DAY 1 (of 2): CIS championships: Clan, Dinos neck-and-neck for women’s title

Photo credit is David Moll

CALGARY (CIS) – The Simon Fraser Clan seem set to cruise to their second straight CIS men’s wrestling title, but the host Calgary Dinos stand in the Clan’s way of capturing both team banners after Day 1 of the 2010 CIS championships wrapped up in the Jack Simpson Gym.

Championship web site (live results, live webcast of bronze and gold medal matches): http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wrest

With four athletes qualifying for finals and another three in bronze-medal matches, Simon Fraser’s men’s team holds a healthy advantage over Regina and UNB heading into the final day of competition. On the women’s side, however, the Dinos hold a slim advantage with four athletes in finals against just three for the Clan, although Simon Fraser does have one more wrestler at the championship.

Day 2 action gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. Mountain Time / noon ET with placement matches to decide fifth through eighth place in each of the 10 men’s and eight women’s weight classes. Bronze-medal matches begin at 11:30 a.m., with the gold-medal finals slated for 1 p.m. The bronze and gold-medal rounds will be webcast live at www.educationcdn.com/schools/dinos .

As expected, the battle for the women’s team title has become a two-horse race between the Dinos and Clan, who have combined to win 11 of the 12 all-time banners all-time since women’s wrestling became a CIS sport in 1999. Simon Fraser edged out Calgary by just a single point at the Canada West championships, qualifying in all eight weight classes. The Dinos, meanwhile, have only seven wrestlers at the national meet, but all seven will compete for a medal on Saturday while SFU has six in medal matches.

Just one match will see the Dinos and Clan go head-to-head: the bronze medal duel at 55 kg between Natalie Brady of Calgary and the Clan’s Laura Gordon. With pivotal team points at stake, that match will go a long way toward deciding the team title.

Rookie sensation Victoria Anthony of Simon Fraser breezed through the preliminaries to qualify for the gold medal match. The 2010 Canada West outstanding wrestler and rookie of the year will meet Brock’s Jasmine Mian for the 48 kg title on Saturday, while Clan teammates Danielle Lappage (63 kg) and Stacie Anaka (67 kg) also qualified for the finals.

Calgary counters with Gen Haley at 51 kg, looking for her fourth CIS gold medal in as many years. Haley was pushed in her first match of the day by Jennifer Nguyen of Western Ontario, who won the first round. The three-time champion came out flying in the second round, however, and quickly pinned her opponent to win the match.

Jazzie Barker (59 kg), Leah Callahan (82 kg), and Erica Wiebe (72 kg) will join Haley in the finals Saturday as the hometown Dinos look to repeat as national champions.

Wiebe’s opponent in the final, however, will be looking to make some history. Alberta’s Ali Bernard, a four-time CIS champion, will look to become the first female athlete in CIS history to win five wrestling gold medals when she faces Wiebe in an all-Alberta match-up Saturday afternoon. Bernard, who transferred to the Pandas after starting her career with Regina, pinned all three of her opponents on Day 1 and will be the overwhelming favourite in the 72 kg final.

The Western Mustangs, with four athletes in medal matches, and the Brock Badgers with three are well back of the Dinos and Clan in the race for the team title.

On the men’s side, the most intriguing individual match-up came early in the day Friday in the men’s 61 kg category when two-time gold medalist Vince Cormier of UNB took on Simon Fraser’s Raj Virdi, the 2010 Canada West outstanding wrestler. Cormier, who moved up to 61 kg this year after winning gold at 57 kg two straight seasons, fought Virdi tooth and nail and sent the match to three rounds – all three of which were decided by the tiebreaking clinch.

Cormier had the clinch advantage in the third and final round but was unable to score, giving Virdi the victory. He will join teammates Daniel Swain (65 kg), Mike Cappus (68 kg), and Ali Al-Rekabi (130 kg) in the gold medal finals Saturday afternoon.

The Regina Cougars also had an impressive performance on the men’s side, matching Simon Fraser’s four gold medal qualifiers. Steven Schneider (54 kg), Gilbert Musonza (57 kg), Kirk Ackerman (61 kg), and Connor Malloy (76 kg) will wrestle for gold as the Cougars aim to slow the Clan’s advance towards the team title.

Other favourites to qualify for finals include 2009 CIS outstanding wrestler David Tremblay of Concordia (57 kg), Saskatchewan’s Daniel Olver at 76 kg, and OUA outstanding wrestler Shujon Mazumber of the Toronto Varsity Blues at 54 kg.

2010 CIS WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Jack Simpson Gym, University of Calgary

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL: Mountain Time)

Friday, March 5

10:00 Preliminaries Round 1 (Jack Simpson Gym)
13:00 Preliminaries Round 2 (Jack Simpson Gym)
15:30 Preliminaries Round 3 (Jack Simpson Gym)

Saturday, March 6

10:00 Classification matches 5th-8th place (Jack Simpson Gym)
11:30 Bronze-medal matches (Jack Simpson Gym) – Live webcast
13:00 Championship finals (Jack Simpson Gym) – Live webcast
18:30 All-Canadian Awards Dinner (MacEwan Ballroom)

DAY 2 MATCH-UPS – MEN

54 kg
Gold: Steven Schneider (Regina) vs. Shujon Mazumber (Toronto)
Bronze: Jarret Lum (Simon Fraser) vs. Steve Gross (Lakehead)
5th: Jean-Francois Godin (UNB) vs. Jason Wass (Alberta)
7. Aaron Fabiano (Brock)

57 kg
Gold: Gilbert Musonza (Regina) vs. David Tremblay (Concordia)
Bronze: Kyle Stephens (Alberta) vs. Gaston Tardiff (Lakehead)
5th: Tim Clement (Brock) vs. Thomas Ostapowich (Simon Fraser)
7th: Henry Gass (McGill) vs. Matt Di Staulo (Queen’s)

