The Chemainus Valley’s contribution to the Zone 6 team at the 2018 Cowichan B.C. Summer Games may have been small in numbers, but obtained big-time results.
Two competitors in wrestling and track-and-field combined for three medals while another track-and-field athlete earned high marks for her efforts in the various components of the gruelling pentathlon.
Rosie Klatt-LeBlanc of Crofton won an individual bronze medal for the 75-kilogram girls’ wrestling event while earning a collaborative team gold with the Zone 6 Vancouver Island-Central Coast wrestlers who topped the overall competition at Chemainus Secondary School.
“She did great, wrestled well to capture the bronze,” said wrestling coach Nick Zuback, who served as tournament director for wrestling at the Games. “It was a great tournament for her, for sure.”
“I was nervous at first, but I really enjoyed it,” said Klatt-LeBlanc, 13, who’s going into Grade 9 at Chemainus Secondary School.
At the Cowichan Sportsplex in Duncan, Kaz Bannister of Thetis Island anchored the 4x100 Zone 6 girls relay team to an outstanding result, winning the silver medal behind a powerhouse Fraser River-Delta Zone 4 team.
“It was totally our goal to get bonze,” said Bannister. “We were pretty sure we were going to come fourth. We got second. That was a huge surprise.”
Brielle Woodruff of Chemainus didn’t find her way onto the podium, but would have if each of the individual events in the pentathlon had counted separately. She placed third in two of the five competition segments with a great effort.
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Woodruff said. “I got three out of my five events were personal bests.”
Luther Tidder of Chemainus was also supposed to compete in wrestling, but there was no weight class for him. Zuback noted he did get into a couple of exhibition matches, at least, and spent time volunteering at the venue.
See inside for much more on the local athletes and the two Chemainus venues for wrestling and box lacrosse during the Games.