In a big weekend of UFV sports action, the Cascades wrestling squad may have stolen the show on Sunday, hosting the Cascades Classic: a home tournament that provides wrestlers the opportunity to compete and train prior to the Canada West Wrestling Championships, which also takes place at UFV in just under two weeks.
In the relatively short history of the UFV Cascades wrestling program, the 2018-19 season has shown promise after a stellar 2017-18 campaign. UFV had multiple champions in both the Canada West and U SPORTS championships, suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the Cascades could become a force to be reckoned with in Canadian amateur wrestling.
Parker McBride had a strong showing, taking first place in the men’s 57-kg division. The second-year wrestler is coming off a wildly successful rookie campaign that saw him place second in the Canada West Championship (54-kg), win the U SPORTS championship (54-kg), and claim a male Rookie of the Year award.
Ali Rahguzar also showed out for the Cascades, taking first place in the men’s 61-kg division. Only Ali and the University of Saskatchewan’s Jacob Fritz competed at that weight; however, in back-to-back contests Rahguzar came away with two technical falls (10-0).
Karan Dhillon, ranked number one in the nation, ran through the competition at the Cascades Classic, winning all three of his matches. The second-year wrestler also picked up a gold medal earlier this month at the Golden Bear Invitational in Edmonton and will look to keep the first-place finishes rolling heading into the Canada West Championships.
Brad Hildenbrandt had a fantastic showing for UFV, winning the heavyweight division (130-kg). Edging Ali Al-Rekabi in a close and tough match by a score of 5-4, the two-time U SPORTS champion now heads into the Canada West Championship on a high note.
Many other Cascades also finished the day with impressive displays. The UFV women’s wrestling squad all placed second in their divisions: Calista Espinosa at 48-kg, Amber Wiebe at 55-kg and Ana Godinez Gonzalez at 63-kg. Gonzalez went undefeated (2-0) before deciding to withdraw as a precautionary measure due to injury, placing second.
Ravi Manhas placed seventh at 54-kg, along with Simren Brar who placed third in the 54-kg division. De’Andre Williams took fifth place at 72-kg while Gurjot Gill wound up taking sixth place in the 76-kg division. Sunny Benning scored fifth at 90-kg and Jason Bains placed second at 100-kg. All in all, it was a great day for the Cascades.
UFV now looks ahead to the 2019 Canada West Wrestling Championships which the Cascades will host for the first time. U SPORTS gold medalist and Cascade Brad Hildenbrandt spoke positively of the tournament, hoping to “pack the stands” for the event.
Come see the Cascades wrestling squad in action for the Canada West Wrestling Championships, here at UFV on Feb. 8-9.
Image: Dan Kinvig/UFV Athletics
