Banner Season: Brock adds to consecutive banner streaks with another double-gold effort in Guelph

GUELPH, Ont. – For a fourth straight year on the men’s side, and a fifth straight year on the women’s side, the Brock Badgers are on top of the OUA wrestling world.

Saturday afternoon at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Badgers added to their storied wrestling history by sweeping the team titles at the 2019 OUA Wrestling Championships.

Of the 19 gold medals handed out on the day, 13 were claimed by Brock wrestlers. The Badgers have now won 21 OUA titles on the men’s side, while the Brock women have claimed 18 team titles in the 22-year history of OUA women’s wrestling. Saturday’s competition featured a total of 120 wrestlers representing 10 different universities from across Ontario, with the University of Guelph serving as host of the conference championships for the first time since 2005.

“There’s some good competitors in this group and the kids fought hard today,” said Brock head coach Marty Calder, who was named OUA Coach of the Year on both the men’s and women’s sides. “We lost a total of seven starters from a year ago between our men’s and women’s teams, so it was great to see some of the rookies step up and perform well. Garette (Saunders), Roch (Provost) and Calvin (Daum) are three new faces on our men’s side and all came up big. Chris McIsaac is a former national champion, but was injured last year, so it was great to see him back in the mix. Those guys really helped make the difference for us. On the women’s side, we switched around some weight classes and had some people not in their usual division, but it was a total team effort.”

On the men’s side, the Badgers took home eight gold medals in the 11 weight classes, while on the women’s side, Brock finished atop the podium in five of the eight weight classes. Included in the list of gold medalists for the Badgers was third-year standout Hannah Taylor, who earned the title of OUA champion for a third consecutive season, defeating Western's Julie Steffler in a competitive final in the women’s 55kg. Taylor, a former national champion and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year back in 2017, took home the women’s Most Outstanding Wrestler honours at the 2019 OUA Championships.

On the men’s side, the Most Outstanding Wrestler honours went to McMaster’s Ameen Aghamirian. The fourth-year Kingston native took home gold in the men’s 120kg weight class in an exciting finals matchup with Western’s Brayden Ambo. The Marauders also swept the OUA Rookie of the Year awards with Trystan Kato (silver – men’s 65kg) and Ligaya Stinellis (silver – women’s 48kg) taking home the honours.

The 2019 varsity wrestling season will conclude in three week’s time in Calgary at the 2019 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships. The two-day national championship event is set to take place February 22 and 23 at the University of Calgary.

Men’s Team Standings:

1. Brock Badgers (102 points)

2. McMaster Marauders (73 points)

3. Lakehead Thunderwolves (61 points)

4. Western Mustangs (44 points)

5. Guelph Gryphons (38 points)

6. York Lions (33 points)

7. Algoma Thunderbirds (19 points)

8. Toronto Varsity Blues (16 points)

Women’s Team Standings:

1. Brock Badgers (71 points)

2. Guelph Gryphons (46 points)

3. Lakehead Thunderwolves (42 points)

4. Western Mustangs (40 points)

5. McMaster Marauders (24 points)

6. Queen’s Gaels (19 points)

7. Algoma Thunderbirds (17 points)

8. York Lions (15 points)

Major Award Winners – 2019 OUA Wrestling Championships

Outstanding Male Wrestler: Ameen Aghamirian (McMaster Marauders)

Outstanding Female Wrestler: Hannah Taylor (Brock Badgers)

Men’s Rookie of the Year: Trystan Kato (McMaster Marauders)

Women’s Rookie of the Year: Ligaya Stinellis (McMaster Marauders)

Men’s Coach of the Year: Marty Calder (Brock Badgers)

Women’s Coach of the Year: Marty Calder (Brock Badgers)

Male Student Athlete Community Service Award: Shadab Khan Rohaila (York Lions)

Female Student Athlete Community Service Award: Nicole French (Brock Badgers)

Men’s Medalists at 2019 OUA Championships:

Men’s 54 KG

Men’s 57 KG

Men’s 61 KG

Men’s 65 KG

Men’s 68 KG

Men’s 72 KG

Men’s 76 KG

Men’s 82 KG

Men’s 90 KG

Men’s 100 KG

Men’s 120 KG

Women’s Medalists at 2019 OUA Championships:

Women’s 48 KG

Women’s 51 KG

Women’s 55 KG

Women’s 59 KG

Women’s 63 KG

Women’s 67 KG

Women’s 72 KG

Women’s 82 KG