The Badgers men’s and women’s wrestling teams continued their strong seasons with impressive first place finishes at the Brock Open on Jan. 11 at the Ian Beddis Gymnasium.
The men’s team captured three gold medals and appeared on the podium eight times, while the women’s squad won two gold medals in seven podium appearances as both teams won their home tournament for the second consecutive season.
On the men’s side, Garette Saunders (61kg), Yazdan Farokhizad (90kg) and Callum Knox (100kg) each placed first; Gabriel Blanchette (68kg), Hamzah Al-Qayse (72kg), Cole Coghill (76kg) and Roger Li (125kg) finished in second; and Zakir Ibrahimkheil (57kg) placed third.
Those performances helped the Badgers achieve a total of 69 points which was a lucrative 42 points ahead of the Brock Wrestling Club, who finished second, and 49 points ahead of the Western Mustangs who were the second-best university finisher, placing fourth overall.
On the women’s side, Vanessa Keefe (68kg) and Brianna Fraser (72kg) won gold medals; Francesca Lo Greco (53kg), Rachel Hall (65kg) and Cassie Corbett (72kg) added silvers; and Olivia Mathezer (59kg) and Jusleen Sidhu (62kg) won bronze.
Those performances propelled the Badgers to a narrow first-place finish with 55 total points to edge out the McMaster Marauders, who finished in second with 50 points.
The home triumphs by both squads kicked off the new year in style, picking up where 2024 ended for each team. The win marked the men’s second straight tournament victory after picking up a first-place performance at the U of T Open, while the women’s team have now won three consecutive tournaments after wins at both the U of T Open and the York Open, both of which occurred in November.
With their performances, the men’s team remains in the number one spot in the Wrestling Canada Lutte Top 10 rankings while the women’s team sits in second, one point behind the Calgary Dinos.
Both teams look to continue their dynasties with the provincial and national championships on the horizon in February, with the men’s side seeking their 10th straight U Sports title as the women’s team looks to win their second national title in a row.
The Wrestling Canada Lutte U Sports Invitational Championships will be hosted by Brock University for the first time since 2020, at Canada Games Park from Feb. 28 to March 1. The celebratory weekend will also include an awards banquet, and an induction ceremony for alumni wrestlers into the Brock Sports Hall of Fame.
Stay tuned to The Brock Press for all information in the lead up to and during the championship weekend.
For more information on the Brock Badgers wrestling team, visit gobadgers.ca.