WRES: Dinos, Huskies capture Canada West titles
February 8, 2020
CALGARY - The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men and the host Dinos women brought home the team titles at the 2020 Canada West Wrestling Championships Saturday afternoon at the University of Calgary's Jack Simpson Gym.
Saskatchewan held off the Alberta Golden Bears by five points in the team standings to capture the men's banner, while the Dinos needed a big performance in their final duel of the day against the Huskies and took home five individual gold medals en route to their record 11th conference title. For both squads, it's their first Canada West championship since 2016.
Alberta (38 points) was five points back of Saskatchewan in the men's team standings, with Calgary (30) and Fraser Valley (20) finishing third and fourth. In women's action, Calgary's 36 points topped Saskatchewan's 32, with Alberta scoring 22 and Fraser Valley four.
"I'm very happy for our team - our entire team," said Dinos coach Mitch Ostberg, named the women's coach of the year following the meet. "Winning a team banner is always a great thing for the program, and everyone takes pride in the success, as it turns out today with our women's team. Our men fought very hard and didn't come away with a championship, but they're very much one team. Clearly our focus is to try to create another team title - I think we have the qualification within the women's team to really compete, and we'll be there to compete hard for individual medals."
The Dinos won five individual gold medals in women's action: Grace Lew (51 kg), Grace Chambers (55 kg), Amy Bellavia (59 kg), Miki Rowbottom (63 kg), and Ellise Daynes (67 kg).
Saskatchewan's Daniel Olver, named the men's coach of the year, also had his sights down the road at the U SPORTS national championships.
"Coming to this tournament as a full team is really important, and there were lots of steps that led here to the moment where we stepped up and were able to perform, and that was really exciting to see," said Olver. "It's a whole yearly process to get it done. We'll hammer on the things we need to do a better job of in the next two weeks, get out to practice, and get what we need done."
The Huskies picked up four individual men's gold medals: Ayobami Peluola (65 kg), Carson Lee (82 kg), Hunter Lee (90 kg), and Jacob Phillips (120 kg).
The men's top wrester honour went to Fraser Valley's Amarvir Atwall, who came out on top of a tough field in the 76 kg weight class. Atwall defeated Alberta's Myles Kent by fall in the third round to win the gold medal, with Kent taking silver. Alberta's Hayley Heffel earned female Outstanding Wrestler honours for her gold-medal performance in the 72 kg division. Heffel dominated her two opponents, winning both matches via technical superiority.
"This award means a lot," said Heffel. "It's one of those things that as a first year you always want to strive for, so this being my last year of university and finally getting it, I'm really happy. Heading into U SPORTS, I have a game plan, I know how my matches are going to go already with that, so just one match at a time and see where that takes me - hopefully in the finals, hopefully with another gold around my neck."
Carson Lee of Saskatchewan took home male rookie-of-the-year honours after his gold-medal performance in the 82 kg division, defeating defending champion Nicholas Goleniec of Alberta to land atop the podium.
Calgary's Grace Lew was a double winner of individual awards, earning both rookie of the year and student-athlete community service honours. Lew, a first-year Cumming School of Medicine student, pulled off a pair of tight wins over her Alberta and Saskatchewan opponents to win the 51 kg gold medal in her first conference championship. To her individual gold medal and her top rookie award, she added community service recognition for her work with adult ESL learners and learners with developmental disabilities, helping them with their reading, writing, and speaking skills.
The men's student-athlete award also went to the host Dinos, with 100 kg silver medallist Steven Sheppard accepting the honour. Sheppard, who is completing his education degree, has coached wrestling at the grassroots level for several years in addition to work with the Special Olympics novice softball program. He also works with the Junior Achievement program as an instructor, and volunteers at his local YMCA.
Additional gold medallists on the women's side included Saskatchewan's Alex Schell (48 kg) and Maddison Haney (82 kg), while men's gold medallists also included Calgary's Josh Skory (54 kg), along with Alberta's Jordan Wong (61 kg), Harris Valdes (57 kg), Devan Larkin (68 kg), and Aidan McKeage (72 kg). Jason Bains won another gold for UFV in the 100 kg weight class.
The top three finishers in each weight class are automatic qualifiers to the 2020 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. in just two weeks' time, Feb. 21-22.
2020 CANADA WEST WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Jack Simpson Gym | University of Calgary
TEAM SCORES
MEN
AWARDS
MEN
WOMEN
RESULTS
W 48 kg
Saskatchewan held off the Alberta Golden Bears by five points in the team standings to capture the men's banner, while the Dinos needed a big performance in their final duel of the day against the Huskies and took home five individual gold medals en route to their record 11th conference title. For both squads, it's their first Canada West championship since 2016.
Alberta (38 points) was five points back of Saskatchewan in the men's team standings, with Calgary (30) and Fraser Valley (20) finishing third and fourth. In women's action, Calgary's 36 points topped Saskatchewan's 32, with Alberta scoring 22 and Fraser Valley four.
"I'm very happy for our team - our entire team," said Dinos coach Mitch Ostberg, named the women's coach of the year following the meet. "Winning a team banner is always a great thing for the program, and everyone takes pride in the success, as it turns out today with our women's team. Our men fought very hard and didn't come away with a championship, but they're very much one team. Clearly our focus is to try to create another team title - I think we have the qualification within the women's team to really compete, and we'll be there to compete hard for individual medals."
The Dinos won five individual gold medals in women's action: Grace Lew (51 kg), Grace Chambers (55 kg), Amy Bellavia (59 kg), Miki Rowbottom (63 kg), and Ellise Daynes (67 kg).
