Covy Moore/Rocky View Publishing

A member of the Big Country Zone 2 football teams holds tight to the ball and evades a tackle from two of his opponents during the gold medal final at the 2012 Alberta summer games in lethbridge, July 29. big country lost 44-0 to zone 2, but brought home the tournament's sportsmanship trophy.

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Big Country athletes bring home large medal haul

It was a successful weekend in the pool, on the field and on the court for the Big Country Zone 2 team, as it brought home 117 medals - 50 gold, 38 silver and 29 bronze, from the 2012 Alberta Summer Games in Lethbridge, July 25 to 29.

The team sent 300 athletes to the Games, and 51 of them were from Airdrie.

Airdrie resident River Peacock carried on a strong tradition of medalling in BMX by taking gold in the Male 13-14 race. Peacock’s moment at the Games only lasted a few hours, but he said the four-day experience was a memorable one.

“It was exciting and lots of fun,” he said. “I enjoyed it and I’m bringing some pride by winning gold back to Airdrie. It was nice to be able to represent Zone 2.”

Airdrie’s Kayla Goruk was one of the top winners in the pool, medalling in eight of her nine events. She took gold in the 100-metre freestyle and butterfly, the 200-metre butterfly and the 4x50-metre and 4x100-metre relays. She won silver in the 50-metre and 200-metre freestyle, as well as 4x100-metre freestyle relay.

Reid Glatz brought home eight medals, including gold in the 200-metre and 800-metre freestyle, the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, the 100-metre backstroke and 50-metre butterfly. He took silver in the 4x50-metre, 4x100-metre medley relays and 200-metre individual medley. His lone bronze medal came in the 1,500-metre freestyle.

A handful of other Airdrie swimmers also medalled at the race, including Melia St. Louis and Zac McLeod, each with five medals. Karissa Nolin won bronze in the athletics 4x100-metre relay.

Big Country also had a strong showing in the team sports, taking a medal in all but two categories. Ryleigh Hamilton of Langdon was the lone Rocky View athlete on the women’s rugby team, which defeated Zone 4 12-10 in the gold medal final.

James Borden, Zachary Eykelboom, Nicholas Granley, Bradey Hensel, Taran Hardy, Prinex Roberts and Michael Stewart, all of Airdrie, were part of the men’s soccer team that defeated Zone 1 2-1 to win bronze, while the women’s soccer team went 0-3-1 in the tournament.

Caroline Batista, who grew up in Brazil and moved to Airdrie in 2009, represented Zone 2 on the women’s soccer team and said the tournament was an excellent opportunity for making new friends.

“It was really fun,” she said. “In all the games, we played really tough and we never gave up. At first, I didn’t know any of the girls except for the ones from Airdrie, but you start making friends and it becomes easier to play with them.”

It was a showdown for the female beach volleyball bronze medal final, with the Zone 2 fill team defeating Zone 2 two sets to one.

The Zone 2 men’s beach volleyball team also took its final match to three sets, taking the silver medal against Zone 3.

It was a historic weekend for the Big Country football team, who were defeated 44-0 by Zone 3 in the gold medal final, taking home silver.

Coming into the tournament, Zone 2 hadn’t won a match at the Games in 18 years. The team also won the sportsmanship trophy, which was one of its main objectives.

For more Summer Games results, visit www.albertagames.com