The ADSS wrestling team travelled to the Island Opener wrestling tournament at NDSS in Nanaimo earlier this month, coming home with a first place for ADSS boys and fifth place for ADSS girls.
“This young team has developed so much since November and it shows with ADSS coming second overall with 53 points just behind Ucluelet’s 62 points. It’s very exciting to see what the rest of the season will bring,” said ADSS coach Richelle McKenzie.
Leading the team with gold medal finishes were Carter Duperron and Grant Coulthart. “Each of these boys wrestled really smart matches and we are eager to see how they measure up in the coming weeks during some bigger tournaments in the Lower Mainland,” McKenzie added.
Grade 11 wrestlers Alex McKenzie and Kelcie Sam battled to hard-fought second place finishes. “Alex’s work through the spring and summer months, and his dedication so far this season are showing,” coach Maureen Miller said. “He looked strong against some tough competitors; Kelcie also looked more aggressive this tournament.”
Marcus Newton, Sam, Gavin Fong and Grady Miller also dropped only one match to finish silver. Danika Currie had a bronze medal finish, besting a USS wrestler she lost to last month. Grade 8 wrestlers Seth Romeril and Nolan Cross also both finished third with Cross giving up a lot of weight to his closest matched competitors.
Finishing just outside of medal standings with a fifth place finish was Grade 10 wrestler Chase Klus-Brown.
“I am so excited by the grit shown by our young team,” coach Chris Bodnar said. “While you never know what the future might bring we hope that they stay involved and continue to progress.”
Grade 11 wrestler Sage Dziekan-Gwilt was selected to compete over the weekend at the Jurassic Classic in Calgary as part of Team BC. Dziekan-Gwilt wrestled her way to a second-place finish and represented her club and community extremely well. “We are so proud of Sage, it was an excellent opportunity for her to compete with some of the best wrestlers in Western Canada and get an idea of what her competition looks like outside of B.C.,” club coach Owen Coulthart said.
Wrestling competitions continued with the Campbell River Invitational last weekend. The following week wrestlers will head to the Lower Mainland the weekend for the Seaforth Invitational and Miri Piri club tournament. (Watch the Alberni Valley News online for coverage of the Campbell River meet.)