After seeing the last of New Brunswick's athletes, coaches and staff off Prince Edward Island on Saturday afternoon, Jennifer Bent Richard felt a tinge of sadness

The province's chef de mission from Fredericton could use a breather after an exhausting two-week stretch, but she was also reluctant to say goodbye to everyone who'd made her so proud.

New Brunswick finished with seven medals: one gold, four silver and two bronze. That was one bronze better than the 2005 Games in Regina, but short of the stated goal to win 10 medals.

"We could have had our 10th very easily (on Friday)," Bent Richard said. "But you can't control what happens in sport and I think that's why we're all hooked on it. Those girls who came fourth in wrestling gave it their all. Sport is just 'Do it again tomorrow and the outcome will be different.'

"It's a moment in time. It's a medal that has a ribbon on it and it goes around their neck and they should be extremely proud.

"We're very, very proud of them, but there's not that many people who get that opportunity and it's not an easy thing to do. That being said, there are a lot of proud moments that don't have medals attached to them."

That's why Bent Richard was still satisfied with N.B.'s showing.

"Definitely, the medals at the end of both weeks are a highlight," she said, "but beyond that, it's just the stories and the relationships and the effort.

"Quite honestly, it's the effort that's a highlight for me. To see New Brunswickers walk in and be confident and know they can stand toe-to-toe with anyone, that's what it's all about for me.

"I saw that this time with a lot of the sports," Bent Richard said. "They weren't intimidated and they shouldn't be."

Wrestlers captured five medals; rowers brought home a silver and bronze.

In week one, wrestler Jean-Francois Godin of Beresford captured silver and teammate Corey Boudreau of Moncton won bronze.

On Friday, the Pat Zwicker-coached women's wrestling team earned three more medals. Allyssa Cleaves of St. Stephen claimed gold with a last-second point while Valerie Ouellette of Campbellton and Valerie Godin of Beresford each secured silver.

"It was phenomenal to see those girls perform," Bent Richard said. "Allyssa is only going into Grade 10. Pat just brought them here to give them an experience and set them up for the next Games. They did extremely well.

"Wrestling in New Brunswick has really proven itself as a sport that's on the upswing."

New Brunswick was aiming to be top four for the Centennial Cup, which measures overall team improvement from one game to the next. The team dropped into a tie for eighth (but only one point out of fourth) when the N.B. men's soccer team lost 2-1 to P.E.I. in Saturday's fifth-place game.

"It was hard for our soccer team to do better, after a silver medal in 2005," Bent Richard said.

As well, some "great efforts" don't result in medals, she said.

For example, the women's beach volleyball team of Jill Blanchard and Hilary Cummings lost a three-set tiebreaker to Ontario in preliminary play, the men's basketball team fell by two points to British Columbia and the men's soccer team was nipped 1-0 by Quebec in the quarter-final.

"Those are still extremely significant," Bent Richard said. "The same goes for our teams that have improved. Our men's rugby team is a really nice story. They were ninth in 2005 and sixth here (with a 7-3 record). They were so composed and what a gruelling schedule they had to endure. They were focused and they got on a roll.

"At the end of the day, their performance record was worth more than sixth place in my view," she said. "It's even significant that our (women's) softball team went from 10th to eighth -- significant because of the effort they put in, the training they did and the coaching they had.

"The same goes for kayak," she said. "We had a lot of 15- and 16-year-olds go up against athletes who are 20 or 21. They're just getting started."

Bent Richard said another highlight for her was the work of sports psychologist Ryan Hamilton.

"He made a significant difference, there's no doubt," she said. "It was a very busy and hectic Games for him, for one person. And you have everything from A to Z to deal with, but Ryan handled it beautifully and he connected with individuals and with teams. Those who used him reaped the benefits of his talents."

Bent Richard, who worked for New Brunswick Special Olympics from 1996 to 2001, was pleased to see SO events continue to gain prominence.

"It makes me feel pretty darn good," she said. "It's just another race now. There's still work to do, don't get me wrong, in terms of full integration and selection, but now it's just part of the Games. That's really nice to see. It was also great to see Team New Brunswick have wheelchair athletes for the first time since 1993."

Bent Richard would like to be involved "in some capacity" with the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que. Right now, though - as she settles back into a regular routine with husband John and their three-year-old daughter Ali - she wants to leave the 2009 event by thanking everyone who helped her.

The mission staff, from assistant Steve Harris on down, "was second to none," she said. "There was some challenges at these Games and they stepped up to the plate. It doesn't matter if you have adversity, it just matters how you deal with it. They worked phenomenally well and we couldn't have done it without them. A lot of them were missing their families too.

"We joke around 'Why do we do this?' It's kind of a crazy life for a couple of weeks," Bent Richard said. "But at the same time everybody loves it, too."

Canada

Second local wrestler wins Canada Games medal