A Sooke athlete is making waves in the lacrosse box, on the field and on the rugby pitch.
Maren McKeown has played lacrosse since she was 10-years-old, after noticing a poster at Pearkes Recreation Centre. Since then, she has gone on to play at the highest possible level every opportunity she could. This year she stepped into the net for Team BC’s U22 women’s box lacrosse team as they headed to Halifax to compete for the Carol Patterson Trophy at the box lacrosse nationals earlier this August.
“It’s a big honour to play for Team BC, and I love being able to represent the Island and represent the city as well,” said McKeown.
“There’s a couple lacrosse kids, but it’s nice to show that kids can come from a small town like Sooke and play lacrosse on a national stage.”
The team took home the silver medal in the tournament, after falling to Team Alberta 9-2 in the gold medal game – a slightly disappointing outcome given the expectations. But it was not a loss that defined the experience for McKeown.
“It was a big thing to come out to the East Coast. When my age group came to nationals in Halifax in 2018 they won gold. So it was a big expectation for us to come back and win gold again. But I think it was definitely a fun tournament. There’s a lot of learning that happened as well throughout the tournament and a lot of memories overall,” she said.
While it’s not the colour McKeown is used to – after taking gold with her U19 Team BC women’s field lacrosse squad in 2023 – it’s still an incredible accomplishment. Some of the best memories McKeown says she’ll take from the experience were those made outside the box.
For her, the best moments were “all of us spending time in the hotel room together and just getting closer,” she said.
“You would always hear our team laughing and making jokes with each other the whole time.”
She has played with Team BC since 2019, and plans on returning next year for another shot at a gold medal. But it’s not the only sports goal on her mind.
For her dad, Sean, seeing his daughter participate in so many sports at such a high level is has been a source of pride. He’s even started a YouTube channel – Maren Media so Maren and her teammates can relive their games.
“I’m super excited that the kids are competitive and that they’re doing well,” said Sean, who also commented on his son’s success as a boxer.
With the lacrosse season over, McKeown has now turned her eyes back to rugby, a favourite sport of hers. She is presently at the University of Prince Edward Island for training camp with the rugby team, and will turn her focus towards the Atlantic University Sport championships in October.
“I just love playing sports. Ever since I was a little kid, I played every sport you can think of. I realized that I had a chance to play in university in either lacrosse or rugby, and rugby just had more of a calling for me,” said McKeown.
After university, McKeown says she hopes to become a lawyer. Until then, she’ll go as far as sports will take her – whatever the game.
