The 2023 North American Indigenous Games are winding down in Halifax and that means Team NT is going through its final paces.
Wednesday’s action saw some more hardware go around athletes’ necks. In the pool, Kole Lizotte and Jacob Mitchener both snagged bronze medals — Lizotte won his in the U14 boys 50-metre freestyle, while Mitchener finished third in the U19 boys 200-metre individual medley.
“I’ve taken time off (my results) on all my swims — that’s a big improvement and I’m proud of that, but getting a medal is even sweeter,” said Mitchener. “Kole is following in my footsteps, medalling in his first NAIG like I did, and hopefully he keeps on swimming.”
Lizotte said Mitchener has been a wonderful teacher.
“Jacob has taught me how to dive extremely well, and my underwater work, and I’m really grateful for that,” he said. “It feels good because we’re a small team and we’re winning a bunch of stuff.”
On the track on Wednesday, Kohl McDonald captured his second medal in Halifax, this time a silver in the U14 boys 1,200-metre event. Ethan Boucher, McDonald’s teammate, was right behind him in third to earn bronze. Boucher would make it a second bronze medal later in the day with the U14 boys 4 x 100-metre relay team, joining with Kowen Modeste, Dreighson Mercredi and Greyson Catholique to cross the finish line third.
Both the boys and girls basketball teams were in action over the past couple of days — the boys were in a must-win situation against Alberta on Thursday, but fell by a score of 82-52. The girls, meanwhile, were playing for final placings against New Brunswick on Wednesday and lost, 56-38.
In soccer, the boys squad was vying for fifth place on Thursday morning against Alberta and ended up on the wrong end of an 8-0 decision, while the girls are playing their final round-robin game this morning against Eastern Door and the North (Quebec) starting at 11:20 a.m. MDT.
On the volleyball court, both the boys and girls teams had quarter-final match-ups versus Alberta at 6 a.m. MDT.
See the next edition of Yellowknife for a full wrap-up from Halifax.