From Friday, Feb. 21 to Saturday, Feb. 22, Brock University hosted the U Sports national championships for wrestling. Competing in the tournament were Cascades’ Jason Bains, Karan Dhillon, Calista Espinosa, Ali Rahguzar, and Amarvir Atwal.
On the first day of the competition, Bains, Cascades’ 100 kg weight class wrestler, was able to grab three wins, without a loss. Similarly, Dhillon went 3-0 in the 90 kg weight class. With no losses on the first day, both Bains and Dhillon qualified for the championship match.
Also on Friday, Espinosa, Rahguzar, and Amarvir attempted to move to the championship match in their weight classes. With a record of 2-1, Espinosa, UFV’s only female competitor, and Rahguzar, UFV’s men’s 68 kg wrestler, were both placed in the bronze medal game on Saturday. Atwal’s record in the 76 kg weight class placed him in the fifth-sixth placing match on Saturday.
On the second day of the tournament, Bains was paired up against Clayton Pye from Brock University. While Bains fought hard in the championship match, Pye seemed determined to represent his university on home soil. Eventually Pye took the match by technical fall, with a score of 11-0.
Dhillon too was unsuccessful in his championship match. In his final match, Dhillon was also unable to find a point, with a score of 11-0 for his opponent, Hunter Lee.
Although Espinosa and Rahguzar did not qualify for the championship match, both wrestlers still came out of the tournament with a medal. Espinosa won bronze in her final match, with a decision win over Concordia’s Kaleigh Prieur, while Rahguzar won in a 4-4 decision against Alberta’s Devan Larkin.
Unfortunately for second-year Amarvir Atwal, he was the only Cascades member at the tournament that did not come home with a medal. Although he did not qualify for a medal match, Atwal finished the tournament with a strong final performance. In his final match, Atwal won with a score of 10-0, finishing fifth in the men’s 76 kg weight class.
At the end of the season, the Cascades’ strong performance was great to see for fans. Although UFV did not go home with a gold medal, they did manage to grab two silvers and two bronzes.
Image: UFV Athletics
Photo: Ali Rahguzar
