EVENT & COMPETITION SCHEDULE
RANT N' ROAR - DAY FOURTEEN
Multi-Sport para athlete cori hicks WINS silver for Team NL
Twenty-year old Team NL multi-sport para-athlete Cori Hicks had an amazing day on the Canada Games Park track. She earned a SILVER medal for Team Newfoundland and Labrador in the 400m Wheelchair Female race at the 2022 Niagara Canada Summer Games. Cori beat her personal best by nearly three seconds, achieving a race time of 1:52.69.
Her coach Rosie Ryan-Forsey, along with her whole athletics team and mission staff attended the medal ceremony to help her celebrate the achievement. At the medal ceremony held earlier this evening in front of Canada Games Park, Cori was elated as she received her medal.
From Flat Bay, this is Cori’s second Canada Summer Games experience, which is also only her second time competing at the national level. She has been training for 6 years in 100, 400, and 1500-meter wheelchair racing as a member of the Stephenville Athletics Club and the Newfoundland and Labrador Athletics Association.
This silver medal is the first medal for Team NL during week two of competition which began on August 15, 2022. The medal comes after earning eight medals in the pool at last week’s Games. To date the medal count for Team NL stands at one gold, three silver, and two bronze, a total of nine medals with one more day of competition for the Team before the end of the Canada Summer Games.
Chef's Corner
This morning we were busy making plans and arrangements for the return of our week two athletes, who return home on Monday, August 20th. Several of our athletes were back in competition after training days and some downtime. So, I was glad to get out to see athletics, volleyball, and road cycling athletes perform.
Later in the day, we had the pleasure of having the Honourable Andrew Furey, Premier of NL, spend part of his day meeting with our athletes, coaches, and mission staff here at the 2022 Niagara Canada Summer Games. I was lucky to have the chance to sit and talk with him a little bit about the games and the pin trading that happens at the Games as he watched the quarter final volleyball game at Canada Games Park, Team NL versus Team Alberta. Thank you Premier for your support.
Yesterday evening, we had the pleasure see multi-sport para-athlete Cori Hicks received her Silver medal in the 400m wheelchair sprint. It was a highlight to the end of the athletics competition at Canada Games Park. I am so proud of her and her teammates for having strong performances in their respective sports, and in many cases achieving personal bests and team records.
Tomorrow is the last day of competition for all of our soccer, volleyball, and rowers so it will be great to get out one last day to see all the athletes as they finish up their events. Later in the evening, the closing ceremonies will be a spectacle, celebrating the achievements of Niagara 2022. The closing will provide all athletes, coaches and mission staff to see the magnificent Falls at night.
Diver completes preliminaries
Today at the Brock University-Eleanor Misener Aquatics Centre, Team NL's Merrick Noel competed in the 1m preliminaries finishing with 148.80 overall points. Merrick had a great day on the board, Coach Jose Palma was very pleased with Merrick's performance and improvements here at the games competition.
Merrick has teamed up with our members of our Rowing team and it was a pleasure to see our rowers cheering Merrick on as he competed today. That is super team spirit and represents the true meaning of sport. Merrick, Jose, and Jason had the opportunity today to take in some athletics, volleyball and cycling as the criterium took place on Brock campus.
Tomorrow Merrick will be attending rowing and cheering on his new friends on the rowing team. We are so proud of you all, way to go.
Soccer (Female) win match today
The Female Canada Games Soccer Team defeated Team Yukon today by a score of 6-0. Goal scorers were Hannah Neville (2). Olivia Brown, Stephanie Thoms, Ellie Power, and Isabella Ryan. It was a great game for the girls!
Team NL will now play Team Saskatchewan on Sunday, August 21st at 8:30 am.
Today, the Team also had a special visitor to their match. Premier Andrew Furey stopped by to cheer the girls on and even took time for a photo, as well as say a few inspiring words. Thank you Premier Furey!
softball (male) come up a little short on field
The men’s softball team suffered a tough loss of 5-4 to Saskatchewan to finish the tournament in 4th place. After starting the week at 1-3, the boys came together to achieve four straight wins to finish at 5-3, and get them into a playoff spot.
Mitch Whelan started on the mound for team NL while Marcus Pittman came in in relief. Ryan Maher led the charge at the plate with two homeruns, a two-run blast in the first and solo shot in the 6th. The boys left it out on the field and just came up a little short in this one.
Golf Team have final day on course
It was a blisteringly hot day at Legends on the Niagara Club today and a good showing by all of our Team NL players.
Ryan Holwell shot a final round 75 to finish a very respectable 5th overall. Ethan Efford closed out with an even par 72 to end the tournament in 8th position, climbing the standings each day as the tournament progressed. Sanjana Guillipali shot her best round of the tournament, closing out with a great 81 which included holing out from the fairway for an eagle 2 on the par 4 5th, she finished 18th overall. Paige Allen also had her best round of the tournament, shooting an 87 to finish 20th overall.
The event was a great success with Team NL athletes enjoying the experience and improving on their last Canada Games standings.
Volleyball (male) will play last game tomorrow
The male volleyball team had an early start to their day with a light stretch and mobility session this morning. The boys were well prepared and excited to play the first place Team Alberta. They played Team Alberta at 10:30am at Canada Games Park. The stands were filled with lots of eager and supportive fans. Premier Andrew Furey even stopped in to watch a couple sets. Unfortunately, Team NL lost the quarterfinal game to Team Alberta 3-0.
The boys then went on to play Team Manitoba this afternoon. Manitoba came out on top beating Team NL 3 sets to 0.
Team NL will play their final game 8:30 am tomorrow against Team New Brunswick to determine who finishes 7th and 8th. Good luck boys!
Rowers have great day on water
Team NL rowers had a great day of competition in the B finals today with a 1st place finish in the Woman’s singles, Women’s lightweight doubles and Women’s doubles. We had a second place finish in the Women’s fours.
The women's lightweight doubles beat the sixth place time and had a personal beast in the singles. The male fours also had a personal best in their race.
Road cyclists take part in Criterium event
Today was the final event for Road Cycling - The Criterium. Team NL was represented by both Roughan Gaetz and Cole Layden.
Cole had a valiant effort throughout and after the race, experiencing it for the first time, was already excited for the next time to compete in a Criterium.
Roughan was also in the zone for the entirety of the race, showing his skills and putting on a great display of the sprint laps.
It was a great day for the sport of Road Cycling and all Team NL members.
Volleyball (female) have great day on court
Our Women’s Volleyball Team hit the court twice today in the final day of competition at Canada Games Park.In their morning match, they defeated Team Yukon by a score of 3-1.
This win earned them the right to play an evening match against Team PEI for ninth place. Although they were trailing against Team PEI, our ladies came back to win the first set by a score of 25-22. They continued to show grit in the second set, battling back and trading points with PEI to eventually come out on top with a 29-27 win, extending their lead to 2-0.
Third set action continued much as the rest of the game with our Team having to dig deep to come back from behind. They demonstrated their perseverance and finished the job with a 25-22 win to conclude the game.
Congratulations to this team of wonderful young woman who showed a lot of heart over the course of the competition. Thank you to the coaching staff of Nick, Jill, and Kim for preparing this team to do their best and nothing less!