Saskatchewan's Daniel Olver, named the men's coach of the year, also had his sights down the road at the U SPORTS national championships.
"Coming to this tournament as a full team is really important, and there were lots of steps that led here to the moment where we stepped up and were able to perform, and that was really exciting to see," said Olver. "It's a whole yearly process to get it done. We'll hammer on the things we need to do a better job of in the next two weeks, get out to practice, and get what we need done."
The Huskies picked up four individual men's gold medals: Ayobami Peluola (65 kg), Carson Lee (82 kg), Hunter Lee (90 kg), and Jacob Phillips (120 kg).
The men's top wrester honour went to Fraser Valley's Amarvir Atwall, who came out on top of a tough field in the 76 kg weight class. Atwall defeated Alberta's Myles Kent by fall in the third round to win the gold medal, with Kent taking silver. Alberta's Hayley Heffel earned female Outstanding Wrestler honours for her gold-medal performance in the 72 kg division. Heffel dominated her two opponents, winning both matches via technical superiority.
"This award means a lot," said Heffel. "It's one of those things that as a first year you always want to strive for, so this being my last year of university and finally getting it, I'm really happy. Heading into U SPORTS, I have a game plan, I know how my matches are going to go already with that, so just one match at a time and see where that takes me - hopefully in the finals, hopefully with another gold around my neck."
Carson Lee of Saskatchewan took home male rookie-of-the-year honours after his gold-medal performance in the 82 kg division, defeating defending champion Nicholas Goleniec of Alberta to land atop the podium.
Calgary's Grace Lew was a double winner of individual awards, earning both rookie of the year and student-athlete community service honours. Lew, a first-year Cumming School of Medicine student, pulled off a pair of tight wins over her Alberta and Saskatchewan opponents to win the 51 kg gold medal in her first conference championship. To her individual gold medal and her top rookie award, she added community service recognition for her work with adult ESL learners and learners with developmental disabilities, helping them with their reading, writing, and speaking skills.
The men's student-athlete award also went to the host Dinos, with 100 kg silver medallist Steven Sheppard accepting the honour. Sheppard, who is completing his education degree, has coached wrestling at the grassroots level for several years in addition to work with the Special Olympics novice softball program. He also works with the Junior Achievement program as an instructor, and volunteers at his local YMCA.
Additional gold medallists on the women's side included Saskatchewan's Alex Schell (48 kg) and Maddison Haney (82 kg), while men's gold medallists also included Calgary's Josh Skory (54 kg), along with Alberta's Jordan Wong (61 kg), Harris Valdes (57 kg), Devan Larkin (68 kg), and Aidan McKeage (72 kg). Jason Bains won another gold for UFV in the 100 kg weight class.
The top three finishers in each weight class are automatic qualifiers to the 2020 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. in just two weeks' time, Feb. 21-22.
2020 CANADA WEST WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Jack Simpson Gym | University of Calgary
TEAM SCORES
MEN
- Saskatchewan (43 pts)
- Alberta (38)
- Calgary (30)
- Fraser Valley (20)
- Calgary (36 pts)
- Saskatchewan (32)
- Alberta (22)
- Fraser Valley (4)
AWARDS
MEN
- Outstanding Wrestler: Amarvir Atwall, UFV
- Rookie of the Year: Carson Lee, SSK
- Coach of the Year: Daniel Olver, SSK
- Student-Athlete Community Service: Steven Sheppard, CGY
WOMEN
- Outstanding Wrestler: Hayley Heffel, ALB
- Rookie of the Year: Grace Lew, CGY
- Coach of the Year: Mitch Ostberg, CGY
- Student-Athlete Community Service: Grace Lew, CGY
RESULTS
W 48 kg
- Alex Schell, SSK
- Calista Espinosa, UFV
- Megan Surowka, CGY
- Grace Lew, CGY
- Katie Dutchak, SSK
- Taylor McPherson, ALB
- Grace Chambers, CGY
- SueAnne Harms, SSK
- Jenna Petryna, ALB
- Amy Bellavia, CGY
- Angela Aalbers, SSK
- Miki Rowbottom, CGY
- Katie Mulkay, ALB
- Mackenzie Alexson, SSK
- Ellise Daynes, CGY
- Evertte Segui, ALB
- Allison Kuzub, SSK
- Haley Heffel, ALB
- Berit Johnson, SSK
- Robyn Fisk, CGY
- Maddison Haney, SSK
- Andrea Franko, ALB
- Aly MacDougall, CGY
- Josh Skory, CGY
- Logan Sloan, SSK
- Harris Valdes, ALB
- Drake Buechler, SSK
- Vincent Gov, CGY
- Jordan Wong, ALB
- Liam Hogan, CGY
- Remington Tschetter, SSK
- Ayobami Peluola, SSK
- Isaiah Springer, ALB
- Emmanuel Olapade, CGY
- Devan Larkin, ALB
- Ali Rahguzar, UFV
- Maxwell Meekins, SSK
- Peter Wanderi, CGY
- Aidan McKeage, ALB
- Jonathan Risto, SSK
- Hunter Smith, CGY
- Amarvir Atwal, UFV
- Miles Kent, ALB
- John Fayad, CGY
- Micah Heide, SSK
- Carson Lee, SSK
- Nicholas Goleniec, ALB
- Connor Pointer, CGY
- Hunter Lee, SSK
- Karan Dhillon, UFV
- Taran Goring, ALB
- Evan Walker, CGY
- Jason Bains, UFV
- Steven Sheppard, CGY
- Reid Smith, SSK
- Jacob Phillips, SSK
- Joseph Duffy, CGY