Kelowna’s Marcus Athans set the standard for Central Okanagan athletes at the 2014 B.C. Summer Games with a triple gold-medal performance last weekend on Vancouver Island.
Competing for zone 2, the 13-year-old Athans dominated the water ski competition, capturing first place in (10-13) slalom, tricks and jumping.
“I think he was pretty focused,” said Gary Athans, Marcus’ coach, dad and former Canadian water ski champ. “The athletes went off alphabetically, so he went first each time and didn’t have to wait around. They may have put some pressure on the other guys, so Marcus did well.”
Thompson Okanagan teammate Halle Gainey from Kelowna struck for three medals in the girls 10-13 division—gold in slalom, silver in wake skate and bronze in wake boarding.
And as a team, zone 2 picked up the overall silver medal.
“That was a nice, a big surprise to win silver,” Athans added. “Lower Mainland has a lot of ski clubs and a lot of athletes, so we’re happy with what the kids did.”
The towed water sports team is: Marcus Athans, Gary Athans (head coach), Isaac Athans, Kyle Blaser, Justin Fowler, Halle Gainey
Anthony Kurkjian, Pat Mulligan (asst. coach), Nathan Tonogai, Reece Hawthrone and Finn O’Keefe.
Here’s a look at the other medal winners from zone 2:
Girls soccer—gold
The Thompson Okanagan girls’ soccer team allowed just two goals all weekend en route to capturing the gold medal at the B.C. Summer Games in Nanaimo.
In Sunday’s final, the zone 2 girls downed Vancouver-Squamish 2-0 in the final. Lindsay Notte and Sophia Seibel scored the goals, while Sophie Gibson posted the shutout.
The zone 2 girls defeated Kootenay, Vancouver-Squamisg and Northwest in the round robin, then took care of Fraser River Delta in the semifinal.
“I knew we would be competitive and thought we would have a shot at a medal,” said zone 2 coach Dave Notte. “After watching the girls and the efforts in the first two games, I really liked our chances. It was a huge thrill for them to win it, there were so many tears after. It was well deserved.”
The gold medalists from zone 2 are: Emma Lockwood (Vernon), Brooke Barcelona (Kelowna), Kate Cartier (Kelowna), Maria Iannone (Penticton), Lindsay Notte (Kelowna), Selena Arima (Kelowna), Dave Notte – head coach (Kelowna), Alysia Foster (Kelowna), Angalena Cross (Salmon Arm), Melaina Corrado (Kelowna), Tatiana Mueller (Kamloops), Kendra McDonald (Kamloops), Rylee Semeniuk (Kelowna), Sophia Seibel (Kamloops) and Carli Tingstad-assistant coach (Vernon).
Kyra McNulty, four medals
Kelowna’s Kyra McNulty boosted zone 2’s medal count with a four-medal performance. McNulty was a force on the bike, on foot and in the water, claiming gold in the aquathon competition, silver in both the super sprint triathlon and triathlon, and a bronze medal in the duathlon.
Wrestling
Kelowna’s Emily Castro bested the competition to win gold in the girls 69 kg division.
In the final, Castro defeated Tristina Howse from Cariboo North-East.
Athletics—Taryn O’Neill, two medals
Kelowna’s Taryn O’Neill was in fine form on the track in Nanaimo, winning two medals. She earned gold in the 2000m, then added a silver in the 1200 metre event.
Girls basketball—silver
The Thompson Okanagan girls took the silver medal in basketball competition at the games. The zone 2 team reached the final before losing to Fraser Valley A.
The Central Okanagan players and coaches on the team are: Rachel Hare,
Reanne Mitchell, Rob Mitchell (head coach), Jordan Robb, Jenna Robinson, Jill Robinson (asst. coach), Deziree Day, Grace DeMug, Jocelyn Podolsky, Mackenzie Horst and Teaghan Wallace.
Field lacrosse-bronze
The zone 2 boys field lacrosse team fought their way to a bronze medal in Nanaimo. On Sunday, the Thompson Okanagan boys defeated Fraser River Delta 10-9 in a tight and close third-place game.
Kelowna players on the team are: Josh DuBrett, Ryan Hughes, Keaton Brownlee, Zane Torres and Jameson Murray.
Beach volleyball—boys silver, girls bronze
Kelowna’s Tanner Thiessen teamed up with Kyle Kohlhauser from Penticton to grab second place overall in boys beach volleyball. The zone 2 boys lost to Vancouver Island-Central Coast in the gold medal final.
In the girls’ beach division, Kelowna’s Alexa Eger and Gemma Davies defeated Vancouver Island-Central Coast in the third-place game to win the bronze medal.
Volleyball (boys)—bronze
The Thompson Okanagan boys volleyball team ousted Cariboo in the third-place game to capture the bronze medal.
Central Okanagan players on the zone 2 team are: Kyle Butchart, Grayson McMillan, Nathan Smawley, Kyle Solloway, Aidan Van Dam, Connor White, Morgan Nichols, Troy White (head coach) and Bobby Blaskovits.
3X3 Basketball (boys)—silver
Kelowna’s Benjamin Hitchens was a member of the zone 2 team which took the silver medal in boys 3×3 basketball.
The Thompson Okanagan boys lost to Fraser Valley in the final.
Swimming
Kelowna’s Emily Epp won three bronze medals in the pool at the B.C. Games. Epp claimed second place in both the girls in the 100 breaststroke and 1500m freestyle events.
She was also part of the zone 2 girls team which won a bronze medal in the 4 by 50 medley relay.
Golf
Kelowna’s Tiegan Taylor earned a silver medal in the girls’ golf competition. Taylor carded a two-day score of 160 to tie for second place overall, just two strokes back of the winner.
More bronze
In athletics, Cameron Noble won a bronze medal in pole vault, while Hannah Ruste earned bronze in the synchro swimming 4/5 solo event.
Special Olympics
Kelowna’s Chris Lunt won two medals in special olympics events in Nanaimo. Lunt won the silver medal in long jump and a bronze in shot-put.
In team competition, the Thompson Okanagan finished fifth overall with 79 medals—22 gold, 22 silver and 35 bronze.
For complete results from the games, visit bcgames.org
