Day 2: Canada West wrestling championships

by Ben Matchett, U of Calgary Sports Information / Photo credit Chris Hicks

Photo courtesy U of Calgary Athletics: After taking the women's team title on Friday, the Simon Fraser Clan men's made it a clean sweep for the Burnaby, B.C. school on Day 2

CALGARY - After their female counterparts eked out a win by the smallest of margins Friday, the Simon Fraser University men left nothing to chance, winning six of the 10 weight classes en route to their seventh consecutive Canada West championship.

The Clan held a 12-point advantage over second place Regina after the scores had been tallied, earning 48 team points against 26 for the Cougars.

Men's Team Standings
1. Simon Fraser 48 pts.
2. Regina 36
3. Saskatchewan 26
4. Alberta 25
5. Calgary 23

Raj Virdi was one of the seven gold medalists for the Clan, adding Outstanding Wrestler honours to his 61 kg championship. After breezing through his first two matches of the day, Virdi earned a tight 3-1 decision over silver medalist Kirk Ackerman of Regina to earn that gold medal.

The final duel of the afternoon pitted the Clan against the Cougars to decide the team title, and the Clan dominated by a 30-14 score after winning six of the 10 matches - four of which came by way of the fall. One of those pins came from 68 kg rookie Mike Cappus, who earned the conference Rookie of the Year award after defeating Regina's Gaelan Malloy, who had to settle for silver.

Virdi and Cappus were joined atop the podium by teammates Daniel Swain (65 kg), Arminder Virk (72 kg), Gurjot Kooner (90 kg), and Ali Al-Rekabi (130 kg). Mike Jones shared the Coach of the Year award with Justin Abdou, who he filled in for as head coach of the Clan for the Canada West championship.

The final major award went to Saskatchewan's Tim Kent, who earned the Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award. A fifth-year athlete in the Masters of Finance program, Kent won the silver medal in the 130 kg competition to qualify for the CIS championship in his final season.

Men's Award Winners
Outstanding Wrestler: Raj Virdi, Simon Fraser
Rookie of the Year: Mike Cappus, Simon Fraser
Coach of the Year: Justin Abdou/Mike Jones, Simon Fraser
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Tim Kent, Saskatchewan

The Cougars improved on their third-place performance from the 2009 event in Edmonton, winning gold in the two lightweight divisions courtesy Steven Schneider (54 kg) and Gilbert Musonza (57 kg). Saskatchewan's Daniel Olver won gold in the 76 kg division, while Alex Burk of the host Calgary Dinos won the 82 kg championship.

The top three finishers in each weight class qualify for the CIS Wrestling Championships, hosted by the University of Calgary for the third consecutive year. The event goes March 5-6 in the Jack Simpson Gym.

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS

54 kg
1. Steven Schneider, Regina
2. Jason Wass, Alberta
3. Jarrett Lum, Simon Fraser
4. Vaughn Gandy, Calgary
5. Bryan Blackwell, Saskatchewan

57 kg
1. Gilbert Musonza, Regina
2. Thomas Ostapowich, Simon Fraser
3. Kyle Stephens, Alberta
4. Mark Downing, Saskatchewan
5. Don Huynh, Calgary

61 kg
1. Raj Virdi, Simon Fraser
2. Kirk Ackerman, Regina
3. Brett Wells, Alberta
4. Shane Johnson, Saskatchewan

65 kg
1. Daniel Swain, Simon Fraser
2. Brian Hutton, Calgary
3. Connor Hoy, Alberta
4. Chad Bates, Regina

68 kg
1. Mike Cappus, Simon Fraser
2. Gaelan Malloy, Regina
3. Curtis Horsburgh, Alberta
4. Alex Kelly, Saskatchewan
5. Matt Bustard, Calgary

72 kg
1. Arminder Virk, Simon Fraser
2. Jarret Coels, Regina
3. Coleman Brinker, Alberta
4. Adam Gordon, Calgary
5. Su Min Lee, Saskatchewan

76 kg
1. Daniel Olver, Saskatchewan
2. Connor Malloy, Regina
3. Max Arcand, Simon Fraser
4. James Yurick, Alberta
5. Peter Jones, Calgary

82 kg
1. Alex Burk, Calgary
2. Chris Hobman, Saskatchewan
3. Brian Lunde, Regina
4. Harjit Purewal, Simon Fraser
5. Thomas Romanoski, Alberta

90 kg
1. Gurjot Kooner, Simon Fraser
2. Landon Squires, Saskatchewan
3. Spencer Watkins, Calgary
4. Jimmy Levesque, Regina
5. Addison Bree, Alberta

130 kg
1. Ali Al-Rekabi, Simon Fraser
2. Tim Kent, Saskatchewan
3. Daniel Nwearondu, Calgary
4. Ben Mardis, Alberta
5. Bjorn Person, Regina

About CWUAA
"Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year since 1997-98. Comprised of 14 schools, from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, the CWUAA produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues and events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games."