Five earn podium finishes at U SPORTS Championships

EDMONTON – The University of Calgary Dinos captured five medals on the final day of competition Saturday at the 2023 Friends of the World Cup of Wrestling Society U SPORTS Championship, presented by the Westin Edmonton.

Gabriela Cross (56kg), Eve Maxwell-Nikiforuk (59kg), and Brantley Saar (72kg) each landed spots in gold medal matches following an undefeated first day in Edmonton but were outmatched Saturday against their Ontario-based opponents.

All three wrestlers were making their U SPORTS championships debut – the 2023 event was the first since 2020.

Earlier in the day in bronze medal bouts, Ellise Daynes (76kg) won her second career U SPORTS medal, while senior Miki Rowbottom (63kg) closed out her final season as a Dino on the podium.

The Brock Badger men captured their eighth-straight U SPORTS wrestling title Saturday, while the Alberta Pandas captured their second national title in program history, ending the Badgers title run at nine.

The Pandas capped off their championship victory with a bang, as fifth-year Taylor McPherson pinned Saskatchewan Huskie Sierra Mullin in the final match of the event, sending the home Alberta crowd into a frenzy. 

Brock placed second on the women's side, followed closely by the McMaster Marauders. 

Brock ran away with the men's title, finishing 14 points ahead of OUA rival McMaster for second. The host Golden Bears placed third. 

MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Female Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Year: Mia Friesen - Brock Badgers
Male Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Year: Alex Moore - Concordia Stingers
Female Rookie of the Year: Serena Di Benedetto - McMaster Marauders
Male Rookie of the Year: Treye Trotman - Western Mustangs
Female Team Coach of the Year: Owen Dawkins - Alberta Pandas
Male Team Coach of the Year: Marty Calder - Brock Badgers
Female Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Allison Kuzub - Saskatchewan Huskies
Male Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Drake Buechler - Saskatchewan Huskies
Female R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Andrea Franko - Alberta Pandas
Male R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Gianni Vecchio - Queen's Gaels

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

MEN

WOMEN

INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS

Men
57 kg
1. Treye Trotman - Western
2. Talon Hird - Alberta
3. Dechlan Papadopoulous - TMU

61 kg
1. Alec Montoya - Alberta
2. Drake Buechler - Saskatchewan
3. Gianluca Fortino - McMaster

65 kg
1. Daniel Hernandez-Mendoza - Alberta
2. Hassan Al-Hayawi - Western
3. Gabe Blanchette - Brock

68 kg
1. Carlos Vargas - Brock
2. Cole Sanderson - Saskatchewan
3. Luken Lawson - McMaster

72 kg
1. Bobby Narwal - Brock
2. Brantley Saar - Calgary
3. Maxwell Meekins - Saskatchewan

76 kg
1. Connor Church - Concordia
2. Max Budgey - Brock
3. Patrick Salvador Guzman - Western 

82 kg
1. Lukas Geske - Western
2. Jordan Wylie - Brock
3. Reid Smyth - Saskatchewan

90 kg
1. Alex Moore - Concordia
2. Howard Moffat - McMaster
3. Taran Goring - Alberta

100 kg
1. Jeremy Poirier - Concordia
2. Omogbai Asekohme - McMaster
3. Kyle Price - Algoma

125 kg
1. Karanveer Mahil - McMaster
2. Roger Li - Brock
3. Michael Haskell - Lakehead

WOMEN

50 kg
1. Taylor McPherson - Alberta
2. Sierra Mullin - Saskatchewan
3. Kelyn Young - Guelph

53 kg
1. SueAnne Harms - Saskatchewan
2. Serena Di Bennedetto - McMaster
3. Jenna Petryna - Alberta

56 kg
1. Mia Friesen - Brock
2. Gabriela Cross - Calgary
3. Virginie Kaze Gascon - Concordia

59 kg
1. Amy Bellavia - McMaster
2. Eve Maxwell - Calgary
3. Amy Bell - Alberta

63 kg
1. Laurence Beauregard - Concordia
2. Aleah Nickel - Alberta
3. Miki Rowbottom - Calgary

67 kg
1. Katie Mulkay - Alberta
2. Amanda Savard - Concordia
3. Simi Jayeoba - McMaster

72 kg 
1. Andrea Franko - Alberta
2. Alexia Sherland - Concordia
3. Vanessa Keefe - Brock

76 kg
1. Shauna Kuebeck - Brock
2. Vianne Rouleau - Alberta
3. Ellise Daynes - Calgary

82 kg
1. Brianna Fraser - Brock
2. Myah Phillips - Saskatchewan
3. Vanessa Fonrose - McMaster