More than two dozen Cowichan-based athletes participated in the 2024 BC Summer Games in Maple Ridge July 17-21, many coming home with medals and all coming home with memories to last a lifetime.
Zone 6 (Vancouver Island-Central Coast) won the 2024 Summer Games in aggregate, with 154 medals overall, 11 more than runners up Zone 4 (Fraser River).
Cowichan's track and field contingent included Robert Lazenby (Duncan), Samuel Nickolichuk (Cowichan Bay), Charlotte Gough (Mill Bay), Cody Henry (Duncan), and Skyla Lewis (Ladysmith).
Lazenby raced to gold in the boys 1500m race walk and was fifth in the boys hammer throw while Nickolichuck was sixth overall in the boys hammer throw and 13th in the boys shot put.
Gough placed fifth in both the girls 2000m and 1200m races and eighth in the girls 800m. Henry was consistent, placing 12th in three events: boys 1200m, 200m, and boys high jump. Lewis placed fourth in the girls 1500m steeplechase, and 11th in both the girls 1200m and 2000m.
Nicholas Cnossen (Ladysmith) played on the Zone 6 baseball team that played to gold in an undefeated tournament while the Zone 6 boys basketball team featured Spencer Ralfs (Duncan) and he earned a silver medal with the team.
Tyson Atkinson (Duncan) and Deo Toth (Ladysmith) were members of the box lacrosse team that placed third to earn bronze. Coming in fifth overall, Anthony Bortolin (Ladysmith), Coleman Edgar-Neufeld (Shawnigan Lake), and Ian McKenna (Ladysmith) were members of the boys volleyball team.
Audrey Phillips (Duncan) competed in equestrian along with Thea Klassen (Cobble Hill). Phillips won a silver in the Mixed Jumper Day 1 event, fourth on Day 2 and fifth on Day 3. Klassen was seventh on Days 1 and 2 of mixed eventing and 12th in mixed eventing overall.
Lina Chay (Ladysmith) came home with a gold medal as a member of the Zone 6 mixed ultimate team.
Ava Roe (Duncan) participated in rowing along with Hunter Nickerson (Shawnigan Lake), and Bradaigh Bridger-Taft (Duncan). Roe and her partner Lucy Turnbull of Victoria rowed to gold in the girls (U17) W2X 1000m event while Hunter and Colin Morris of Esquimalt took silver in the boys (U17) M2X 1000m, followed by Bridger-Taft and his partner Cedric Fraser of Victoria with the bronze.
Bringing home silver medals were the girls rugby 7s team which featured Rafielle Barrack (Duncan), Zoe Mycroft (Ladysmith), and Layla Walker (Ladysmith), as well as Jojo Offerein who is from Port Alberni but is a member of the Cowichan Rugby Club.
Cowichan sent two swimmers to the BC Games. Para-swimmer Gabi Williamson (Duncan) swam to silver in both the mixed 50m freestyle and mixed 100m freestyle races while Lauchlin MacGregor (Duncan) placed 12th overall in the boys 100m backstroke.
Lyla Boylan (Cobble Hill) and Cassidy Pace (Cowichan Bay) were part of the wrestling competition and they both brought home a silver and a bronze in the mixed dual and mixed team events respectively. Boylan also earned a silver in her weight class.
Playing on the 3x3 basketball team, Keenan MacPherson (Lake Cowichan) and Josh Vanderputten (Duncan) placed fifth overall.
