Brock women's wrestling wins Western Open, Men place second

LONDON, ON - The Brock University women's wrestling team captured gold at the 2016 Western Open while the Brock men took home silver. For the No. 1 ranked Brock women's team it was their sixth team title of the season.

The Brock women captured six medals in total winning four gold and two silver. Capturing gold were Farrantina Gatta  (Niagara Falls, ON) (48kg), Indira Moores (Whitefish, ON) (63kg), Jessica Brouillette (Barrie, ON) (67kg) and Olivia Di Bacco (Orillia, ON) (72kg). Taking home silver were Carlene Sluberski (Fredonia, NY) 59kg and Michelle Fazzari (63kg).

Jevon Balfour (Brampton, ON (82kg) and Alex Moher (57kg) both collected golds in their respective weight class. Luke Roberts took home bronze at 72kg while Joey Martin (61kg - 4th) and Zack Falcioni (65kg - 4th) rounded out Brock's top finishers. 

The Badgers will be competing at the OUA Wrestling Championships February 13th at Algoma University in Sault Ste Marie, ON. Brock will be hosting the 2016 CIS Wrestling Championships February 26-27 in Niagara.

Source: Brock Badgers

Shamiya wins gold at Western Open

Showing promising form just a month out from the OUA Championship, Marauder wrestler Ahmed Shamiya led his team with a gold-medal-winning performance at the Western Open on Saturday. His was one of four podium finishes for McMaster on the day.

Among the defending OUA champion Marauder men, second year Robbie Smith added bronze in the 54kg division, while Kevin Barret also secured bronze in the 90kg class. Fourth-year veteran Monica Wood had McMaster's lone medal on the women's side, winning silver in the 48kg division.

McMaster's defending CIS champion, Shamiya ran the table in the 76kg division, and defeated Montreal's Sam Barmish in the divisional final to take gold. Smith finished in the middle of a small, three-man field in the 54kg division, losing out on the top spot to Concordia's Trevor Banks. Barret, meanwhile, finished on a high note to beat Gagandeep Toor of Toronto's Team Impact and claim bronze in the 90kg class.

The Mac pair of Jason Buckle and Rohan Cornelio both advanced to the semifinals in the 65kg division, but were forced to withdraw with injuries.

Wood excelled on Saturday, and advanced all the way to the final of the women's lightweight 48kg division before losing out to Brock's Gatta Farrantina and taking home silver.

Several of McMaster's young wrestlers did not compete on the weekend, opting to remain fresh for the upcoming Ontario Junior Provincial Championships, which will be contested in St. Catharines on Saturday.

Source: McMaster Marauders

Parks and Steffler lead Mustangs to third place finish at Western Open

LONDON, Ont. – Western's Madi Parks and Julie Steffler had stand-out performances this past weekend at the Western Open, dominating their respective weight class to each win gold.

Parks and Steffler led the purple and white to a third overall finish in the team rankings, following Brock in first place and YMHA of Montreal in second.
 
The Mustangs hosted clubs and universities from across the OUA and several out-of-province competitors including UNB, Winnipeg, and Montreal at the annual event in Alumni Hall.
 
Parks, a national U24 team member, defeated University of New Brunswick's Alyssa Cleaves in the final of the women's 51kg class with an impressive 7-2 result.  
 
Steffler continued her solid sophomore season by winning gold at 55 kg, taking a total of three matches and defeating York University's Alexandria Town by pin in the final. This gold for Steffler is the third first place finish for the Tottenham, Ontario native this season.
 
The men's team was led by fourth-year science student Kyle Bonk-Denn, who went 2-2 in the 120 kg class to win bronze, and first-year kinesiology student Jackson Browning, who placed second at 90 kg.
 
Other top finishes include Caleb Rutner, Shahana Mazumder, Jamie Golob, Bennet Jaworski, and Michalia Walls in fourth place of their respective weight classes. Raeggan Bressette, Greg Clark and Kevin Marshall took fifth, followed by Eric Renaud with sixth place.
 
Several of the Mustangs will be back in action this upcoming weekend, January 30, competing at the Junior U20 Ontario Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario. This is the last tournament prior to the OUA Championships, which will be hosted by Algoma University in Sault Saint Marie, Ontario on February 13.
 
Women's co-captain Parks will be accompanied by national teammate and former Mustang Steven Takahashi to the Schultz International at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado on January 30. Takahashi will compete in the 59 kg Greco Roman Division, coached by Mustangs assistant coach Dave Spinney.

Source: Western Mustangs

Logan McKinnon brings home bronze for Algoma

The Algoma wrestlers were away this past weekend competing at the Western Open in London, Ontario. For the third time this season, Logan McKinnon podiumed, proving that the Algoma wrestlers are a force to not be overlooked.
 
McKinnon earned bronze in the 54-kilogram weight class. This is McKinnon's third medal in the 2015-16 season. He already holds two silver medals. 
 
Theodore Dracopolous earned fourth place in the 100-kilogram division.
 
Brody-Allen Evans placed sixth in the men's 90-kilogram.
 
"This weekend at the Western Open, our wrestlers managed to get in some quality experience before the OUA Championships. Although not the most successful tournament with regards to results, the competition served its purpose and allowed our wrestlers to work on fine tuning their technique coming into the most important tournament of the year," said Head Coach Trevor Manchester.
 
This was the last tournament the Algoma wrestlers will compete in prior to the OUA Wrestling Championships being held at Algoma U in the George Leach Centre on February 13th. 
 
Other OUA wrestlers have one more tournament prior to the provincial championships. Competitors can compete at the Junior U20 Ontario Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario this weekend.

Source: Algoma Thunderbirds