CALGARY – With five gold medals in eight weight classes, the University of Calgary Dinos women returned to the top of the Canada West wrestling world with their record 11th conference championship Saturday in the Jack Simpson Gym.
Led by a pair of rookies in
Grace Lew (51 kg) and
Ellise Daynes (67 kg), the Dinos also got bit performances from
Miki Rowbottom (63 kg),
Amy Bellavia (59 kg), and
Grace Chambers (55 kg) to edge the Saskatchewan Huskies by four points, 36 to 32, to win their first conference team title since 2016.
The Huskies were victorious on the men's side, with the Dinos finishing third - coupled with an inspired performance from
Joshua Skory to capture a gold medal.
"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."
Heading into the final duel of the day with the Huskies, the Dinos needed big performances - and they got them. It started with
Grace Lew, who earned victory over Saskatchewan's Katie Dutchak in a razor-thin match that went the distance. The next two Dinos pinned their opponents, with
Ellise Daynes and
Amy Bellavia ending their matches early - just 21 seconds, in the case of Bellavia. Rowbottom won next by technical superiority, and
Grace Chambers rounded it out with a hard-fought decision to give the Dinos five gold medals.
Skory's story in the men's 54 kg weight class was one of perseverance. Leading in the final seconds, he gave up a two-point score to Logan Sloan of Saskatchewan - the reigning national rookie of the year - and looked to be heading to defeat. But the third year wrestler stuck with it, turning it into a pin just as time expired to capture the gold medal in his only bout of the day.
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.
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
1. Saskatchewan (43 pts)
2. Alberta (38)
3. Calgary (30)
4. Fraser Valley (20)
WOMEN
1. Calgary (36 pts)
2. Saskatchewan (32)
3. Alberta (22)
4. 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
1. Alex Schell, SSK
2. Calista Espinosa, UFV
3. Megan Surowka, CGY
W 51 kg
1. Grace Lew, CGY
2. Katie Dutchak, SSK
3. Taylor McPherson, ALB
W 55 kg
1. Grace Chambers, CGY
2. SueAnne Harms, SSK
3. Jenna Petryna, ALB
W 59 kg
1. Amy Bellavia, CGY
2. Angela Aalbers, SSK
W 63 kg
1. Miki Rowbottom, CGY
2. Katie Mulkay, ALB
3. Mackenzie Alexson, SSK
W 67 kg
1. Ellise Daynes, CGY
2. Evertte Segui, ALB
3. Allison Kuzub, SSK
W 72 kg
1. Haley Heffel, ALB
2. Berit Johnson, SSK
3. Robyn Fisk, CGY
W 82 kg
1. Maddison Haney, SSK
2. Andrea Franko, ALB
3. Alyson MacDougall, CGY
M 54 kg
1. Joshua Skory, CGY
2. Logan Sloan, SSK
M 57 kg
1. Harris Valdes, ALB
2. Drake Buechler, SSK
3. Vincent Gov, CGY
M 61 kg
1. Jordan Wong, ALB
2. Liam Hogan, CGY
3. Remington Tschetter, SSK
M 65 kg
1. Ayobami Peluola, SSK
2. Isaiah Springer, ALB
3. Emmanuel Olapade, CGY
M 68 kg
1. Devan Larkin, ALB
2. Ali Rahguzar, UFV
3. Maxwell Meekins, SSK
4. Peter Wanderi, CGY
M 72 kg
1. Aidan McKeage, ALB
2. Jonathan Risto, SSK
3. Hunter Smith, CGY
M 76 kg
1. Amarvir Atwal, UFV
2. Miles Kent, ALB
3. John Fayad, CGY
4. Micah Heide, SSK
M 82 kg
1. Carson Lee, SSK
2. Nicholas Goleniec, ALB
3. Connor Pointen, CGY
M 90 kg
1. Hunter Lee, SSK
2. Karan Dhillon, UFV
3. Taran Goring, ALB
4. Evan Walker, CGY
M 100 kg
1. Jason Bains, UFV
2. Steven Sheppard, CGY
3. Reid Smith, SSK
M 120 kg
1. Jacob Phillips, SSK
2. Joseph Duffy, CGY
-UC-
