WRESTLING ROUNDUP: York Open
Lions win men's team title at York Open
The York University Lions men's wrestling team finished in first place at the program's annual York Open meet on Saturday (Dec. 6) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions earned a tournament-best 35 points after six different wrestlers finished among the top three in their respective weight classes. The women's team also had a strong meet, finishing in fourth place after three podium finishes.
Greg Pierzchala (Barrie, Ont.), who is currently enjoying a tremendous season for the Lions, won the silver medal in the 76kg division. He won his first match 12-10 and fought hard in the final before falling to Cruiz Manning, a member of the national team, by a score of 5-3.
Rookies Justin O'Neil (Toronto), Ashpreet Gill (Mississauga, Ont.) and Zach Werheid (Newcastle, Ont.) also won silver medals in the 61kg, 82kg and 100kg divisions, respectively.
O'Neil won two of his three matches, starting with a loss, but quickly rebounding to win one close match and one blowout, defeating Henry Guzman 11-10 and then rolling to a 10-1 win over Christian Mintsoulis. Gill recorded a big 15-5 win over Gabe Laplante to reach the final of his weight class but was defeated 4-0 in the gold-medal bout.
Fellow Lion Mohab El-Nahas (North York, Ont.) was also in the 82kg draw. He lost his first match but came back to win the back draw by a 10-3 score over Laplante for the bronze medal.
Mike MacDonald (Toronto) was one of only two competitors in the 90kg division and he won his match by a score of 4-2 over Adam Clement.
On the women's side, Alexandra Town (Scarborough, Ont.) captured the silver medal in the 51kg division, and Colleen Semple (Brampton, Ont.) and Urhsian Khalid (Mississauga, Ont.) claimed bronze medals in the 59k and 63kg divisions, respectively.
Town won two of her three matches, defeating Lauren Towell 4-0 and Chelcie Armstrong by the same 4-0 scores. Khalid also won two matches, defeating both Michalia Walls and Anna Ernst by 10-0 scores.
The Lions will now be off until the new year, and will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 10 when they travel to St. Catharines, Ont., for the Brock Open.
Men's Team Standings
1. York Lions, 35 points
2. Brock Wrestling Club, 24
3. Guelph Gryphons, 22
4. Team Impact, 20
T5. Guelph Wrestling Club, 18
T5. Montreal Wrestling Club, 18
T7. Laurentian Voyageurs, 12
T7. York Wrestling Club, 12
T9. Toronto Varsity Blues, 9
T9. Lon Western Wrestling Club, 9
11. Western Mustangs, 8
T12. Algoma Thunderbirds, 7
T12. Ryerson Rams, 7
14. Vanier, 2
Women's Team Standings
1. Brock Badgers, 32 points
2. STCC, 23
3. Guelph Gryphons, 19
4. York Lions, 11
5. Laurentian Voyageurs, 9
6. Algoma Thunderbirds, 7
7. Guelph Wrestling Club, 6
8. Toronto Varsity Blues, 5
T9. Western Mustangs, 2
T9. Concordia Stingers, 2
11. Lon Western Wrestling Club, 1
Source: York Lions
Algoma Wrestlers Continue Medalling Streak at York
The Algoma wrestlers continued their medalling streak this past weekend at the York Open, bringing home three medals, two silver and a bronze.
Last year's Female Student-Athlete of the Year, Natasha Doroodian, once again shone on the mats, taking home a silver medal. Doroodian had a strong tournament, with her only loss from Michelle Fazarri (Brock Wrestling Club), who is currently ranked second in the world at the 60-kilogram weight class. Doroodian had a tournament record with 3-1, with all three wins coming by pin – Urshian Khalid (York), Anna Ernst (STCC), and Michalia Walls (London – Western).
Rookie Alex Fry, who earned gold earlier this season at the McMaster Open, brought home a silver medal in the 120-kilogram weight class after losing to Ruslan Bollaev (York) in his only match of the weekend. Fry started off strong taking a quick lead in the first minute but lagged behind in the later portions of the match. He eventually lost by technical superiority.
Rookie Steven Kymes brought home his second bronze of the season. Kymes also had a great performance, losing a close match to Christian Service (Montreal). He was dominant in wins over Brennan Dickie (Laurentian) and Michael Sturino (York), winning both by technical superiority.
Second-year wrestler Lauren Towell showed improvement over the weekend, coming in fourth. Although winless this weekend, she took action to her opponents and is learning to attach and not let other wrestlers control the pace of the match.
"The York Open was a great test for our team to gauge their progress to this point," said Head Coach Trevor Manchester. "There were a lot of good things shown and we were able to see the areas that we need to work on. Natasha and Steven had great performances. Steven's hard work in practice shows on the mat. His conditioning is second to none, but we need to control his tendency to always attack even if he's in a bad position. With Natasha, we have been working different technique to try to expand her ability to score from all positions. With the first half of the season now completed, we will focus on pulling everything together and preparing mentally for the OUA and CIS Championships."
The wrestlers will return to action in the New Year at the Brock Open on January 10th.
Source: Algoma Thunderbirds
Mustangs finish 2014 with strong performance at York Open
TORONTO – Western's wrestling team made the most of their trip to Toronto last weekend, coming away with one gold, one silver, and five top-five finishes at the York Open.
London-Western wrestler Ligrit Sadiku won gold in the 54 kg weight class while teammate Jesse Gardner took home the silver in his event. Ligrit won four matches on his way to the top of the podium and Gardner won two, losing only in the final to C. Service of the Montreal WC.
Mustangs Elhame Gashi (48 kg), Nick Xang (61 kg), and London-Western team member Michalia Walls (63 kg) each placed fifth overall. Fellow Mustangs Lauchlin MacDonald (65 kg) was winning his first match before suffering a lower-body injury and being forced to withdraw.
Western is now officially off until the New Year, although the program will host a mini-camp between December 29 and 30 before commencing competition in 2015 with the Brock Open in St. Catharines on January 10.
Source: Western Mustangs
