Between the Midget Bulldogs winning their tournament, and the showing by Alberni Wrestling, I wonder if Kamloops will ever allow our athletes back?
Way to go Alberni Wrestling!
Alberni Wrestlers Reap Medals Haul In Kamloops
Alberni Wrestlers arrived home late Saturday night with a bus load of medals from the Western Canada Age Class in Kamloops. The annual age class event features over 800 wrestlers from all over western Canada in five different age groups for both boys and girls. A large contingent of local wrestlers from Neill and Dunn Middle schools and Alberni District Secondary made the trek to Kamloops along with their sister team from Ucluelet Secondary.
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Four Alberni wrestlers won their respective weight and age classes to bring home gold medals. The team was led, as they have been for the past year or more, by ADSS wrestlers Michael Cappus and Savannah Toth. Cappus was unbeatable in the very tough 69 kg Juvenile boys division (17-18 yr olds). He dominated many of his matches before defeating a very formidable Jag Basra of Abbotsford in the final. Teammate Cody McEvay also had a strong tournament at the heavier 69 kg weight and despite battling some hand injuries he placed fifth.
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“Michael is wrestling very well right now and he is getting better all the time,” commented his ADSS coach John McDonald, “he continues to be a student of the sport and consequently he is moving ahead of his competitors. Wrestlers that used to be closer to him are no longer able to stay with his speed, fitness and technical prowess. It is great to see his dedication in his final year of high school wrestling as he prepares to make the move next year to the university level. We were also impressed at how Cody stayed mentally tough to compete this weekend”
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The grade 11 Toth was also dominant in the 65 kg Juvenile girls division but she had to beat some very good opponents. After winning provincial and National titles last year the concern from her coaches was who would push Toth this year. The answer was found in her semi final match where Toth was being beaten by a wrestler new to BC from Carson Graham and had to come from behind to record the win and get to the final.
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“It was great to see Savannah have to overcome some adversity,” said coach McDonald, “ Carson has a wrestler who was Ontario high school champion last year who has moved out west and she gave Savannah all she could handle in the semi. Savannah had to come off her back in the final round to pin that girl. That is what Savannah needs and she responded like the true champion she is.”
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Cappus and Toth were recognized for their efforts at the Age Class by being named the Most Outstanding Male and Female Wrestlers in the Juvenile division. “That is quite a compliment to Michael and Savannah and also to our program that they should both win that prestigious award, “ said McDonald, “there were many, many top high school wrestlers for the judges to consider but our two rose to the top and we couldn’t be prouder of them.”
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Local coaches were also very proud of Cadet aged wrestlers (15-16 yr olds) Daley Forbes and Isaiah Taylor. In only her first year as a Cadet, grade 9 ADSS wrestler Forbes won the 69 kg girls weight class while the grade 10 ADSS wrestler Taylor won the 76 kg boys division. Forbes is proving to be the heir apparent to Toth on the girls side as she impresses everyone with her progress. In Kamloops she wrestled well to win her second Age Class gold medal. Last year she won the Schoolgirl division and was named the top female in that age group by BC Wrestling.
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Taylor continues his rise up the wrestling ranks with a strong performance in Kamloops. He had to earn his gold as he met a tough opponent from Hazelton in the final. The northern wrestler dominated Taylor in round one and round two ended in a tie forcing a clinch situation. After several controversial starts Taylor won that round to force a third and deciding round in which he dominated his opponent to win the weight. Taylor, like Forbes, will be potential seeds even at the high school level at the BC’s in afew weeks.
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Alberni wasn’t done with just gold medals. Five locals captured silver and four took bronze medals in their respective weights and ages. Senior Kyle Plaunt appears to be making a strong comeback after a subpar grade 11 year. Plaunt had a excellent tournament at 58 kg Juvenile and to place second. He was rewarded with his performance with some serious interest from the University of Calgary scout who was in Kamloops.
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“It was great to see Kyle wrestling like the old Kyle,” said McDonald, “last year was a rough season for him and his priorities got off track. This year we see a renewed commitment and a fire in his belly to finish off his high school career in fine fashion and we are extremely pleased.”
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Grade 10 teammate Brianne Charles was a silver medalist at 60 kg Cadet girls. She had an excellent tournament and has shown that she will compete against the best at any age. Charles is another of a strong group of young female wrestlers that will likely have ADSS in the top 3 this year and a contender for the provincial title in the next two years. Grade 10 up and comer Austin Evans won the bronze at 54 kg Cadet boys. Evans is one of the young ADSS crew that coach McDonald is so high on.
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“We have some tremendous talent coming up on both the boys and the girls side,” said McDonald, “both our ADSS Cadet boys and girls placed in the top 4 teams and they have shown they will be competitive for many years to come. When you add in the great kids our middle schools continue to produce it is very exciting to look at the future of our program.”
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In the younger School Age divisions for grade 6-8 middle school wrestlers Alberni also had some great performances. Neill’s Jordan Wagner and Cole Walton took silver in their respective 37 kg and 67 kg boys weights. Dunn’s Jordie Bodnar was a silver medalist at 41 kg in the girls division. Bronze medals were earned by Dunn’s Dakota Sutton (41 kg) and Cody Baumi (45 kg) and Neill’s Preston Antonelli (69 kg). Rhea Wing (36 kg) and Jesse Wagner (33 kg) of Neill both placed 5th in their divisions.
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“We were extremely pleased by all our young wrestlers,” said Dunn and Neill coaches James Messenger and Grant Coates, “ they showed a lot of maturity travelling all the way to Kamloops and competing well at a tournament of this size. We were proud of the way they conducted themselves on and off the mats. They showed great potential for the future.”
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The Age Class marks an important point in the school wrestling season as it and the Simon Fraser War on the Floor in December really set to rankings for the season leading up to the high school championships at the end of February. It appears at this stage that ADSS will continue to be ranked in the top 5 in both the Boys and Girls divisions a feat not accomplished by many teams.
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“It is a real credit to our program and our very dedicated coaches at all levels that ADSS continues to emerge each and every year as one of the top wrestling schools in BC for both boys and girls,” said local wrestling director Tom McEvay, “many schools have good teams in certain years but it takes a pretty special program to develop the type of consistency we have seen from Alberni for the past 25 years.”
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Local fans get a chance to see the local wrestlers compete this week when Dunn plays host to a junior and senior dual meet with Campbell River. The up Island contingent will travel to Alberni for a 4:30 pm match up against many of the local middle and secondary school wrestlers. In three weeks the big show is on as Alberni hosts their prestigious Alberni Invitational Wrestling Tournament February 5-7 at the Multiplex. Over 600 wrestlers are expected to descend on our community for what is widely considered one of the top school wrestling tournaments in Canada.
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Thanks to Tom McEvay for the update. Again, well done Alberni Wrestling.
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