Four Tri-Cities teens reached the podium at a sporting event that celebrates First Nations athletes.
This included two Port Moody sisters that rallied B.C. to a gold medal in box lacrosse at the 2023 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG).
Jordan and Jolaine Bolam represented the province in the under-19 female tournament, lifting the blue, white and gold to an undefeated 6-0 record in Halifax, N.S., in the process.
As well, Port Coquitlam's Lincoln Wall and Carter Donahue amassed a 5-1 record on the floor with B.C.'s under-16 male lacrosse squad.
The lone setback, however, came in the final and resulted in a silver medal.
The Tri-Cities athletes' contributions were two of 159 total medals collected by B.C. across 14 sports at NAIG 2023.
"I am so proud of Team BC," said Michelle Webster, Team BC’s Chef de Mission, in a release today (July 26).
"It has been a great honour to serve Team BC for the 2023 NAIG. Thank you to the Host Society for their efforts in making this NAIG experience a memorable one for all the participants."
The Bolam sisters, who are of Sto:lo descent, combined for 30 points in six games in the under-19 event.
Jordan, 15, tied with two other B.C. teammates with 21 individual points, including a second-best 12 goals.
She tallied two goals and an assist in a back-and-forth gold-medal match against Ontario, in which B.C. held on in the final few minutes for the 10-8 victory.
Jolaine, 14, recorded four goals and nine points.
The Bolams, both students at Heritage Woods Secondary, are runners with Port Moody minor box and Coquitlam Adanacs field lacrosse associations.
They won the 2023 B.C. provincial championship with the female under-17 'B' Thunder earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Wall was a force to be reckoned with for B.C.'s under-16 male box lacrosse team.
The 15-year-old PoCo Saint — in the box and on the field — finished second among team and tournament scoring with 42 points in six games, including 23 goals.
Wall, who is of Métis heritage, also scored four times in the gold-medal match, a 7-6 loss to Ontario
Donahue, 14 and a member of the Enoch Cree Nation, notched a goal and an assist at NAIG 2023.
Both Wall and Donahue served as alternate captains for Team BC.
- with a file from Mario Bartel, Tri-City News
