The Town of Cochrane was well represented at the 2018 Alberta Summer Games in Grande Prairie on July 19 to 22 with more than 50 athletes and coaches competing. Cochrane had three first place finishes off the backs of Brock Gilbert and Alexander Johnson who both finished first in the 12 and 13-year-old triathlon relay event with a time of one hour and 25 seconds and Ryan Hegarty in the 17 and under male 300 metre hurdles. Chloe McEvoy finished second in the canoe-kayak 11 to 14-year-old girls C-2 wild water race, while also getting second place in the K-1 wild water race. McEvoy finished her weekend with a bronze in the canoe polo event. Both Heidi Moores and her sister, Holly, finished second in the female 12 and 13-year-old female relay event and the female 14 and 15-year-old individual triathlon. St. Timothy High School track and field star Darci Peterson won silver in the girls 15 and under 2,000 metre race. There were also a number of third place finishes as Shaun Clazie, Merek Coltman, Ben Dobson, Chase Hunt, Jacob Mate, Ty Metcalfe and Ben Oliver helped Zone 2 Big Country team claim bronze in the Summer Games football tournament after they defeated Zone 4 from Parkland 27-26 in a very close battle. Cochrane High Cobras girls basketball team head coach Randy Peron guided the Zone 2 girls basketball team to a bronze medal. Cochrane athletes' efforts helped Zone 2 finish third in the overall medal count standings with 48 gold medals, 47 silver and 38 bronze for an outstanding 133 combined medals over the course of the Games. Cochrane also had 54 top 10 finishes over the course of the games from athletes participating in different events including 17 fourth place finishes, narrowly missing out on a medal. Of those top 10 finishes, two of them came from St. Timothy Thunder track athlete Maggie Brolsma who finished seventh in the girls 17 and under female 3,000 metre race and tenth in the 800 metre race. Brolsma, who was expected to do well in her events, had a bit of a dip in her performance due to the fact she was suffering with a cold. The young athlete battled through and said the Games were a fantastic experience for her as well as the other Cochrane athletes who took part. "The Summer Games were a great way for me to continue training throughout the summer and everyone who was there partaking (in the Games) were so welcoming and kind," Brolsma said. "Participating in the in the Games was interesting for me personally because I got a cold travelling to Grande Prairie and couldn't seem to shake it so it affected my performance. It was a little disappointing because you're competing at such a high level with so much invested into a meet. Regardless of my performance, it was a great way to meet new people and have fun doing the sport that I love." Brolsma also said there were some lessons that she'll take away from the Games and translate those experiences into something she'll use for the upcoming cross country and track season with St. Timothy. "I definitely learned not to get into the mindset of 'I'm going to lose' or 'this is going to be a bad race'," Brolsma said. "If you have confidence in your ability and all the work you've put in preparing for the race, it can really make a difference when you start competing." Those who are interested in the remainder of the results from the Summer games can visit www.albertasport.ca.
