May 20/07 8:38 am - Samantha Cools Wins BMX Golden State National

Posted by Editoress on 05/20/07
 

Samantha Cools wins BMX Golden State National
Courtesy Sportcom & CCA

Samantha Cools of Calgary won the gold medal in the elite category on Saturday at the Golden State National BMX cycling competition in Prunedale, California while her compatriot Christine Miller was seventh.

"Samantha had a great performance," said Canadian national BMX coach Tanya Dubnicoff. "She was very confident and followed her game plan. She reached all her goals on the different sections of the course."

On the men's side, Scott Erwood and Nick Geortzen of British Columbia did not advance to the playoff round while Alberta's Patrick Lebel did not reach the semifinals. Lebel, fifth in the quarterfinal, needed to crack the top-four to advance.

In junior competition Jim Brown and Kaila Sweeny, both of Alberta, won bronze medals in the men's and women's events respectively.

"Everyone showed they belonged to compete at this level of competition," said Dubnicoff. "It won't be long before more Canadians produce medal performances at international events."

The Canadian BMX team competes next week at the Victoria International.