The 2024 Arctic Winter Games in Mat-Su Valley, Alaska wrapped up with the closing ceremony Saturday.

Team Yukon was awarded the Hodgson Trophy, given to the team that displays fair play and team spirit.

According to a Team Yukon press release, the U18 boys’ futsal team did not lose a game throughout the Arctic Winter Games. In the gold medal match Saturday, they defeated Nunavut 6-4. Leo Whittaker potted a hat trick, and Jackson Berry, Kaden Gregory and Kyan Morrison added the rest.

The U18 girls’ futsal team battled Alaska to the final buzzer but fell 4-3. Beez Duncan netted two and Jordan Minifie got the other goal.

Alpine skier Ellyann Dinn lead Team Yukon into the closing ceremonies.

On Friday, the girls’ hockey team shut out the N.W.T. 2-0 to secure the bronze medal. Maya Bulmer scored the go-ahead goal and Ella Johnston added the insurance marker into an empty net. The U15 boys lost a close one to Alberta North, 4-1, to take silver but had a great run through the tournament. Braylen Tessier scored the lone goal for the Yukon.

On the hardcourt, the girls’ team rallied from 10 down after the first half to down Nunavut 58-41 in the bronze medal match. Robin Mueller led Yukon with 28 points.

The boys’ team went into the gold medal game having won every game they played. In the final, they were in tough against the N.W.T., but they never let them jump ahead as they took the gold medal game 83-75. Karl Tesoro and Britt Pagobo led the boys with 17 points each. Jon Aine chipped in 16 points.

The cross country skiers joined forces on the final day of the games for the 3x3 km relays. The U18 boys, Jan Zumer-Brewis, Finn Gallant, and Misa Svoboda took third and in U16 Finnian Hanley, Nicolas Connell and Koyla Grotolli also earned bronze. The U14 boys, Peter Embacher, Sitka Land-Gillis, and William Blais placed third. The U16 girls’ team of Sian Hamilton, Maura Gallant, and Emily Kralisch-Seguin skied their way to silver.

In futsal, the U16 girls’ team put up a valiant effort but fell to Sápmi 7-1. Juno Hanatani got the goal for Yukon.

The U16 boys fell in the gold medal match to Sápmi 4-3. Goals came from Noah Lapierre, Cameron Bringsli, and John Chisholm.

It was mixed relay day on the biathlon range. U18 ski biathletes earned gold and the U16 team silver.

On the snowshoes, the team topped the podium.

The unsafe conditions for the snowboard cross persisted into Day 5 so that race was cancelled.

In badminton, Lia Hale and Winnie Zhang battled hard but fell to Alberta North in the junior doubles. In juvenile female doubles, Riley Cyre and Kara McLean had a top-five finish.

On the snowshoes, Micah McConnell and Sylas Sanderson went one-two in the 5 km cross country race. Mathias Frostad earned bronze in the 10 km race and Kate Tobler earned bronze in the 7.5 km race.

The girls’ volleyball team dropped the first set to the N.W.T. but rallied off three in a row to win bronze 3-1. The boys’ team took on Alberta North in the gold medal game but settled for silver after a 3-1 loss.

In speed skating, Gregory Freeman took silver and was joined on the podium by teammate Kieran Horton, who got bronze in the 1,500 metre races. In the 3,000 metre relay, Freeman, Horton, and Carl Turcotte scored silver.

Two ulus were earned in doubles table tennis on their final day of competition. The duo of Jack Nguyen and Victor Li and the pair of Marit Beneke and Melody Qiu earned bronzes.

The wrestling team participated in Inuit wrestling. Liam Gishler (-60 kg) took gold. Mikey O’Brien (-65 kg) snared silver. Harlan Keefer (-78 kg) bagged bronze. Kai Simon-Sakurai (-85 kg) took bronze.

Among females, Aquilah Salim (-50 kg) won bronze. Max Oleshak (-55 kg) and Lia Hinchey (-60 kg) scored silver.

At the gymnastics facility, Lucy Miller earned gold in floor and vaulted to bronze. Arielle Bergeron and Emma Duncan had strong performances on the uneven bars.

Amélie Guilbeault sledge-jumped her way past the field to earn gold. Teammate Bree Labelle placed second. In junior boys’ sledge jump, Darwin Murray earned silver and Chris McCarron rounded out the top three.

Dene Games wrapped up their Arctics in the pole push. The team didn’t make the podium but gave their best efforts.

The figure skaters competed in the team event on their final day of the Games and placed fourth.

It was a successful day on the range for the archers. Mya Wilson, gold, and Mikayla Therriault, bronze, stood on the podium together in the girls’ individual barebow.

Dawson Widney and Everett Stuart went one-two on the boys’ side.

In compound, Delia Therriault and Kael Epp secured the golden ulus.

The Yukon curlers got paired with Alberta North to form the mixed teams. Lucy Epp and her partner played for bronze and Luka Slykhuis and his partner went for gold.

The final medal (ulu) standings saw Alaska come out on top with 221 medals (70 gold, 85 silver and 66 bronze).

Team Yukon finished second with 162 ulus (59 gold, 45 silver and 58 bronze).

Alberta North captured third place with 124 medals (43 gold, 42 solver and 39 bronze).

– With files from Team Yukon