Young athletes from across Surrey and Delta found themselves atop podiums in Penticton last week, after a successful run at the BC Winter Games.
Local athletes were part of either the Fraser Valley (Zone 3), Fraser River (Zone 4) or Vancouver-Coastal (Zone 5) teams at the event, which ran Feb. 25-28. The Fraser River zone took the overall team title with a combined 107 medals – including 42 gold – while the Vancouver-Coastal zone won 105 medals, 35 of which were gold. Fraser Valley zone placed fourth overall, with 86 medals, including 34 gold.
Among the medal-winners were Howard Hu, a South Surrey resident who won a pair of medals in karate. Hu won gold in boys intermediate kumite (44-55 kg. division), and also added a bronze medal, in intermediate kata.
Surrey’s Jordan Treivish also won a bronze medal in karate, in the boys kumite (44-55 kg.) competition.
In the pool, South Surrey diver Taylor Pai won a silver medal on the one-metre board, in the girls’ Group C competition, and narrowly missed another spot on the podium, finishing fourth on the three-metre board. Another South Surrey diver, Jacob Dias, also finished fourth, in the boys three-metre competition.
On the ice, Surrey figure skater Jennifer Utendale won a gold medal in the Special Olympics’ women Level 2 event, while White Rock skater Krista Milne won bronze in the Special Olympics’ level 3 division.
On the speed skating oval, Surrey’s Scott Coons won silver in the 2,000m boys under-14 points race, and bronze in the 400m.
Surrey athletes also fared extremely well in gymnastics, taking home a slew of medals in a variety of events.
Kennedy Duke, competing in the female Level 8 division, had a big weekend, winning gold in the vault, and silver on balance beam en route to a silver all-around medal.
Amelia Van Andel also won gold on the uneven bars in the same division. Lowri Robinson, in the female Level 7 class, won silver in the vault, while Alexa Slipec nabbed a silver medal in the female Level 8 balance beam.
Duke, Van Andel, Robinson and Hannah Volpe also won gold medals in female team competition.
Delta’s Astarte Garnett and Olivia Hood were on the Zone 5 (Vancouver-Coastal) team which won the bronze medal in the female team category. Garnett also won gold medals in female Level 7 vault, uneven bars, floor exercise and all around, adding a silver medal on balance beam. Ava Groves earned a bronze medal in female Level 8 floor exercise.
Brady Reeleder, in male Level 3, won gold on the pommel horse and silver on the parallel bars to finish second in the all-around competition.
In the male team event, Surrey’s Timofey Azhogin and Dylan Hehr won gold medals with Fraser Valley, while Arthur Yamaleev of Delta won a bronze medal with Vancouver-Coastal.
In archery, Surrey sharpshooter Elissa Foley won a pair of gold medals, to round out the city’s medal haul.
In addition to individual medals, Surrey and North Delta athletes were part of a number of medal-wining teams.
In badminton, the Fraser River zone won gold in boys doubles (Daniel Yang and Surrey’s Sheldon Xu) and silver in girls doubles (Surrey’s Sophini Purewal). Yang, Xu and Purewall were also on the mixed team which also won gold. Delta’s Wenjun Ouyang earned a silver medal in mixed team competition with the Vancouver-Coastal team, and won gold in singles boys.
Liam Purgavie of Surrey was on the Fraser Valley team which won gold in boys curling.
Three local athletes won medals in female curling. Bailey Burke of Surrey was on the Zone 3 team which won a gold medal, Elizabeth Bowles of Delta curled for the Zone 5 team which won silver, while Kylie Karoway and Sarah Loken of Surrey were on the Zone 4 team which took the bronze medal.
Delta players Regan Burrows, Samantha Friesen, Gabriella Isaak, Caitlin Lawrence, Danielle Needham, Elise Piovesan, Lauren Aunier and Nicole Sparrow won a bronze medal for the Vancouver-Coastal ringette team.
For more on the Games, including full lists of participants and results, visit www.bcgames.org
– with files from Rick Kupchuk
