The Cowichan Valley Wrestling Club had an outstanding showing at the Western Canada Age Class Championships held at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford last Saturday.
The club won the school girls division, the Cowichan Secondary School contingent won their title, and the club as a whole finished third overall, out of about 150 teams from across B.C., Alberta and the northwest U.S.
“This was the 12th or 13th year we’ve gone over, and it was probably one of our best finishes as a team,” head coach Nick Zuback said. “When I heard how many first-place finishes we had, that was awesome.”
The CVWC finished with 13 first-place results, six seconds, two thirds, and seven fourths.
Wrestlers at the meet competed in four divisions: elementary (Grades 6 and under), school-age (Grades 7-8), cadet (Grades 9-10) and juvenile (Grades 11-12).
Finishing first in their groups were Stephanie Mould (cadet girls 64kg), Emily Reid (juvenile girls 95kg), Hannah Tuplin (juvenile girls 54kg), Hayley Bye-Pace (cadet girls 60kg), Talon Hird (cadet boys 51kg), Chloe Foster (school girls 66kg), Caleb Fraser (school boys 63kg), Rosie Klatt-Leblanc (school girls 75kg), Laura Nguyen (school girls 50kg), Charlie Roberts (school girls 41kg) Nadia Schwarz (school girls 60kg), Jacob Fraser (elementary boys 61kg), and Cassidy Pace (elementary girls 42kg).
Second-place results went to Dylan Battye (cadet boys 48kg), Luther Tiddler (cadet boys 130kg), Ethan Mellings (school boys 51kg), Loryn Roberts (school girls 42kg), Brayden Zuback (elementary boys 24kg) and Carter Zuback (elementary boys 34kg).
Sedona Bond (elementary girls 39kg) and Kiana Woods (elementary girls 29kg) placed third.
Miaya Brownbridge (cadet girls 64kg), Ashton Combden (cadet boys 57kg), Dawson Jory (cadet boys 66kg), Mattias Zachary (cadet boys 45kg), Damien Blaney (school boys 66kg), Georgia Bond (school girls 46kg), Landon Powell (school boys 53kg), and Keaton Woods (elementary boys 31kg) all finished fourth.
Tuplin and Hird also wrestled in the university tournament at UFV. Tuplin finished fifth in her weight class, showing that she will be just fine when she moves to the post-secondary ranks next year. Coaches from several of the universities in attendance spoke with her about joining their teams.
Hird gained some valuable experience in his matches.
“I think it was an eye-opener for him,” Zuback said. “He’s been the top high school wrestler in his age class the last two years, but it was a learning experience. For a Grade 10, he did quite well against older, bigger kids.”
This Saturday, more than 20 CVWC athletes will compete as part of the South Island Elite Team at a massive dual meet in Port Alberni. The club will have about 60 wrestlers in action at the Campbell River Invitational the following day.