WRES: Alberta captures double gold for fifth time in program history
February 11, 2023
EDMONTON - For the fifth time in program history, the Alberta Golden Bears & Pandas are seeing double gold.
The Alberta wrestling teams captured both the men's and women's team conference titles on Saturday evening on their home court, winning in the UofA's main gymnasium.
The win for the Golden Bears is their 18th conference title, and the sixth for the Pandas. It is also the Bears second-straight Canada West title, and eighth in the last 10 years. The Pandas also captured their second-straight CW banner, and third in the last five seasons.
On the men's side, the Bears were led by second-year Aidan Stevenson, who was named the Male Wrestler of the Year after capturing gold in the 82kg weight class. Stevenson rolled through his competition, earning technical fall wins over both Wesley Smith and Reid Smyth.
The Alberta men captured five individual gold medals, with Talon Hird, Alec Montoya, Daniel Hernandez-Mendoza, and Taran Goring joining Stevnson atop the podium.
The Pandas captured gold in four of the nine weight classes, as Taylor McPherson, Aleah Nickel, Katie Mulkay and Vianne Rouleau captured their respective weight classes. Bears & Pandas head coach Owen Dawkins was named both the men's team and women's team coach of the year, marking the sixth time he has earned both awards at the same championship.
Saskatchewan Huskie SueAnne Harms was named the Female Wrestler of the Year, picking up gold in the women's 53kg weight class thanks to a pair of decisive wins.
Fellow Huskie Myan Phillips was named the Female Rookie of the Year, winning the highly competitive 82kg weight class, earning wins by fall over both Deanna Eastman and Jaylaina Callan.
Calgary Dino Mark Schwichtenberg was named the Male Rookie of the Year, earning gold in the 76kg class. Schwichtenberg also earned convincing wins in his two matches, besting Dino Sebastian Marchand and Golden Bear Eli Fines.
Saskatchewan also captured both student-athlete community service awards, as Drake Buechler earned the men's award, and Allison Kuzub won the womens.
Kuzub, a bronze medalist on Saturday, is highly involved in the community, volunteering at the Erindale Animal Hospital, Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation, and with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine's 'Vet-A-Vision'. The Agriculture and Bioresources student also earned a 90% average in 2021/22.
Buechler, who earned silver in the 61kg class on Saturday, is an Academic All-Canadian from the UofS' faculty of Kinesiology. Buechler spends his free time coaching at the high school and club level in Saskatoon, teaching at various schools. He is also a member of the Huskies Athletic Council, and has been involved in programs benefiting the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, the Dream Brokers Program, and the Co-Op Secret Santa Program.
Next on the wrestling calendar is the 2023 U SPORTS Championship, scheduled for February 24th and 25th in Edmonton.
The Alberta wrestling teams captured both the men's and women's team conference titles on Saturday evening on their home court, winning in the UofA's main gymnasium.
The win for the Golden Bears is their 18th conference title, and the sixth for the Pandas. It is also the Bears second-straight Canada West title, and eighth in the last 10 years. The Pandas also captured their second-straight CW banner, and third in the last five seasons.
On the men's side, the Bears were led by second-year Aidan Stevenson, who was named the Male Wrestler of the Year after capturing gold in the 82kg weight class. Stevenson rolled through his competition, earning technical fall wins over both Wesley Smith and Reid Smyth.
The Alberta men captured five individual gold medals, with Talon Hird, Alec Montoya, Daniel Hernandez-Mendoza, and Taran Goring joining Stevnson atop the podium.
The Pandas captured gold in four of the nine weight classes, as Taylor McPherson, Aleah Nickel, Katie Mulkay and Vianne Rouleau captured their respective weight classes. Bears & Pandas head coach Owen Dawkins was named both the men's team and women's team coach of the year, marking the sixth time he has earned both awards at the same championship.
Saskatchewan Huskie SueAnne Harms was named the Female Wrestler of the Year, picking up gold in the women's 53kg weight class thanks to a pair of decisive wins.
Fellow Huskie Myan Phillips was named the Female Rookie of the Year, winning the highly competitive 82kg weight class, earning wins by fall over both Deanna Eastman and Jaylaina Callan.
Calgary Dino Mark Schwichtenberg was named the Male Rookie of the Year, earning gold in the 76kg class. Schwichtenberg also earned convincing wins in his two matches, besting Dino Sebastian Marchand and Golden Bear Eli Fines.
Saskatchewan also captured both student-athlete community service awards, as Drake Buechler earned the men's award, and Allison Kuzub won the womens.
Kuzub, a bronze medalist on Saturday, is highly involved in the community, volunteering at the Erindale Animal Hospital, Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation, and with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine's 'Vet-A-Vision'. The Agriculture and Bioresources student also earned a 90% average in 2021/22.
