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