold, but there are some tough teams here, so we’ll see!”
Team BC’s 19U male lacrosse team had their first loss to Team Saskatchewan today. The team never gave up and fought with tenacity and adversity, finishing the game strong with a final score of 10-11.
The 16U Lacrosse team took a 14-4 win over Team Manitoba. Head coach Chris McElroy commented, “Our players are looking forward to ending this tournament strong and with respect. This game is bigger than any of us and it deserves to be played that way.”
Despite heat and humidity at the Hamilton Archery and Angling Association, Team BC’s archery athletes are doing well under challenging circumstances. 19U male archer, William Hall, continues to score well in his rounds and is preparing for tomorrow’s final rounds of competition. “Our team had a great second day of shooting,” said Team Manager, Sonya Jensen. “They felt more confident going into the second day and their shooting improved through both rounds today.”
The 16U female softball team had a blowout win against Eastern Door and the North, winning 25-0. The team worked on playing different positions and practicing plays in preparation for their final games. The 16U male softball team lost a close game against Team Manitoba with a final score of 11-9.
Team BC’s golfers stayed consistent in their third day of competition at Humber Valley Golf Club. Alex Webber has maintained his lead in the 19U male category with a 14-shot lead over second place. Taylor Kaban is in contention for a medal in the 17U division after scoring 80 in today’s round. Both Alex and Taylor have put themselves in good standing to earn medals as they move into the final round tomorrow morning.
Competition continues tomorrow for 11 of Team BC’s 13 sports.
For more information about Team BC’s NAIG program visit http://isparc.ca/performance-sport/team-bc/north-american-indigenous-games/.
For the most recent schedules, results and live broadcasting information, please visit http://naig2017.to.
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Team BC Background
The Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council (I·SPARC) is responsible for managing the Team BC Programs for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) and the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC). Through the support and oversight of its Team BC Work Group and Provincial Sport Committees, I·SPARC has established a comprehensive Team BC program that includes provincial development programs and selection processes for athletes and coaches that will compete on behalf of British Columbia in national and international competitions. For the 2017 NAIG, over 500 Indigenous athletes and coaches have been selected to represent British Columbia in the following 13 sports: 3D Archery, Athletics (Track & Field, Cross-Country), Badminton, Basketball, Canoe/Kayak, Golf, Lacrosse (Box), Rifle Shooting, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball, Wrestling.
About the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council
I·SPARC is a consortium of the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, the First Nations Health Authority, and Métis Nation BC. As the stewards of BC’s Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Strategy, I·SPARC works with First Nations, Métis Chartered Communities, Friendship Centres, schools and other sport and physical activity stakeholders to deliver community-based programs designed to promote active lifestyles and support the desire for transformative change in the health and well-being of Indigenous communities, families and individuals across B.C. For more information, please visit: www.isparc.ca.
Media contact:
Justine Johnson
Team BC Communications Manager
jjohnson@isparc.ca
778.899.3234
www.isparc.ca
