CIS WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 RECAP
The Badgers, who have won every CIS men's banner since 1999, will be in tough to extend their streak, as they only send three wrestlers to the finals. Simon Fraser, who easily took the Canada West men's title this season, lead all schools with five finalists, while the Lakehead Thunderwolves and the Concordia Stingers each send three of their own.
Perhaps the biggest upset of the day came in the 61-kilogram division for the men, where 2008 silver medalist C.J. Hudson of Brock lost his first match of the day against David Tremblay of Concordia, who is in his first year of CIS competition. Tremblay will battle for gold against SFU's Raj Virdi, while Hudson can only hope for bronze.
Championship Website (live results, live webcast of Bronze and Gold Medal matches):
http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/wrestling/2009/index.cfm
Paul Rabjohn, another of Brock's finalists last year, in the 90 kg division, will also have to settle for bronze at best, after being upset early Friday.
SFU's big man was nearly out of gold-medal contention in the 130 kg weight class for the second straight year, as Arjan Bhullar defeated Olympian David Zilberman of Concordia only after protesting the original decision. Bhullar's brother, Jag, was defeated in 2008 after being heavily favoured for gold in the division.
Lakehead's Huy Nguyen (54 kg) and UNB's Vince Cormier (57 kg) will have a chance to capture their second gold medal in as many years, while Brock's Alex Brown (82 kg) returns to the title match with hopes of upgrading last year's silver.
On the women's side, Calgary pushed hard on Friday, sending six athletes to the finals, with only rookie Kerstyn Yates-Sandberg (48 kg), missing the chance. However, Calgary could not avoid a little bit of drama in their push for six gold medalists.
Heidi Erdle, a second-year transfer from UNB in the 59 kg division, was in tough in her opening round match against Michelle Fazzari, the 2008 gold medalist.
After initially losing the bout, Fazzari's protest was upheld, forcing a protest match, which Fazzari won on a clinch. But a second protest from Calgary was also upheld after review of film, giving Erdle the victory.
For her efforts, Erdle will face a familiar foe in Canada West gold medalist Amy Dyck of Saskatchewan. Dyck defeated Erdle in Edmonton for Canada West supremacy just two weeks ago, and is the returning CIS bronze medalist.
Canada West runner-up and defending national champion Simon Fraser posts three athletes in gold-medal matches, including 2008 CIS gold medalists Ashley McKilligan (48 kg) and Stacie Anaka (67 kg).
Despite the gold medal discrepancy with Calgary, Simon Fraser still has an outside chance at repeating. With any number of Calgary losses and some big victories, the Clan do have enough wrestlers in point-grabbing positions to potentially pull off the upset.
Calgary does look very strong at the top however, with former gold medalists Gen Haley and Justine Bouchard leading the way, and are hungry to win the fifth team title in school history. Regina and Saskatchewan each put two gold medal hopefuls into Saturday, and contribute to a dominant Canada West performance so far at the CIS championships.
The CIS wrestling championships wrap up on Saturday at the Jack Simpson Gym. Classification matches begin at 10 a.m. Mountain Time, while bronze-medal matches begin at noon. Championship finals will follow at 1 p.m.
