DAY 2 (of 2): CIS wrestling championships: SFU, Alberta’s Bernard make CIS history

Photo credit David Moll

CALGARY (CIS) – Simon Fraser University became just the second school to win both CIS wrestling team titles in the same season while Alberta’s Ali Bernard made some history of her own as the 2010 national championships wrapped up in Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gym, Saturday.

Championship web site: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wrest

While the Clan ran away with a second straight men’s title by 17 points over second-place UNB, the Simon Fraser women needed a perfect day on the mat and some help to overtake the defending national champion and host Calgary Dinos. In the end, all eight Clan women won their classification and medal matches on the day while the Dinos dropped three of their seven, finishing just two points back of SFU’s 56.

The Brock Badgers, in 2002, were the only previous program to sweep the CIS team banners.

One of those Calgary losses came courtesy of Alberta’s Ali Bernard, who became the first female wrester in history to win five gold medals at the CIS championship. Bernard met defending champion Erica Wiebe of the Dinos in the 72-kilogram final and, while Wiebe gave Bernard her toughest test of the tournament, the New Ulm, Minn. native and 2008 U.S. Olympian was able to hang on and capture her fifth individual title.

Bernard began her career at the University of Regina, where she was named CIS rookie of the year in 2005, before transferring to the Pandas for the 2009-10 season. While at Regina, she was crowned CIS champion at 80 kg as a freshman, at 72 kg in 2006 and 2007, and at 82 kg in 2008.

A woman on the road to matching Bernard’s feat, Calgary’s Gen Haley, was named the 2010 CIS outstanding female wrestler after she claimed her fourth straight gold at 51 kg. The native of Campbell’s Bay, Que., who could tie Bernard’s record next year, faced off against Brock’s Diana Ford in the final after cruising through Friday’s preliminaries without much trouble.

In the most exciting match of the day, Ford scored two late points to take the first round and looked poised to complete the upset when she was awarded the advantage on the tiebreaking clinch in the second round. Undaunted, Haley was able to pull off an incredible Olympic lift against Ford to force a third and deciding round, which she won to the delight of her home fans. Haley will look to become the first woman to win five consecutive gold medals at the 2011 CIS meet.

While Haley's win kept the Dinos' hopes alive until the Bernard-Wiebe match-up, Simon Fraser had its biggest scare in the previous final, the women's 48 kg, where Canada West outstanding wrestler and rookie of the year Victoria Anthony was paired up against Jasmine Mian of Brock.

After taking the first round 5-2, Anthony dropped a 2-1 decision in the second, and the third round ended in a 0-0 deadlock. A 2009 junior world champion with the USA, Anthony prevailed 1-0 in the clinch to win the match, and was named CIS female rookie of the year for her efforts. 

Other women’s champions included Jillian Gallays of Saskatchewan at 55 kg, Calgary’s Jazzie Barker at 59 kg, Danielle Lappage and Stacie Anaka of Simon Fraser at 63 and 67 kg, respectively, and Leah Callahan of the host Dinos at 82 kg. Haley, Gallays, and Callahan all successfully defended their 2009 CIS titles, while Canada West wrestlers swept the eight gold medals available.

Saskatchewan’s Beth Thompson was named the Student-Athlete Community Service award winner. An Academic All-Canadian, Thompson volunteers much of her time with the Saskatoon SPCA and Habitat for Humanity while also assisting with the Physical Activity for Active Living (PAAL) program, which helps teenagers with a range of disabilities to be active.

Simon Fraser head coach Mike Jones earned coach-of-the-year honours on both the men’s and women’s sides.

In the men’s competition, Simon Fraser finished on the podium in six of the 10 weight classes, cruising to their second straight team title by a wide margin. Led by gold medalists Raj Virdi (61 kg), Mike Cappus (68 kg) and Ali Al-Rekabi (130 kg), the Clan men won seven of their nine matches on Saturday to build on their sizable Day 1 lead.

The UNB Varsity Reds edged out Regina for second place in the team standings by just one point. The Cougars appeared in four weight class finals on Saturday, losing every one of them.

At the post-championships banquet, Toronto’s Shujon Mazumber was named the 2010 outstanding male wrestler after dominating the 54 kg weight class en route to the gold medal. Mazumber was also the outstanding wrestler at the OUA championships earlier this season.

