Three Cowichan Valley players came home from the U16 National Field Hockey Championships last week with medals, and another eight are competing for hardware at the U18 championships this week.
Valley products Birkley Anderson, Chloe Langkammer and Ashlyn Toljander helped the BC U15 Girls Blue team to silver at the U16 tournament in Calgary, where the team lost 1-0 to Ontario Red in the final.
Also competing in Calgary were Jenna Goodman and Nicola Leech, whose BC Yellow team finished fifth, while Anya Hermant and the BC White team placed sixth.
The U18 provincial teams are in Brampton, Ont. this week, where the three B.C. entries are hoping to sweep the podium.
The U18 BC Blue team includes two players from Cowichan Secondary School’s provincial championship team: Robin Fleming and Emma Dame. Fleming is playing in goal for the BC Blue team for the second straight year, just months after she represented Canada at the 2016 Pan American Junior Championship along with Cowichan Thunderbirds teammate Sara Goodman. Dame played for the BC White team that won bronze at last year’s national U18 tournament.
The BC U18 Yellow team also includes players from Cow High’s provincial champions, as Brittany Smith, Jenna Berard and Ashton Aumen will suit up. Like Dame, Smith was a member of the bronze-medal BC White team at the 2015 U18 tournament, while Berard won silver with the U15 BC Blue team at the U16 nationals a year ago. Aumen is returning to the provincial program after last competing for Team BC at the 2014 U16 nationals.
Two members of the Frances Kelsey Secondary team that finished sixth at the high school provincials are also suiting up for the U18 Yellow squad after time away from the provincial program. Kyla Toljander last competed for Team BC at the 2014 U16 nationals, while Marina Ellison last played at the 2013 U16 nationals. Another Kelsey player, Hannah Craig, is making her debut with the provincial program.
