A prestigious American fastpitch tournament has a West Kelowna teen showcasing her talents on the national U.S. stage.
Renay Willier plays with the So Cal Athletics fastpitch organization out of California, U.S. Her squad the U16 Athletics, are competing at the biggest fastpitch showcase in the country: the Premier Girls Fastpitch national championships.
Willier, who attends Mt. Boucherie Secondary and plays shortstop and third base, plays in one of the highest levels in Canada with the U19 Tri City Titans in Vancouver (against significantly older players) as well as with the So Cal Athletics, one of the top fastpitch organizations in the U.S.
The PGF national championships pits 80 teams at the U16 level against each other and has university scouts attending and watching the players, as well as the games being nationally broadcasted on TV.
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The 15 year-old fastpitch star has added several athletic achievements in her growing career. She was awarded the Premier’s Award for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sport earlier this year, was a 2018 Indigenous Athlete of the Year and has been added to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
She has captained her teams during U.S. tournaments as well as when she led the U14 Kelowna Elite to the provincial championships in 2017.
Her determination and hard work will soon have Willier looking at what professional options await her.
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Willier recently helped lead the Athletics to a fifth place finish at the 2019 Triple Crown fastpitch tournament, where over 900 teams competed.
The PGF championships run July 23 to 26.
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