Yukon did absolutely swimmingly in the pool at the 2023 NAIG in Halifax Wednesday.

According to a Team Yukon press release, the swim team made it to 17 finals, winning a total of 10 medals, including eight gold, one silver and one bronze. They also achieved 15 personal bests.

Tuja Dreyer, 15, led the way with four golds.

His sister, Kassua Dreyer, 18, (whose Indigenous last name is Gínnet’ā) powered her way to three gold.

Corbin Jackson, 15, rounded out the Yukon medal haul with three medals, each of a different colour.

The athletes on the rifle range were almost overshadowed by the swimmer's exploits.

Ava Irving-Staley, 18, consistently found the target during the 19U 3P Female rifle shooting for a score of 403, giving her a combined score of 771, putting her in first for Yukon’s first gold of the Games.

Justin Johnson, also 18, shot 252 Tuesday and 233 Wednesday for a combined score of 485 and gold in the 19U 3P Male rifle shooting.

Jorja Jackson, 16, previously struck silver in the 3P 16U female competition on Tuesday.

On the volleyball beach, the U16 Female team of Elsa Gleason and Leah McLean downed Nova Scotia 21-10, 21-13 to punch their ticket to the semifinals today. Unfortunately, they came up just short in a close match with B.C., losing 21-12 and 21-16.

However, they played Nova Scotia for bronze today and came out victorious by scores of 21-9 and 21-18.

The U16 men’s team, Kaelan Basnett and Joe Popadynec, playing in the U19 Male division, downed Nova Scotia 21-17, 21-18. They then narrowly lost to New Brunswick 22-20 and 21-9.

Basnett and Popadynec played Nova Scotia for bronze today and lost two tough sets, 21-19 and 21-16, to finish fourth.

Jennifer Tuton and Jamie Nickel came up just short Wednesday against Newfoundland, losing 21-19 and 21-7.

The 19U duo bounced back today in a marathon match against against B.C., 10-21, 21-11 and 15-8 to capture the bronze medal.

Malakai Alatini and Samuel Thorn were in tough Wednesday against New Brunswick in a hard-fought game. They came up just short, 21-15 and 21-7 and didn't qualify for a medal match.

The U19 female volleyball team played a difficult New Brunswick side in their final game of the preliminary round. The team took the second set 25-16 to force a deciding third set but came up just short, 15-10. They played Minnesota today in the final preliminary game of Pool C and lost a close one, 26-24 and 25-17.

On the 3D archery trail, U16 compound archer Kael Epp improved his score from round one by 14, finishing fourth with a 345. In U19 female barebow, Phoenix Widney shot a 271 to outpace the competition by 36 with a score of 515. U19 barebow archer Dawson Widney shot 252 in round two after shooting 298 on day one to finish second with 550 points.

Daniel Rutledge, U19 compound, shot 245 in the second round after shooting 304 in round one to finish with 549 points. Mya Wilson shot 274 and 245 over two rounds and sits second in the Barebow 16U Female standings after the qualification rounds. Based on their combined scores, the archers were seeded for the elimination rounds today.

On the mats, Eban Basnett, 66kg, pinned both his New Mexico opponents by identical 5-0 scores to go 2-0 on day two to finish ninth overall. Jacob Nickel, 74kg, went 1-1 on day two, defeating his opponent from Eastern Door and the North 5-0, and finished seventh in the standings. Due to concussion protocol, Kayce Saligo did not fight on the final day.

In a strong day for the athletics team, Kara McLean finished sixth in shot put, and Ella Johnson was tenth.

In boys’ shot put, Carson Nelson finished ninth and Jasper Charlie 11th.

Paxton Nelson came in fifth in javelin and 23rd in long jump.

Will Wilkinson finished sixth, and Cullen Sias eleventh, in the 14U Male 1200m. According to Team Yukon, both had excellent races.

The men’s 19U basketball team tried to rally in the second half against a tough Michigan side but couldn’t close the gap to get the win and went down 77-58.

They bounced back in a big way today with a 80-65 win over Nova Scotia. Captain Arlow James-Walker led the way with 25 points.

The girls 14U team played tough defence against Manitoba, losing 38-9, as they continued to show improvement during the NAIG. Natilee Thompson scored six for the young Yukon squad.

In badminton, the teams had close games and showed awesome teamwork. The 16U male doubles team lost tight matches to Eastern Door and the North (22-20,21-10), Newfoundland and Labrador (21-12, 21-4) and the N.W.T. (21-11, 21-19).

The 19U mixed doubles team fell to Newfoundland and Labrador 21-8 and 21-4.

On the water, Hayleigh Norman-Elias completed her first MC1 1000m 14U race, finishing 10th in her heat and 20th overall. Norman-Elias was able to push through her nervousness right to the end. Prezley Jobin lost a paddle in her MC1 1000m 16U race but bounced back nicely with Norman-Elias in the canoe for the MC2 3000m 16U race to finish fifth.

The golfers, Drake Cooper, Jase Johnstone, Khagane Smith, and Chayce Tuton were back on the greens to play round two of their three-round Games.

In the 16U male, Cooper shot 82 Tuesday, 81 Wednesday and an unofficial 89 today to sit ninth with a 252 total.

In the 19U male, Tuton shot 97, 85 and 90 (unofficial) to sit third at 272. Johnstone was still on the course at the Star's deadline.

In the 16U female competition, Smith was sitting unofficially in fifth after shooting 145 today for a 474 total.

Including today's beach volleyball results, the medal count for the Yukon stood at 16 today: 10 in swimming, one in canoe, three in shooting, and the two in beach volleyball.