All bronze and gold-medal matches will be webcast live by NUTV at:
http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/wrestling/2009/index.cfm
DAY 2 MATCHUPS: MEN
54 kg
GOLD – Aaron Fabiano (Brock) vs. Huy Nguyen (Lakehead)
BRONZE – Rafiq Charania (SFU) vs. Gilbert Musonza (Regina)
5th – Jason Wass (Alberta) vs. Gabriel Choueke (Concordia)
7th – Devin Sampson (UNB) vs. Shujon Mazumder (Toronto)
57 kg
GOLD – Vince Cormier (UNB) vs. Gaston Tardif (Lakehead)
BRONZE – Alec Tuura (SFU) vs. Scott Schiller (Concordia)
5th – Steve Schneider (Regina) vs. Troy Lange (Saskatchewan)
7th – Tim Clement (Brock) vs. Cameron Van Oort (McMaster)
61 kg
GOLD – Raj Virdi (SFU) vs. David Tremblay (Concordia)
BRONZE – Kevin Iwasa-Madge (Guelph) vs. CJ Hudson (Brock)
5th – Ryan Lannan (Calgary) vs. Chad Bates (Regina)
7th – Eric Lewis (UNB) vs. Angelo Daniele (Lakehead)
65 kg
GOLD – Isaac Wing (SFU) vs. Kyle Bershatsky (Regina)
BRONZE- Clayton Serreres (Lakehead) vs. Shawn Daye-Finley (UNB)
5th – Gurveer Talhan (Concordia) vs. Peter Simons (Brock)
7th – Brett Wells (Alberta) vs. Daniel Fillman (Guelph)
68 kg
GOLD – Ryan Mryfield (Saskatchewan) vs. Steve Rennals (Concordia)
BRONZE – Peter de la Cruz (Regina) vs. Randy Pfrimmer (Brock)
5th – Nic Gavel (Guelph) vs. Max Arcand (Simon Fraser)
7th – Ryan Blake (McMaster)
72 kg
GOLD – Dusan Milakara (McMaster) vs. Chad Lee (Lakehead)
BRONZE – Connor Malloy (Regina) vs. Scott Hall (Brock)
5th – Chris Kinsella (Concordia) vs. Arminder Virk (SFU)
7th – Coleman Brinker (Alberta) vs. Ian Vogel (McGill)
76 kg
GOLD – Daniel Olver (Saskatchewan) vs. Brad Trimble (Brock)
BRONZE – Corey Lee (Lakehead) vs. Pat McDonald (SFU)
5th - Darcy McKinney (UNB) vs. Nic Zablocki (Guelph)
7th – Jarret Coels (Regina) vs. Serguey Guevorkian (Concordia)
82 kg
GOLD – Clete Hanson (SFU) vs. Alex Brown (Brock)
BRONZE – Eric Feunekes (UNB) vs. Micheal Noonan (Saskatchewan)
5th – Colton Woznow (Lakehead) vs. Sean House (McMaster)
7th – Spencer Edwards (Calgary) vs. Chris Hobman (Concordia)
90 kg
GOLD - Ali Al-Rekabi (Simon Fraser) vs. Alex Dyas (Concordia)
BRONZE - Paul Rabjohn (Brock) vs. Michael Hulbert (Alberta)
5th - Greg Huskilson (UNB) vs. Ben Eaglestone (Lakehead)
7th - Tyler Nelson (Saskatchewan) vs. Kevin MacLellan (McMaster)
130 kg
GOLD - Arjan Bhullar (Simon Fraser) vs. Kyle Grant (Guelph)
BRONZE - David Zilberman (Concordia) vs. Craig Albert (Saskatchewan)
5th - Phil Vandenbeukel (Brock) vs. Jason Chalifoux (Lakehead)
7th - Colin Stewart (Alberta) vs. CJ Thoms (UNB)
DAY 2 MATCHUPS: WOMEN
48 kg
GOLD - Hajar Ashtiani (Regina) vs. Ashley McKilligan (Simon Fraser)
BRONZE - Jessica Bershatsky (Lakehead) vs Jasmine Mian (Brock)
5th - Carla Bryant (Memorial) vs. Krista Betts (UNB)
7th - Kerstyn Yates-Sandberg (Calgary) vs. Lindsay Oldham (Western)
51 kg
GOLD - Gen Haley (Calgary) vs. Jade Parsons (Regina)
BRONZE - Natasha Kramble (Saskatchewan) vs. Sam Stewart (Western)
5th - Jenni Kaija (Guelph) vs. Emilie Guitard (UNB)
55 kg
GOLD - Jill Gallays (Saskatchewan) vs. Rita Pare (Simon Fraser)
BRONZE - Jasmine Slinn (Regina) vs. Lesley McCallum (Western)
5th - Sarah Ashmore-MacDonald (UNB) vs. Victoria Ralph (Memorial)
7th - Kelly McNiven (Brock) vs. Alex Demars (Lakehead)
