As School District No. 46 wrestling programs continue to build, the hardware continues to pile up. Thirteen wrestlers from Elphinstone, Chatelech and Gibsons Elementary converged on University of Fraser in Abbotsford for the Western Canadian Championships on Jan. 27 and 28. This age class event saw approximately 750 of the best wrestlers from Western Canadian provinces and territories fly in to compete in an intense battle at an elite calibre.
The podium was owned by Sunshine Coast wrestlers. “Over half our wrestlers finished in the top three in Western Canada,” says coach Eric Sullivan.
Matt Drope took gold and Aila Brampton took silver for Elphinstone as they wrestled with maturity and poise beyond their years. After their first year back to high school wrestling in many years, Chatelech took a silver medal due to Grade 8 Elijah Karkabe wrestling for second. Gibsons Elementary Grade 7 students wrestled against the best Grade 8 students, seeing Dorian Connolley take gold and Dylan Drope take bronze.
At the elementary level, two Grade 5 students wrestled in the Grade 6 and under category. Zander Stewart took bronze and Ethan Sullivan went undefeated in intense competition to gold.
To have one wrestler medal at this level is an accomplishment, but to take three gold and seven overall medals is unheard of and with a team of only 13.
The Coast wrestlers were the stars of the North Shore team and their success drew attention, as the CIS University wrestling teams came early to scout out wrestlers. The universities competed Saturday and Sunday after the elementary and high school teams finished. Several university coaches inquired about all three of the Elphinstone wrestlers, in particular the team captain at this meet, Eilis Mackenzie.
This event saw the team unveil their new compression gear. The Coast team are trendsetters as they are the first to move away from traditional singlets to MMA style compression wear. The gear has a unified body with their individual school names and colours represented. To add a professional team touch, each wrestler’s name is sublimated on their own shirt. The other North Shore schools are looking to order this wrestling gear next year.
With the expansion of wrestling on the Coast comes dedicated coaches. Eric Sullivan has worked tirelessly for over five years, expanding and improving upon the Coast’s wrestling every year. This year he has organized fundraisers and practices that span across the region to make it convenient and affordable, to reach out to as many athletes as possible.
This year the program has added two dedicated schools that contributed and are excited about their wrestlers competing and representing in each tournament. Last year, Sullivan recruited new teacher and coach Mike Rines, Elphinstone alumni and varsity wrestler from University of Calgary. This year he has contacted George Richey to join the ever growing team. Richey once ranked among the top 10 wrestlers in the world and has taught on the Sunshine Coast over 25 years. He is excited about the direction of this sport and adds a wealth of knowledge to developing the Sunshine Coast wrestling team to the next level.
The program has more than doubled in size. At the elementary level it has grown past the capacity of the simple tri-fold mats at Gibsons Elementary, moving to Elphinstone where the elementary students set up heavy Olympic mats that are several hundred pounds.
“We need to get a new mat,” Sullivan said. The new mats are made of lightweight foam and are easy to set up as they roll out and Velcro together. “We are offering a free after-school program and are seeing our kids compete and perform at an elite level. If we want to continue to grow and offer program to even more students, we need to grow in capacity.”
Vancouver College has taken notice of the program and next December wants to come to the Coast with the North Shore teams to compete in the Rudolph Rumble. That would see that tournament grow from 70 to over 140 as Mike Roselli’s team travels with about 70 wrestlers.
In the next few weeks, the high school wrestlers will look to compete at the North Shore Championships, Zones (looking to qualify for provincials) and provincials to end the season. Last year, the Coast saw the first ever provincial champion in Scout Stipec, who was offered scholarships from four universities and full ride scholarships by three.
– Submitted
