Garden River resident Neavaeh Pine has had a heck of a week in Halifax.
The 16 year old White Pines student was in Halifax as a part of Team Ontario Wrestling at the North American Indigenous Games, a position she secured after winning the OFSAA championships earlier this year.
The North American Indigenous Games are a major multi-sport event that takes place every four years and features competition in 16 sports. The eight day event combines competition among indigenous athletes from all over North America, with traditional events from the many nations attending the games.
Upon arriving in Halifax on Monday, Pine was informed that she would lead the Team Ontario delegation, consisting of 435 athletes, as the flag bearer during the opening ceremonies. “Nevaeh is an athlete that these games were made for” said Team Ontario Manager Gary Lynch. “As a wrestler she is a provincial champion, and she is a proud advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and 2-spirited people. She embodies strength, bravery and commitment to truth.” continued Lynch.
“Carrying the flag for Team Ontario was such an honour. Team Ontario athletes in all sports have been amazing at representing our province. It’s something I will not forget.” Said Pine of being selected to lead the Team Ontario delegation.
The pressure of being the Team Ontario flag-bearer didn’t seem to bother Pine, as she went undefeated, and unscored on in the wrestling tournament, defeating the National silver medalist, Kylie George of Saskatchewan in the gold medal final on Wednesday. When asked about her result, Pine instead chose to talk about the atmosphere of the event as a whole “The wrestling tournament was awesome. It was a long couple of days and we all pushed ourselves to the limit. There were so many flags and the crowds were pumped up to cheer on the athletes from their team”.
Pine has had the benefit of training with a variety of coaches leading up to the games. During the school year is coached by White Pines head coach Will Basawa and Algoma Wrestling Club coaches Trevor Manchester and Charles Charrette. Leading up to NAIG Nevaeh also practiced with coach Brent Fryia at Steel City MMA, where she is also a youth martial arts coach. “Nevaeh wrestled well, and wrestled her best during her last match.” said Fryia. “It was a group effort to get her to the games, and we’re glad she got to experience such a great event. Winning gold is icing on the cake”
Fellow Algoma Wrestling Club and Steel City MMA member Sol Hayward also competed as part of Team Ontario Wrestling. Hayward, one of the youngest athletes in the tournament, was able to advance to the medal rounds after going 3-2 in his pool. He would drop the bronze medal match to Brexdan Kane of Wisconsin to finish fourth.
Source: Steel City MMA