59 kg
GOLD - Amy Dyck (Saskatchewan) vs. Heidi Erdle (Calgary)
BRONZE - Raissa Dickinson (Simon Fraser) vs. Michelle Fazzari (Brock)
5th - Leah Dougherty (Lakehead) vs. Liz Sera (Western)
7th - Josiane Bourque (UNB)
63 kg
GOLD - Justine Bouchard (Calgary) vs. Celeste Rodrigues (Brock)
BRONZE - Koren Pitkethy (Saskatchewan) vs. Danielle Lappage (Simon Fraser)
5th - Caitlyn Goodfellow (McMaster) vs. Aislynn Torfason (Lakehead)
7th - none
67 kg
GOLD - Vanessa Wilson (Calgary) vs. Stacie Anaka (Simon Fraser)
BRONZE - Nikita Chicoine (Concordia) vs. Laura Steffler (Brock)
5th - Ashley Routliffe (Guelph) vs. Jessica Fitzgerald (Toronto)
7th - Inga Van Vliet (Regina) vs. Ruth Porier (UNB)
72 kg
GOLD - Erica Wiebe (Calgary) vs.Rachelle Pinet (UNB)
BRONZE - Katherine Martin (Alberta) vs. Erin Church (Simon Fraser)
5th - Kirby Steinhoff (Western) vs. Allison Leslie (Guelph)
7th - Deborah Jehu (Brock)
82 kg
GOLD - Leah Callahan (Calgary) vs. Emma Brightwell (Lakehead)
BRONZE - Beth Thompson (Saskatchewan) vs. Hillary Greening (Simon Fraser)
5th - Jocelyn Dresser (Brock) vs. Steph de Vries (Guelph)
7th - Andrea Davidson (Concordia)
CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL: Mountain Time)
Thursday, Feb. 26
17:00 Registration, weigh-in, medicals (Dinos wrestling room)
Friday, Feb. 27
10:00 Preliminaries Round 1 (Jack Simpson Gym)
13:00 Preliminaries Round 2 (Jack Simpson Gym)
15:30 Preliminaries Round 3 (Jack Simpson Gym)
Saturday, Feb. 28
10:00 Classification matches 5th-8th place (Jack Simpson Gym)
11:30 Bronze-medal matches (Jack Simpson Gym) – Live webcast
13:30 Championship finals (Jack Simpson Gym) – Live webcast
WRESTLERS BY SCHOOL
Women
7 – Brock, Calgary, Simon Fraser
6 – UNB
5 – Lakehead, Saskatchewan, Western
4 – Guelph, Regina
3 – Concordia, Memorial
2 – Alberta, McMaster, Toronto
Total: 57
Men
10 – Brock, Concordia, Simon Fraser
9 – Lakehead
8 – UNB
7 – Regina
6 – Saskatchewan
5 – Alberta, Guelph, McMaster
2 – Calgary
1 – McGill, Toronto
Total: 79
PAST CIS TEAM CHAMPIONS
Women (first championship in 1998-99)
2007-08 Simon Fraser
2006-07 Calgary
2005-06 Simon Fraser
2004-05 Simon Fraser
2003-04 Simon Fraser
2002-03 Simon Fraser
2001-02 Brock
2000-01 Calgary
1999-00 Calgary
1998-99 Calgary
Men (last 20 years)
1998-99 to 2007-08 Brock has won the last 10 titles
1997-98 Regina
1996-97 Regina
1995-96 Brock
1994-95 Brock
1993-94 McMaster
1992-93 Manitoba
1991-92 Brock
1990-91 Manitoba
1989-90 Western Ontario & Concordia (co-champions)
1988-89 York
PAST CIS WRESTLERS OF THE YEAR (last 10 years)
Women (first championship in 1998-99)
2007-08 Miranda Dick, Simon Fraser
2006-07 Hana Askren, Concordia
2005-06 Emily Richardson, Simon Fraser
2004-05 Ellen Macro, McMaster
2003-04 Martine Dugrenier, Concordia
2002-03 Tara Hedican, Guelph
2001-02 Tara Hedican, Guelph
2000-01 Breanne Graham, Calgary
1999-00 Julie Harris, Calgary
1998-99 Erica Sharp, Calgary
Men
2007-08 Dustyn Fisher, Simon Fraser
2006-07 Jamie Macari, Brock
2005-06 Sheldon Francis, McMaster
2004-05 Ryan Weicker, Brock
2003-04 Adam Fera, Brock
2002-03 David Kooperberg, Calgary
2001-02 John Rice, Regina
2000-01 Ryan Weicker, Brock
1999-00 Scott Seeley, UNB
1998-99 Roger Ruiu, McMaster
Source: Calgary Dinos Athletics