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Lily McCullough is one of the top young judo athletes in Canada. And when she’s not taking an opponent to the mat, she’s on the fastball diamond, swinging a bat at elite levels of the sport.
In judo, McCollough trains and competes with the Prince George Judo Club. She’s a two-time national medalist (bronze in U-14 in 2022 and silver in U-16 in 2023), and was part of Team B.C. for the 2023 Canada Winter Games, where she finished fifth as an under-ager.
In fastball, McCullough has been honing her skills in the Prince George Thunderbirds program. She plays infield and outfield, and was the youngest player on the Cariboo Northeast team at the 2022 B.C. Summer Games in Prince George. In the fall of 2023, she was selected to a Canada Futures team that participated in a showcase event in Georgia.
Rowan Teegee-Zatorski is a force on the volleyball court.
The 17-year-old outside hitter from the Lheidli T’enneh and Takla First Nations was a member of Team B.C. for the 2023 North American Indigenous Games in Halifax. At the Games, he helped his squad to a fifth-place finish.
Teegee-Zatorski then went on to have a stellar high school season with the Duchess Park Condors. He was chosen as most valuable player at the double-A zone championship tournament and a second-team all-star at provincials, where he led the Condors to a fourth-place result. Teegee-Zatorski followed his high school season with club volleyball. He suited up for the PGYVC Kodiaks, and is getting set to practice with college and university teams as he looks to his future in post-secondary volleyball.
To date, Teegee-Zatorski’s volleyball journey has included a 2022 Premier’s Award for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sport.
Colby Winther Konig was making her first appearance at the Royal Winter Fair, the crown jewel of the Canadian equestrian scene. She had every reason to let her nerves get the best of her. Instead, the 15-year-old from Prince George went out and dominated.
At the Royal Winter Fair, held in Toronto in the fall of 2023, Winter Konig claimed the Jump Canada national championship and also won the Canadian Equestrian Team (CET) finals. In the Jump Canada competition, she was up against riders as old as 18. And in the CET finals, competitors were as old as 21.
Winther Konig was aboard homebred gelding Big Ticket for both her victories. She’s coached by her mom, Sorine Winther, and represents RidgeCountry Farm.
Despite her young age, Winther Konig plans on moving up to the U-25 division this season.
On the ice and in the pool, Emma Watson has made her mark.
As a ringette player, Watson has a provincial title on her resumé and was selected to skate for B.C.’s U-19 double-A team at the 2022 national championship tournament in Calgary. The next season, she kept ringette closer to home and captained the Zone 8 rep team. Watson still plays ringette but has now aged out of competitive play.
As a swimmer, Watson got a late start – at age 13 – but proved to be a natural. She rose through the ranks as a member of the Prince George Pisces and routinely finished swim meets with gold medals around her neck. At the B.C. Summer Swimming Association provincial championships in 2023, she grabbed gold in the 200-metre medley, won a silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke and a bronze in the 100-metre backstroke.
Watson is now giving back to the sport, in a coaching role with the Pisces.
Lily Palmer is a pioneer athlete and a part of history.
The 18-year-old Palmer is the first deaf ringette player from Prince George and also the first deaf person to compete in the World Ringette Championships. That happened in the fall of 2023 in Calgary, where she took to the ice for the Czech Republic. During the tournament, Palmer helped the club to its first-ever victory, and the team ultimately skated to a bronze medal.
Earlier in her career, Palmer took up hockey to get some extra ice time. She played for three years and won the Prince George Minor Hockey Association’s major hockey scholarship in 2023.
Palmer is currently attending the University of Victoria. In her spare time, she is helping young ringette players learn the game.
Jenna Hamel is establishing herself as one of the elite taekwon-do athletes in the country.
Hamel earned her black belt at the age of 16 and started her competitive career the next year. Representing Prince George’s Family Taekwon-Do at the 2023 national championships, she battled to a silver medal in sparring and was asked to try out for Team Canada. Hamel attended a selection camp and made the team. She was chosen as team captain for junior girls and headed to Finland in the fall of 2023 for the International Taekwon-Do Federation world championships.
Hamel wore Team Canada colours in sparring, and the experience stoked her fire to go for gold in the future.
Troy Todoruk grew up as a multi-sport athlete. Hockey, volleyball, basketball and baseball kept him on the move.
In high school volleyball and basketball at College Heights Secondary, Todoruk was a standout player. In his Grade 12 year, he led the volleyball and basketball teams to provincial championship appearances and was recognized as a city all-star in basketball.
Ultimately, though, Todoruk chose to pursue baseball. He came up through the Prince George Knights all-star program and caught the attention of the Campbellsville University Tigers in Kentucky. The Tigers compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
As a freshman, the 18-year-old Todoruk is looking to carve out a space for himself in the Campbellsville program. He plays third base and first base, and is already seeing time with the senior varsity team.
Adam Sieben’s quick stride took him all the way to Costa Rica for an international track and field competition.
The local sprinter was selected to Team Canada for the 2023 North American, Central American and Caribbean U-18 Athletics Championships. At the meet, he competed in the 100-metre dash and stopped the clock in 11.14 seconds. Sieben didn’t qualify for the final. The eventual gold-medallist, however, was only steps quicker, at 10.56 seconds.
Entering the event, Sieben’s personal-best time in the 100-metre was 10.8 seconds, which he ran in Surrey earlier in 2023.
Sieben trains and competes with the Prince George Track and Field Club. In 2022 with the Duchess Park Condors, he was the provincial high school junior champion in the 400-metre distance. His gold-medal time in the race was 50.50 seconds.
Soon after she could walk, Aliah Turner was on skis. These days, she packs a rifle too, and she’s making a name for herself in the sport of biathlon.
Turner started biathlon at the age of 12, and is now 17. In 2023, she qualified to represent Canada on junior International Biathlon Union tours in Latvia and Estonia. The same year, she was a member of Team B.C. for the Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island.
In 2022, Turner got the chance to represent the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club at the Canadian biathlon championships when they were held on home turf at the Otway Nordic Centre. Skiing on oh-so familiar trails in the senior girls 7.5-kilometre pursuit, Turner gave a stellar performance – including hitting 16 out of 20 targets on the range – and finished with a silver medal.
Chris Zimmerman made a huge impact as a first-year volleyball player in Ontario University Athletics.
The six-foot-four setter was named the 2022-23 OUA men’s volleyball rookie of the year for his outstanding play with the Queens University Gaels. Zimmerman, a graduate of Duchess Park Secondary, finished the regular season ninth overall in assists per set, with an average of 8.08. Not only did he excel in coordinating the Gaels’ offensive attack, he was a major contributor on defence with 1.39 digs per set. Zimmerman helped his Kingston-based club to an 11-9 record.
Zimmerman continued his growth as a player in 2023-24. In the regular season, he averaged 8.83 assists per set, good for seventh overall in the league. As a team, the Gaels were among the best, finishing second with a match record of 15-5.
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