EDMONTON – A group of first- and second-year University of Calgary Dinos wrestlers rose to the top of the podium on Saturday in Edmonton.
Gabriela Cross (56kg),
Eve Maxwell-Nikiforuk (59kg),
Mark Schwichtenberg (76kg),
Eilidh Wist (72kg), along with senior
Joseph Duffy (125kg) each claimed individual gold medals for Calgary at the 2023 Canada West Wrestling Championships, hosted by the University of Alberta.
Schwichtenberg won both his matches by fall, defeating Eli Fines of Alberta and Sebastien Marchand from Saskatchewan. Those performances saw him named the Canada West Male Rookie of the Year – the first Dino to win the honour since 2018.
"Mark really stepped up a bunch today. It wasn't always smooth, but he has a lot of fight in him and found a way," said Dinos wrestling head coach
Mitch Ostberg. "The performances we saw today really bode well for the program. You could argue we have been the most improved team this year."
The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas defended their men's and women's conference titles at home. The Pandas (35 points) edged out the Dinos (27) and Huskies (19) who finished in second and third respectively. The Golden Bears scored 36 points to come ahead of Saskatchewan (29) and Calgary (24).
A two-sport athlete, also competing in women's rugby, Cross was making her first appearance at the Canada West Wrestling Championships. She defeated Alberta's Robbie Ann Pingal in a competitive match 16-6 by tech fall, before scoring a 10-0 tech fall win against Allison Kuzub of Saskatchewan.
Maxwell-Nikiforuk was also making her debut and was impressive. Her opening bout went the distance, but she was able to hold off Amy Bell of the Pandas for a 17-12 decision. Maxwell-Nikiforuk then took down Caitlin Clatney for an 11-0 tech fall victory.
The reigning conference female rookie of the year, Wist moved into the 72kg weight class and earned two convincing wins, getting falls over Andrea Franko of Alberta and Shelby Daniels of Saskatchewan.
Calgary's final gold medal came from the stands during the final bout of the day as the 125kg weight class finished in a three-way tie. Ultimately, based on scoring, it was the fifth-year veteran Duffy who finished ahead of Alberta's Steven Groves and Owen McGillivray of Saskatchewan.
"We were all cheering from the stands," mentioned Ostberg. "It was a great moment. Joseph has given a lot to the program and has stuck it out all these years."
The Dinos men's team raked in four individual silver medals, won by
Vincent Gov (57kg),
Shane Richards (68kg),
Brantley Saar (72kg), and
Wesley Smith (82kg).
Ellise Daynes (76kg),
Angelina Ellis-Toddington (67kg), and
Miki Rowbottom (63kg) won individual silver medals for Calgary's women's team.
"This was a very competitive meet with a lot of very close matches. The gym had great energy and we're looking forward to being back here very soon," explained Ostberg.
The Dinos will return to Edmonton for two weekends when the University of Alberta hosts the U SPORTS Wrestling Championships, Feb. 24-25.
| 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-Nikiforuk |
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 |