Buechler, who earned silver in the 61kg class on Saturday, is an Academic All-Canadian from the UofS' faculty of Kinesiology. Buechler spends his free time coaching at the high school and club level in Saskatoon, teaching at various schools. He is also a member of the Huskies Athletic Council, and has been involved in programs benefiting the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, the Dream Brokers Program, and the Co-Op Secret Santa Program.
Next on the wrestling calendar is the 2023 U SPORTS Championship, scheduled for February 24th and 25th in Edmonton.
| Women's Team Results | ||
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Alberta Pandas | 35 |
| 2 | Calgary Dinos | 27 |
| 3 | Saskatchewan Huskies | 19 |
| Men's Team Results | ||
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Alberta Golden Bears | 36 |
| 2 | Saskatchewan Huskies | 29 |
| 3 | Calgary Dinos | 24 |
| Male Athlete of the Year | Aidan Stevenson | Alberta |
| Female Athlete of the Year | SueAnne Harms | Saskatchewan |
| Male Rookie of the Year | Mark Schwichtenberg | Calgary |
| Female Rookie of the Year | Myan Phillips | Saskatchewan |
| Men's Team Coach of the Year | Owen Dawkins | Alberta |
| Women's Team Coach of the Year | Owen Dawkins | Alberta |
| Male Student-Athlete Community Service | Drake Buechler | Saskatchewan |
| Female Student-Athlete Community Service | Allison Kuzub | Saskatchewan |
| Women's Individual Results | ||
| 50kg | ||
| 1 | Taylor McPherson | Alberta |
| 2 | Sierra Mullin | Saskatchewan |
| 3 | Maya Johnston | Calgary |
| 53kg | ||
| 1 | SueAnne Harms | Saskatchewan |
| 2 | Jenna Petryna | Alberta |
| 3 | Grace Lew | Calgary |
| 56kg | ||
| 1 | Gabriela Cross | Calgary |
| 2 | Robbie Ann Pingal | Alberta |
| 3 | Allison Kuzub | Saskatchewan |
| 59kg | ||
| 1 | Eve Maxwell | Calgary |
| 2 | Amy Bell | Alberta |
| 3 | Caitlyn Clatney | Saskatchewan |
| 63kg | ||
| 1 | Aleah Nickel | Alberta |
| 2 | Miki Rowbottom | Calgary |
| 3 | Angela Aalbers | Saskatchewan |
| 67kg | ||
| 1 | Katie Mulkay | Alberta |
| 2 | Angelina Ellis-Toddington | Calgary |
| 3 | Jenna Patrician | Saskatchewan |
| 72kg | ||
| 1 | Eilidh Wist | Calgary |
| 2 | Andrea Franko | Alberta |
| 3 | Shelby Daniels | Saskatchewan |
| 76kg | ||
| 1 | Vianne Rouleau | Alberta |
| 2 | Ellise Daynes | Calgary |
| 3 | Angel Besskkaystare | Saskatchewan |
| 82kg | ||
| 1 | Myan Phillips | Saskatchewan |
| 2 | Deanna Eastman | Alberta |
| 3 | Jaylaina Callan | Calgary |
| Men's Individual Results | ||
| 57kg | ||
| 1 | Talon Hird | Alberta |
| 2 | Vincent Gov | Calgary |
| 3 | - | |
| 61kg | ||
| 1 | Alec Montoya | Alberta |
| 2 | Drake Buechler | Saskatchewan |
| 3 | Peter Wanderi | Calgary |
| 65kg | ||
| 1 | Daniel Hernandez-Mendoza | Alberta |
| 2 | Donovan Neudorf | Saskatchewan |
| 3 | Liam Hogan | Calgary |
| 68kg | ||
| 1 | Cole Sanderson | Saskatchewan |
| 2 | Shane Richards | Calgary |
| 3 | Isaac Le Morvan | Alberta |
| 72kg | ||
| 1 | Maxwell Meekins | Saskatchewan |
| 2 | Elias Wile | Alberta |
| 3 | Brantley Saar | Calgary |
| 76kg | ||
| 1 | Mark Schwichtenberg | Calgary |
| 2 | Sebastian Marchand | Saskatchewan |
| 3 | Eli Fines | Alberta |
| 82kg | ||
| 1 | Aidan Stevenson | Alberta |
| 2 | Wesley Smith | Calgary |
| 3 | Reid Smyth | Saskatchewan |
| 90kg | ||
| 1 | Taran Goring | Alberta |
| 2 | Aleksander Eisler | Saskatchewan |
| 3 | Omar Ragab | Calgary |
| 100kg | ||
| 1 | Iulius Cojocaru | Saskatchewan |
| 2 | Owen Giancola | Alberta |
| 3 | Joseph DeMaio | Calgary |
| 125kg | ||
| 1 | Joseph Duffy | Calgary |
| 2 | Steven Groves | Alberta |
| 3 | Owen McGillivray | Saskatchewan |