Brock women, McMaster Men capture OUA Wrestling banners

 New champions were crowned in wrestling at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships on Saturday as the McMaster Marauders and Brock Badgers won the men's and women's banners, respectively, at the Ben Avery Gym in Sudbury.

The Marauders tallied 83 points to claim their first men's title since 1993, edging the Brock Badgers by a single point. The Badgers did not go home empty-handed, however, as they took the women's crown back from Western with 59 points, making it seven titles in 8 years. 

Rounding out the top three were the Western Mustangs on the men's side and the Guelph Gryphons on the women's.

McMaster placed in the top three in nine of the eleven possible weight classes, winning three gold, five silver and one bronze medal. Jason Buckle of McMaster was named the OUA's most outstanding male wrestler after claiming gold in the 61kg division in a rematch of last year's final against Brock's Zack Falcioni.

Also winning gold medals for the Marauders were Chris Garneau (68kg) and Joban Phulka (82kg).

McMaster's Omar Ahmed was named the OUA rookie of the year after winning the silver medal in a close 65kg bout against Nick Rowe of Brock, while McMaster head coach Nick Cipriano earned the coach of the year award after leading his team to the championship. Ali Koca from the York Lions earned the OUA community service award. 

In the women's competition, Brock dominated the standings, medaling in six of eight possible weight classes, taking home four individual gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

Carlene Sluberski earned the OUA's most outstanding female wrestler award after winning the gold medal in the 55kg class with a victory over Madi Parks from the Western Mustangs. 

Also winning individual titles for the Badgers were Jade Parsons (48kg), Emily Schaefer (51kg) and Olivia Di Bacco (72kg). Schaefer was named the OUA's rookie of the year following her victory, and head coach Marty Calder earned the coach of the year award. Urshian Khalid from the York Lions was named the recipient of the OUA community service award.

In addition to reaching the podium, the top three finishers in each weight class advance to the CIS championships, which will be hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton beginning Feb. 27. 

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 

Men's

1. McMaster (83)

2. Brock (82)

3. Western (64)

4. Guelph (46)

5. York (40)

6. Lakehead (31)

7. Laurentian (25)

8. Queen's (13)

9. Ryerson (6)

10. Toronto (5)

11. Algoma (4)

Women's

1. Brock (59)

2. Western (46)

3. Guelph (44)

4. McMaster (37)

5. Lakehead (34)

6. Laurentian (19)

7. York (12)

8. Algoma (11)

9. Toronto (8)

10. Queen's (5)

MAJOR AWARD WINNERS 

Men's

Keegan Trophy (Outstanding Male Wrestler) – Jason Buckle, McMaster

Rookie of the Year – Omar Ahmed, McMaster

Community Service Award – Ali Koca, York

Coach of the Year – Nick Cipriano, McMaster

Women's

Outstanding Female Wrestler – Carlene Sluberski, Brock

Rookie of the Year – Emily Schaefer, Brock

Community Service Award – Urshian Khalid, York

Coach of the Year – Marty Calder, Brock

MEN'S FINAL PLACINGS 

54kg

1. Sam Jagas, Brock   

2. Chris Waltner, Lakehead   

3. Eric Renaud, Western        

57kg

1. Steven Takahashi, Western            

2. Brian Cowan, Brock                      

3. Elvir Uzonovic, Guelph                 

61kg

1. Jason Buckle, McMaster    

2. Zack Falcioni, Brock          

3. Peter Shannon, Queen's     

65kg

1. Nick Rowe, Brock

2. Omar Ahmed, McMaster

3. Ethan Smith, Western

68kg

1. Chris Garneau, McMaster

2. Andrew Mckenzie, Brock  

3. Caleb Rutner, Western       

72kg

1. Tyler Rowe, Brock             

2. Ahmed Shamiya, McMaster          

3. Richard Balfour, Western              

76kg

1. Alec Bauer, Western

2. Ben Bradford, Guelph

3. Eric Steffler, McMaster

82kg

1. Joban Phulka, McMaster    

2. Matrixx Ferreira, Brock     

3. Dan Humphrey, Guelph

90kg

1. Riley Otto, Western

2. Kevin Barrett, McMaster   

3. Ignatius Pitt, Brock

100kg

1. Andrii Vorontsov, Brock

2. Andrew Balach, McMaster

3. Kyle Bonk-Dann, Western

120kg

1. Ali Koca, York

2. Ahmed Ramadan, McMaster                     

WOMEN'S FINAL PLACINGS

48kg

1. Jade Parsons, Brock           

2. Valerie Ouelette, Western  

3. Natassya Lu, Guelph

51kg

1. Emily Schaefer, Brock

2. Alexandria Town, York

3. Nicole Mazzara, McMaster

55kg

1. Carlene Sluberski, Brock

2. Madi Parks, Western

3. Cierra Carere, Guelph

59kg

1. Emma Horner, Lakehead

2. Indira Moores, Brock

3. Alyssa Medeiros, Western

63kg

1. Alexa Momy, Western

2. Natasha Doroodian, Algoma

3. Jessica Brouillette, Brock

67kg

1. Alison Carrow, Guelph      

2. Kelsey Dayler, Lakehead   

3. Nicole Roach, McMaster   

72kg

1. Olivia Di Bacco, Brock      

2. Gracelynn Doogan, Guelph           

3. Grace Bannerman, Toronto

82kg

1. Kelsey Gsell, Guelph         

2. Alyshia Anderson, McMaster

3. Demi Swann, Laurentian