Ottawa, May 27, 2024 – The Water Polo Canada U19 Men’s National Team won silver medal at the 2024 PanAm Aquatics U19 Men’s and Women’s Championships held last week in El Salvador, while the women’s squad took the fourth position.
With their performances, both teams also qualified Canada for the 2025 World Aquatics Junior Men’s and Women’s World Championships to be held in Croatia and Thailand, respectively (to be confirmed).
On the men’s side, Canada won its first five games before losing 10-7 to the United States in the gold medal game.
Canadian Harrison Labrosse was named Best Goalie of the tournament.
“I am extremely proud of this group of athletes for the way they played and came together, which was nothing short of admirable,” said Pat Oaten, Head Coach for the Water Polo Canada U19 Men’s National Team. “WPC should be very proud of this accomplishment and how they represented the federation.”
“We had a great tournament, all things considered,” said Leo Hachem, Team Captain for the Water Polo Canada U19 Men’s National Team. “Coming second and beating strong teams with only a week of training is a huge accomplishment. It’s a testament to what we can achieve in the future with the program. This challenging experience has been a valuable learning opportunity for all of us, and we’ve become a mature and tight-knit group because of it.”
On the women’s side, the Canadian team recorded three wins in five games, notably defeating the United States 12-10, before losing to that same American squad in the bronze medal match, by a 4-2 score in the shootout following a 10-10 tie game.
“After a slow start to the tournament, we were left in a tough situation,” said Sam Donaghue, Head Coach for the Water Polo Canada U19 Women’s National Team. “Despite great performances, especially in our win against the USA, we found ourselves in the bronze medal game. After a hard-fought game that we are quite proud of, it came down to a shootout. Though we are disappointed with our final placing, we successfully qualified for the 2025 Junior World Aquatic Championships. I would like to thank all the parents, coaches, and Water Polo Canada staff for making this opportunity a reality for an amazing group of athletes.”
“I’m happy with the progress we made throughout our two weeks together,” added Katherine Featherstone, Team Captain for the Water Polo Canada U19 Women’s National Team. “It’s important for us to reflect on the mistakes we made and grow from them in order to see improvement at the World Aquatics Junior Women’s World Championships next year. It was an honour to get to compete alongside this group of girls and while we may not have achieved our desired outcome, I am very proud. Our overall development and desire to improve showed this week, and we are keeping our heads up and looking forward to what’s next.”
Held every two years, the PanAm Aquatics Water Polo U19 Championships showcase athletes who are 19 years old and younger (i.e. born in 2005 or later). A total of 15 teams, eight on the men’s side and seven on the women’s side, took part in the tournament.
Jean-François Morisseau and Doriel Terpenka also attended the event as referees.
More details are available at https://www.waterpolo.ca/content/2024-PanAm-Aquatics-Water-Polo-U19-Championships.
Canadian Teams at the 2024 PanAm Aquatics U19 Men’s and Women’s Championships
Women’s U19 National Team
BENJAMIN, Cianne (Toronto, ON-Shadow Water Polo Club)
BLAZEVIC, Natalia (Vancouver, B.C.-Pacific Storm Water Polo Club)
BUMPAS, Taya (Regina, SK-Regina Armada)
CLARK, Mackenzy (Maple Ridge, B.C.-Fraser Valley)
FEATHERSTONE, Katherine (Calgary, AB-Calgary Renegades)
FOLK, Abigail (Ashburn, ON-Mavericks Water Polo Club)
KRUSHEN, Sydney (Regina, SK-Team Sask)
LAPIERRE, Simone (Regina, SK-Team Sask)
LEVIN, Leah (Calgary, AB-Calgary Renegades)
MADY, Isabella (Delta, B.C.-Fraser Valley)
PLOMP, Brooklyn (Ottawa, ON-Diablo Alliance)
RIEHS, Paxtyn (Okotoks, AB-SJSU/Calgary Renegades)
SCARTH, Madeleine (Surrey, B.C.-Surrey Water Polo)
ULMER, Anna (Regina, SK-Team Sask)
ULMER-LUTUDROMU, Makayla (Regina, SK-Team Sask)
Support Staff
Head Coach: Samuel Donoghue
Assistant Coach: Kyra Christmas
Team Manager: Ethan D’Souza
Athletic Therapist: Antonia Lambiris
Men’s U19 National Team
BECKER, Kyson (Newport Beach, CA-Monarchy Water Polo Club)
CARR, Rhys (Hamilton, ON-Hamilton Water Polo Club)
CRICHLOW, Elias (Regina, SK-Team Sask)
DIACENCO, Ion (Montréal, QC-CAMO)
FURNEAUX, Nicholas (Delta, B.C.-Fraser Valley Water Polo Club)
HACHEM, Leo (Montréal, QC-CAMO)
JELIC, Pavle (Toronto, ON-Mavericks)
JOSEPH, Jason Tyler (Montréal, QC-CAMO)
LABROSSE, Harrison (Lafayette, CA-Santa Clara Broncos)
MAHMOUD, Hamza (Regina, SK-Team Sask)
MARQUEZ, Giancarlo (Port Moody, B.C.-Pacific Storm)
MORAVEK, Bowen (Palos Verdes, CA-Palos Verdes)
OVIEDO-LADIK, Adriel (Montréal, QC-CAMO)
RAJIC, Sava (Etobicoke, ON-Mavericks)
Support Staff
Head Coach: Pat Oaten
Assistant Coach: Nicolas Constantin-Bicari
Team Manager: Dion Joseph
Athletic Therapist: Philippe Brunet
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