GUELPH, Ont. –
Gabriela Cross and
Nicholas Hooper were both crowned national champions to headline a strong day for the University of Calgary Dinos wrestling team Saturday, closing out the 2024 season at the U SPORTS Championships inside the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre.
A total of seven Dinos brought home medals, marking the most combined medals for the program in over 15 years. In addition to the two gold medallists,
Annika Fines,
Angelina Ellis-Toddington,
Ellise Daynes,
Eilidh Wist and
Prosper Ademoye all brought home bronze medals at this year's nationals to cap the successful day on the mats for the Scarlet & Gold.
Following the meet, Hooper was named the U SPORTS Men's Rookie of the Year after his 4-0 performance on the day.
Both teams finished the day fourth in the team standings. The Dinos women finished the tournament with 54 points, just two points shy of second place. Meanwhile, the Calgary men hauled in 35 points on the day for fourth place. Brock swept this year's team titles.
After an opening-round bye and a decisive tech fall in the second, Cross advanced to the gold-medal bout with a tight 11-10 decision in her third match. There would be no such drama in the final, as the third-year nursing student claimed a 12-0 tech-fall win to bring home the gold at the 59kg class.
Hooper then brought home the gold in the men's 76kg weight class. The Canada West Rookie of the Year posted tech fall wins of 10-0, 10-0 and 13-3 to get to the championship, where he earning a 10-8 decision over Brock's Max Budgey to become the first men's national champion for the Dinos since Mark Dewit did so back in 2008. Hooper also becomes the first Dinos men's wrestler to be named the national rookie of the year in program history.
Ademoye used some late fireworks to bring home his medal. Wrestling at the 68kg class, the Regina product found himself trailing 4-0 with less than 30 seconds left in the match. Ademoye was throwing a number of moves at Alberta's Devan Larkin and it paid off, taking his opponent to the ground and rolling him twice for a thrilling 7-6 comeback decision to claim the bronze.
On the women's side, Fines needed just 1:16 of her match before pinning Kendall Dettloff of Western for her bronze medal. Ellis-Toddington (9-0) and Daynes (8-4) both used convincing decisions in bringing home their medals – for Daynes her third in as many years at nationals – while Wist breezed to a 13-2 tech fall in her match.
TEAM STANDINGS
WOMEN
1. Brock (75 pts)
2. Alberta (56 pts)
3. Saskatchewan (55 pts)
4. CALGARY (54 pts)
5. McMaster (42 pts)
6. Western (30 pts)
7. Guelph (26 pts)
8. Concordia (25 pts)
9. Algoma (9 pts)
10. Carleton (8 pts)
11. York (4 pts)
12. Toronto (3 pts)
13. Lakehead (1 pt)
14. Queen's (1 pt)
15. Lethbridge (0 pts)
16. TMU (0 pts)
17. UNB (0 pts)
MEN
1. Brock (83 pts)
2. Alberta (62 pts)
3. McMaster (48 pts)
4. CALGARY (35 pts)
5. Saskatchewan (35 pts)
6. Guelph (27 pts)
7. Western (23 pts)
8. Concordia (20 pts)
9. Lakehead (20 pts)
10. TMU (12 pts)
11. Algoma (10 pts)
12. Toronto (8 pts)
13. Lethbridge (3 pts)
14. UNB (3 pts)
15. Carleton (0 pts)
16. Queen's (0 pts)
17. York (0 pts)
DINOS WRESTLING
Women's 50 kg:
Ankita Singh, 6th
Women's 53 kg:
Maya Johnston, 4th
Women's 56 kg:
Annika Fines, 3rd
Women's 59 kg:
Gabriela Cross, 1st
Women's 62 kg:
Grace Lew, 5th
Women's 65 kg:
Angelina Ellis-Toddington, 3rd
Women's 68 kg:
Ellise Daynes, 3rd
Women's 72 kg:
Eilidh Wist, 3rd
Women's 76 kg:
Danyka LaBelle, 4th
Women's 83 kg:
Erin Geddie, 6th
Men's 57 kg:
Fred Calingay, 4th
Men's 61 kg:
Peter Wanderi, 6th
Men's 65 kg:
Brett MacDonald, 8th
Men's 68 kg:
Prosper Ademoye, 3rd
Men's 72 kg:
Shane Richards, 7th
Men's 76 kg:
Nicholas Hooper, 1st
Men's 82 kg:
Brantley Saar, 6th
Men's 100 kg:
Joseph De Maio, 7th
Men's 125 kg:
Vincent Palffy, 6th
-UC-
