Four Port Alberni wrestlers attended the Wrestling Canada U15-U17-U19 national championships in Vancouver last month.
First up was Danika Currie, who faced some tough competition in the U17 57kg weight class. Her hard work over the last year taking on extra training opportunities paid off, as she was able to secure herself bronze medals in both freestyle and Greco Roman events.
Alberni’s other three wrestlers, Sage Dziekan-Gwilt, Alex McKenzie and Grant Coulthart, competed in the U19 division. In freestyle, all three faced very tough competition. After a tough semi-final loss, Coulthart was able to battle his way to a fifth place finish at the 110kg weight class. Dziekan-Gwilt and McKenzie wrestled very well against some of the top wrestlers in the country and finished just outside of the top six. McKenzie showed growth, as he was able to capitalize on scoring opportunities against a season long rival from the lower mainland.
Dziekan-Gwilt also showed growth as a wrestler, pushing her opponents such as the eventual gold medal winner and also the cadet national team member the distance in her matches.
On Sunday, Alberni had more success in the Greco Roman matches as Dziekan-Gwilt (69kg) and Coulthart (110kg) were both able to claim gold medals. McKenzie wrestled his way to a fifth place finish at 60kg.
Also travelling with the team as support to his teammates was Grade 12 athlete Carter Duperon, who was not able to wrestle after breaking his collar bone in his provincial finals match.
Coaches Owen Coulthart and Richelle McKenzie say they are grateful to have been a part of the journey for this great group of athletes and are proud of their goal setting and work they put in to achieve those goals. They look forward to helping these wrestlers build on this experience to achieve future goals.
Next up, Dziekan-Gwilt will be a part of Team BC and other teammates will attend events such as a camp in Washington and Western Club Championships in Cowichan this April.