NORTH Shore players were heavily involved as four British Columbia age-group provincial rugby teams took home medals from the National Championship Festival held in Sherbrooke, Que., Aug. 8-12
For the second straight year the province's U18 and U16 boys teams took home gold, completing undefeated runs through the tournament.
Chad Carlsen, Neil Courtney, Michael Harvey, Reid Tucker and Nathan Yanagiya of the Capilano Rugby Club all suited up for the U18 team as they rolled through the tournament, finishing off with a convincing 40-16 win over Alberta in the final.
At the U16 level Capilano's Nicholas Allen, Cole Keffer, Jakob Knapton, Mitchell Mehlenbacher and Austrin Wright helped B.C. Gold, the province's No. 1 team, battle to a tough 15-13 win over Ontario in the final. B.C. Blue, the second team, also medaled at the tournament, scoring bronze with a 12-7 win over Ontario's second team. Capilano's Angus Carroll, Jagger Loeber, Charlie Macdonald, Jonathan Manderson, Anthiny Oswald, Carlos Sheppard, Jeremy Sinclair and Dylan Weyell all suited up for the squad.
On the women's side, Carson Graham students Cheyenne Conrad and Jess Neilson helped B.C. finish third at the U18 level with a 13-0 win over Quebec in the bronze medal game. Neilson led the way with a try, conversion, and two penalties to score all of the points in the win.
