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Historic first place for Queen of Angels junior boys wrestlers

Queen of Angels School wrestlers took first place in the junior boys division and second in the junior girls division at the Campbell River Invitational last weekend.

"That's the first time the boys have won an away tournament," said Nick Zuback, the head coach at Q of A and the Cowichan Valley Wrestling Club. "It's pretty impressive."

Q of A's Quinn Smith won the junior boys 45kg class, and Jordan Atcheson topped the 78kg class. Other top-three finishes included Talon Hird in second at 35kg, Max Smith in second at 48kg, Aidan Tuplin and Daniel Wanner in second and third at 51kg, John-Lee Wong-Bates in second at 63kg, and James Luckhurst in second at 70kg.

Antonio Diaz of Lake Cowichan placed first at 38kg, earning enough points on his own for his school to place seventh. Rowan Gillard of Cobble Hill Elementary was third at 48kg, and Damien McCuaig-Jones of Frances Kelsey was third at 60kg.

On the girls side, Q of A's Sidney Hall was second and Kora Paige third at 35kg, Mikayla Brennan-McCann third at 43kg, and Jaqueline Wong-Bates second at 54kg. Sarah Gillard of Cobble Hill was second at 40kg, and Hannah Tuplin of Chemainus was second at 51kg.

Many of the junior wrestlers are in just their first or second years of competition, Zuback noted.

"They're definitely up-and-comers," he said. "All of the junior kids will be ones to watch."

Among the senior boys wrestlers, Jimmy Wyld of Cowichan Secondary placed third at 57kg, and Nick George of Q of A was third at 60kg. In the girls division, Q of A's Andrea Morris was second at 51kg, and Olive Kiruiro of Kelsey was first in the heavyweight class.



Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
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