Members from the Senior ADSS Wrestling team comprised the majority of an Island select team that competed at the Roberts Rumble on the weekend. For most of the Armada Senior wrestling team this was their first action of the season. The tournament took place at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Teams were made up from regional clubs and many of the top wrestlers from around the province were present.
The Island boy’s team placed 2nd overall in this dual meet tournament. In this type of tournament format teams compete head to head at each weight class. Points are awarded to teams based on how a wrestler wins or loses. The format makes for exciting and spectator friendly battles between teams.
In route to the finals the boy’s team had a 28 – 13 victory over Tri-Cities, a 25-17 victory over North Shore, and a 27 – 21 victory over the Burnaby Selects. Unfortunately the Island boys could not sustain the momentum into their fourth and final dual meet match where they lost a hard fought battle against the the Khlasa Wrestling Club 21 – 27. Three ADSS boys went undefeated to claim their individual weight class titles and lead the Island Team to its second place finish. Grade 12 wrestler Austin Evans threw everyone of his opponents and went 4-0 in the 58 kilogram division. Grade 11 Cullen Hines was simply dominating going 4-0 and pinning all of his opponents in the 76 kilogram division. Although only in Grade 9 Jesse Wagner turned some heads going 4-0 in the 46 kilogram division. Wagner and his twin brother Jordan are going to be valuable additions to the ADSS this year. Also winning matches for the Island team was Jordan Wagner (2-2 at 50 kilograms), Austin Jaworski (1-3 at 69 kilograms). While reflecting on the performance of the team Coach James Messenger had this to say “I am really happy with how we wrestled today. This tournament is a great indicator of how we compare to the other top wrestlers and teams around the province at this point early in the season. It helps us gauge where are at and where we need to focus our development. It is still very early but based on how we performed I think it is safe to say the Armada boys are going to once again threaten to place in the top 3 at the Provincial High School tournament.”
A handful of Armada girls also made the ferry trip over to get some much needed matches against Lower Mainland opponents. Unfortunately the girls division was not as deep as the boys and their only opposition came from a North Shore select team. Jordie Bodnar (43 kilograms), Rhea Wing (43 kilograms), and Brianne Charles (65 kilograms) all recorded wins for their team. “It was unfortunate that our girls didn’t get more matches, however every match counts. The more matches we get the better prepared we are going to be in February at the Provincial Championships. Our girls team is not big in numbers but we really hope to make a run for the title come February,” commented Coach Russ Bodnar.
The next action for the Armada Wrestling Team will next week when the team will travel to Chemanius for the Cougar Invitational. December 16 & 17 the Armada will attend the “War on the Floor” tournament at Simon Fraser University. There will be novice and elite divisions at the tournament and it is expected that the team will be bringing as many wrestlers as they can to get some competition prior to Christmas.
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Moving on - an update from the ADSS Leadership Class regarding their Food Drive with the Bulldogs:
The Food Drive is on now until Dec.16th. We are collecting non-perishable food items the can be dropped off in front of the main office at ADSS. Our goal this year is to reach 5600 items for Totem 56'. If we reach our goal our reward is early dismissal on the last day of school before the break, which would be 12:30. We will be collecting food items our front at the beginning of the Bulldogs home game on Wednesday the 8th. We need the communities help to reach our goal. Half the food will go to the Bread of Life and the other half to the Salvation Army. Some items in need this year are proteins, such as peanut butter, canned meat, tuna, etc.
Thanks for your help :) We will be listening for you on the radio.
Thanks for your help :) We will be listening for you on the radio.
You are most welcome! Help get the kids out of school, and more importantly, help those less fortunate please!
Bulldogs Educational Advisor and local educator Tom McEvay is currently on the road, reaping the rewards of his many years of dedicated volunteer service on behalf of the Bulldogs organization as he travels up and down the Eastern Seaboard to catch up with various former Bulldog Players that he helped move on to the NCAA level.
This will be a series of postings to try and keep up with Tom's travels as he lives my personal dream - an extended roadie to follow the game of hockey!
I have encouraged Tom with his BlackBerry and camera to snap us pictures of everything - planes, airports, hotels, rinks, college campuses, the players themselves, and any other interesting sights and sounds so we can attempt to go on the trip vicariously through Tom. With Tom's fearless and gregarious personality, who knows what he will see next!
We will also catch up with Tom on the phone in the coming days for some updates that way as well. Hopefully you the fans find this as neat as I do!
Tom's East Coast Road Trip Diary #7
Above - Maury Edwards at U Mass Lowell arena in front of the banner recognizing him as an All American allstar in 2009. Maury is a senior in his last year. He was at the Canucks prospects camp last summer and has other NHL teams interested. I will see him play Friday vs Ross and Kerr at Princeton. Below - the UMASS Lowell Arena inside. Tom
Below - The U Mass arena where Branden Gracel plays. This is a world class facility that seats 8500 with all of the bells and whistles - huge dressing room, weight room, trainers room, equipment room, players lounge, video, separate locker room etc.
That's all for now! Don't forget AROUND THE POUND tonight!
Hammer
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