Ontario took the other big individual prize as well, with Guelph’s Jacob Jagas named the CIS rookie of the year. Jagas met McMaster’s Dusan Milakara in a rematch of the OUA championship for CIS gold and emerged victorious, claiming the 72 kg crown.

The Gryphons took home another individual honour when Kyle Grant won the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award following his silver-medal performance in the heavyweight 130 kg division.

David Tremblay, the 2009 CIS outstanding wrestler at 61 kg, moved down a weight class and won another gold in 2010 wrestling at 57 kg. Tremblay was the only repeat gold medalist from the 2009 championships.

Other individual champions included UNB’s Ben Sayah at 65 kg, Saskatchewan’s Daniel Olver (76 kg), Matt Miller of Concordia (82 kg), and Eric Feunekes of UNB (90 kg).

Saskatchewan’s Tim Kent, who won a bronze medal at 130 kg, was named winner of the Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

2010 CIS WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Jack Simpson Gym, University of Calgary

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS – MEN

1. Simon Fraser (63 points)
2. UNB (46)
3. Regina (45)
4. Lakehead (35)
5. Concordia (34)
6. Guelph (32)
7. Saskatchewan (26)*
8. McMaster (26)*
9. Alberta (23)
10. Brock (17)
11. Toronto (16)*
12. Calgary (16)*
13. Western Ontario (5)
14. Queen’s (2)*
15. Memorial (2)*
16. McGill (1)

* Saskatchewan, Toronto and Queen’s awarded higher standing based on greater number of higher-placed finishes.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS – WOMEN

1. Simon Fraser (56 points)
2. Calgary (54)
3. Western Ontario (37)
4. Brock (30)
5. Regina (27)
6. Concordia (22)
7. Alberta (19)
8. UNB (15)
9. Lakehead (14)
10. Guelph (11)
11. Saskatchewan (10)
12. McMaster (3)
13. McGill (2)

MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Outstanding Wrestler – Male
Shujon Mazumber (54 kg), Toronto

Outstanding Wrestler – Female
Gen Haley (51 kg), Calgary

Rookie of the Year – Male
Jacob Jagas (72 kg), Guelph

Rookie of the Year – Female
Victoria Anthony (48 kg), Simon Fraser

Student-Athlete Award – Male
Tim Kent, Saskatchewan

Student-Athlete Award – Female
Beth Thompson, Saskatchewan

Coach of the Year – Men’s team
Mike Jones, Simon Fraser

Coach of the Year – Women’s team
Mike Jones, Simon Fraser

R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award
Kyle Grant (130 kg), Guelph

FINAL INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS – MEN

54 kg
1. Shujon Mazumber, Toronto
2. Steven Schneider, Regina
3. Steve Gross, Lakehead
4. Jarret Lum, Simon Fraser
5. Jean-Francois Godin, UNB
6. Jason Wass, Alberta
7. Aaron Fabiano, Brock

57 kg
1. David Tremblay, Concordia
2. Gilbert Musonza, Regina
3. Gaston Tardiff, Lakehead
4. Kyle Stephens, Alberta
5. Thomas Ostapowich, Simon Fraser
6. Tim Clement, Brock
7. Matt Di Staulo, Queen’s
8. Henry Gass, McGill

61 kg
1. Raj Virdi, Simon Fraser
2. Kirk Ackerman, Regina
3. Vince Cormier, UNB
4. Scott Schiller, Concordia
5. Dustin Helwig, Lakehead
6. Brett Wells, Alberta
7. Scott Wolowich, Guelph
8. Michio Clark, Brock

65 kg
1. Ben Sayah, UNB
2. Daniel Swain, Simon Fraser
3. Kevin Iwasa-Madge, Guelph
4. Connor Hoy, Alberta
5. Brian Hutton, Calgary
6. Ryan Johnson, Brock
7. Jason Bresele, Lakehead
8. Marc Guibord, Concordia

68 kg
1. Mike Cappus, Simon Fraser
2. Ryan Blake, McMaster
3. Gaelan Malloy, Regina
4. Shawn Daye-Finley, UNB
5. Curtis Horsburgh, Alberta
6. Scott Christian, Lakehead
7. Ben Rowbothan, Brock
8. Matt Kippenhuck, Memorial

