The medal haul continued for Winskill Dolphins standout Tai Long Singh, this time as a member of Team B.C. at the Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo, Alberta.
Fresh off his dominating performance at the Canadian Age Group Swimming Championships in Quebec City where he earned aggregate honours at the U15 level, Singh captured a whopping eight medals, including six gold.
Individually, he won the 50 freestyle (23.30 seconds), 100 freestyle (50.27), 100 backstroke (54.64) and 100 butterfly (54.34). He also helped B.C. capture the 4x200 and 4x100 freestyle relay events. The medal collection included silver in the 4x100 medley and 4x50 medley relays. Dolphin teammate Paul Zou earned his share of hardware too.
He was second to Singh in the 100 free. The 16-year-old was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x200 and 4x100 free relay teams.
Para swimmer Aidan McDonough was also a force in the pool. He captued silver in the 100 breastroke and added bronze in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 100 fly and 200 IM.
It was also a multi-medal Games for Delta tri-athlete Michael Milic. The 17-year-old opened the competition by finishing second in the individual men's race.
It was a tight one from start to finish as Milic was out in front on his own after the 750 metre swim and throughout the 20 km bike trek. A chase pack of seven athletes followed Milic throughout the four 5km bike loops but the gaps got closer throughout the 5 km run. Milic was within steps of Alberta's Cooper James Bentley at the finish line with a time of 59.15.
"It's pretty cool," was Milic's response to competing alongside Team BC teammates. "This is my first multi-sport games and I really enjoy hanging out with the guys and strategizing through these kinds of races."
Milic then helped B.C. win gold in a pair of relay races.
He teamed with Brennen Smith (Victoria) and Brodie Marshall (Vancouver) to win the men's event over Alberta and Manitoba. Milic then had a leading role in B.C. rallying to win the mixed race.
In the final leg, the swimming and cycling standout reeled in the Manitoba competitor to open up a seven second leg for and went on to victory.
In women's softball, Taylor Woodward and Olivia Priestlay helped B.C. cap a dominant run with an 11-0 victory over Alberta in the championship game. B.C. dropped just one game the entire tournament and outscored its final three opponents by a combined score of 30-2. Woodward was fresh off helping Delta 1997 Heat capture the U18 National Championships where the Tsawwassen resident earned the Top Hitter Award.
On the badminton court, Qingzi Ouyang led B.C. to gold with outstanding play in singles and doubles action. She produced two wins in the final as B.C. defeated Alberta 5-2. Brittany Costa helped B.C. capture gold in women's soccer with a 3-1 win over Manitoba in the final.
In wrestling, Harbans Gill captured gold in the men's 76 kg class as well as the team event.
In artistic gymnastics, Ryan Woodhead earned bronze on high bar and was 12th all-around, while helping B.C. win the team event. Sophia Anderson and Ella Rogers finished seventh and 10th respectively in the all-around competition. Both girls best individual finishes were fifth place on beam (Rogers) and uneven bars (Anderson ). They also earned silver in the team event.