61 kg
Gold: Raj Virdi (Simon Fraser) vs. Kirk Ackerman (Regina)
Bronze: Vince Cormier (UNB) vs. Scott Schiller (Concordia)
5th: Brett Wells (Alberta) vs. Dustin Helwig (Lakehead)
7th: Scott Wolowich (Guelph) vs. Michio Clark (Brock)

65 kg
Gold: Daniel Swain (Simon Fraser) vs. Ben Sayah (UNB)
Bronze: Connor Hoy (Alberta) vs. Kevin Iwasa-Madge (Guelph)
5th: Ryan Johnson (Brock) vs. Brian Hutton (Calgary)
7th: Marc Guibord (Concordia) vs. Jason Bresele (Lakehead)

68 kg
Gold: Mike Cappus (Simon Fraser) vs. Ryan Blake (McMaster)
Bronze: Shawn Daye-Finley (UNB) vs. Gaelan Malloy (Regina)
5th: Curtis Horsburgh (Alberta) vs. Scott Christian (Lakehead)
7th: Ben Rowbothan (Brock) vs. Matthew Kippenhuck (Memorial)

72 kg
Gold: Dusan Milakara (McMaster) vs. Jacob Jagas (Guelph)
Bronze: Arminder Virk (Simon Fraser) vs. Eric Jacobson (Western)
5th: Coleman Brinker (Alberta) vs. Jarret Coels (Regina)
7th: Eric Lewis (UNB) vs. Sergey Gevorkian (Concordia)

76 kg
Gold: Daniel Olver (Saskatchewan) vs. Connor Malloy (Regina)
Bronze: Mike Noonan (Concordia) vs. Dene Ringuette (Toronto)
5th: Max arcand (Simon Fraser) vs. Ben McCarron (UNB)
7th: Peter Leaman (Brock) vs. Mike Katsilas (Guelph)

82 kg
Gold: Alex Burk (Calgary) vs. Matt Miller (Concordia)
Bronze: Darcy McKinney (UNB) vs. Corey Lee (Lakehead)
5th: Kevin MacLellan (McMaster) vs. Mathieu Deschatelets (Guelph)
7th: Brian Lunde (Regina) vs. Chris Hobman (Saskatchewan)

90 kg
Gold: Eric Feunekes (UNB) vs. Landon Squires (Saskatchewan)
Brock: Gurjot Kooner (Simon Fraser) vs. Spencer Bruch (Brock)
5th: Sean House (McMaster) vs. Brandon Gardner (Lakehead)
7th: Jimmy Levesque (Regina) vs. Ahmad Abomathboor (Concordia)

130 kg
Gold: Ali Al-Rekabi (Simon Fraser) vs. Kyle Grant (Guelph)
Bronze: Preston Mikulasik (Lakehead) vs. Tim Kent (Saskatchewan)
5th: Daniel Nwaerondu (Calgary) vs. Adam Benish (McMaster)
7th: Jon Smith (Memorial) vs. Mike MacDonald (UNB)

DAY 2 MATCH-UPS – WOMEN

48 kg
Gold: Victoria Anthony (Simon Fraser) vs. Jasmine Mian (Brock)
Bronze: Krista Betts (UNB) vs. Hajar Ashtiani (Regina)
5th: Haley Thomas (Alberta) vs. Sahana Mazumder (Western)

51 kg
Gold: Gen Haley (Calgary) vs. Diana Ford (Brock)
Bronze: Jennifer Nguyen (Western) vs. Jasmine Slinn (Regina)
5th: Tessa Ma (Simon Fraser) vs. Sydney Duggan (McMaster)

55 kg
Gold: Jill Gallays (Saskatchewan) vs. Brianne Barry (Western)
Bronze: Natalie Brady (Calgary) vs. Laura Gordon (Simon Fraser)
5th: Stephanie Riopel (Brock) vs. Laura Christensen (Guelph)

59 kg
Gold: Jazzie Barker (Calgary) vs. Meghan King (Regina)
Bronze: Liz Sera (Western) vs. Aislynn Torfason (Lakehead)
5th: Raissa Dickinson (Simon Fraser) vs. Natasha Chang (Brock)
7. Rachel Bernelot Moens, McGill

63 kg
Gold: Danielle Lappage (Simon Fraser) vs. Larissa D’Alleva (Western)
Bronze: Nikita Chicoine (Concordia) vs. Jessy Seida (Calgary)
5th: Laurel Knowles (Lakehead) vs. Hilary Rafia (Guelph)
7. Jillian Durant (Regina)

67 kg
Gold: Stacie Anaka (Simon Fraser) vs. Lis Williams (Concordia)
Bronze: Stephanie Buchan (Calgary) vs. Lisa McKibben (Regina)
5th: Allison Leslie (Guelph) vs. Jennifer Archibald (Western)
7th: Megan Getchell (UNB) vs. Laura Steffler (Brock)

72 kg
Gold: Ali Bernard (Alberta) vs. Erica Wiebe (Calgary)
Bronze: Sidney Morrison (Simon Fraser) vs. Deborah Jehu (Brock)
5th: Veronica Keefe (Concordia) vs. Christine Schmidt (Western)
7. Katelyn Proulx (Lakehead)

82 kg
Gold: Leah Callahan (Calgary) vs. Rachel Pinet (UNB)
Bronze: Meaghan Young (Alberta) vs. Hilary Greening (Simon Fraser)
5th: Andrea Davidson (Concordia) vs. Nicole Plummer (Lakehead)
7th: Lee-Anna Taillefer (Brock) vs. Monica Varallo (Western)



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