72 kg
1. Jacob Jagas, Guelph
2. Dusan Milakara, McMaster
3. Arminder Virk, Simon Fraser
4. Eric Jacobson, Western
5. Jarret Coels, Regina
6. Coleman Brinker, Alberta
7. Sergey Gevorkian, Concordia
8. Eric Lewis, UNB

76 kg
1. Daniel Olver, Saskatchewan
2. Connor Malloy, Regina
3. Dene Ringuette, Toronto
4. Mike Noonan, Concordia
5. Max Arcand, Simon Fraser
6. Ben McCarron, UNB
7. Mike Katsilas, Guelph
8. Peter Leaman, Brock

82 kg
1. Matt Miller, Concordia
2. Alex Burk, Calgary
3. Corey Lee, Lakehead
4. Darcy McKinney, UNB
5. Mathieu Deschatelets, Guelph
6. Kevin MacLellan, McMaster
7. Chris Hobman, Saskatchewan
8. Brian Lunde, Regina

90 kg
1. Eric Feunekes, UNB
2. Landon Squires, Saskatchewan
3. Gurjot Kooner, Simon Fraser
4. Spencer Bruch, Brock
5. Sean House, McMaster
6. Brandon Gardner, Lakehead
7. Jimmy Levesque, Regina
8. Ahmad Abomathboor, Concordia

130 kg
1. Ali Al-Rekabi, Simon Fraser
2. Kyle Grant, Guelph
3. Tim Kent, Saskatchewan
4. Preston Mikulasik, Lakehead
5. Daniel Nwaerondu, Calgary
6. Adam Benish, McMaster
7. Mike MacDonald, UNB
8. Jon Smith, Memorial

FINAL INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS – WOMEN

48 kg
1. Victoria Anthony, Simon Fraser
2. Jasmine Mian, Brock
3. Hajar Ashtiani, Regina
4. Krista Betts, UNB
5. Haley Thomas, Alberta
6. Sahana Mazumder, Western

51 kg
1. Gen Haley, Calgary
2. Diana Ford, Brock
3. Jasmine Slinn, Regina
4. Jennifer Nguyen, Western
5. Tessa Ma, Simon Fraser
6, Sydney Duggan, McMaster

55 kg
1. Jill Gallays, Saskatchewan
2. Brianne Barry, Western
3. Laura Gordon, Simon Fraser
4. Natalie Brady, Calgary
5. Laura Christensen, Guelph
6. Stephanie Riopel, Brock

59 kg
1. Jazzie Barker, Calgary
2. Meghan King, Regina
3. Liz Sera, Western
4. Aislynn Torfason, Lakehead
5. Raissa Dickinson, Simon Fraser
6. Natasha Chang, Brock
7. Rachel Bernelot Moens, McGill

63 kg
1. Danielle Lappage, Simon Fraser
2. Larissa D’Alleva, Western
3. Nikita Chicoine, Concordia
4. Jessy Seida, Calgary
5. Laurel Knowles, Lakehead
6. Hilary Rafia, Guelph
7. Jillian Durant, Regina

67 kg
1. Stacie Anaka, Simon Fraser
2. Lis Williams, Concordia
3. Stephanie Buchan, Calgary
4. Lisa McKibben, Regina
5. Allison Leslie, Guelph
6. Jennifer Archibald, Western
7. Megan Getchell, UNB
8. Laura Steffler, Brock

72 kg
1. Ali Bernard, Alberta
2. Erica Wiebe, Calgary
3. Sidney Morrison, Simon Fraser
4. Deborah Jehu, Brock
5. Veronica Keefe, Concordia
6. Christine Schmidt, Western
7. Katelyn Proulx (Lakehead)

82 kg
1. Leah Callahan, Calgary
2. Rachel Pinet, UNB
3. Hillary Greening, Simon Fraser
4. Meaghan Young, Alberta
5. Andrea Davidson, Concordia
6. Nicole Plummer, Lakehead
7. Lee-Anna Taillefer, Brock
8. Monica Varallo, Western


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