Yazdan Farokhizad (men’s wrestling) and Brianna Fraser (women’s wrestling) have been selected as The Brock Press’ Athletes of the Month for March.
Men’s Athlete of the Month – Yazdan Farokhizad
Yazdan Farokhizad (men’s wrestling) has been named TBP’s Men’s Athlete of the Month for March after winning a gold medal in the 90-kilogram weight category at the U Sports Wrestling Championships on March 1.
The second-year Sport Management major defeated Thomas Rousseau of the Alberta Golden Bears 10-0 by technical fall in just 35 seconds to be crowned a national champion, which followed a perfect 3-0 record in round-robin play with two wins by fall and another victory by technical fall, 12-2.
Farokhizad now has two national medals to his name after earning a silver in his rookie campaign last season and claimed his second championship of the 2024-25 season after winning the OUA gold medal in his weight class earlier this year.
The Iranian wrestler was named a U Sports First Team All-Canadian and OUA First Team All-Star following his impressive sophomore season that helped lead the Badgers men’s wrestling team to second at the national championships with 63 points in the team standings.
Women’s Athlete of the Month – Brianna Fraser
Brianna Fraser (women’s wrestling) has been named TBP’s Women’s Athlete of the Month for March following another gold medal in the 83-kilogram weight class which she also won at the U Sports Wrestling Championships on March 1.
The Sarnia, Ontario native captured her third straight national gold medal and fourth U Sports medal overall when she beat Concordia’s Alexia Sherland by technical fall 14-2 to reach the top of the podium, which was preceded by a dazzling 4-0 pool play record where she won all matches by fall.
With the win, the fourth-year Kinesiology major capped off an undefeated university season where she also won the OUA Championship for her third provincial gold and fourth OUA medal in a row while being named as a U Sports First Team All-Canadian and OUA First Team All-Star.
Her success on the mat led the Badgers women’s wrestling team to the top spot in the team standings at nationals with 70 points as Brock won their second straight U Sports championship in women’s wrestling and their 12th overall.
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With the end of the 2024-25 varsity season, here are all recipients of The Brock Press’ Athlete of the Month award during the school year.
October – Holden Rogers (men’s hockey), Zoe and Isabella Durcak (women’s rowing)
November – Stephen Harris (men’s rowing), Tatum O’Connor (women’s swimming)
January – Victor Pietrangelo (men’s curling), Madalyn Weinert (women’s basketball)
February – Michael Ivanov (men’s track and field), Laurin Ainsworth (women’s volleyball)
March – Yazdan Farokhizad (men’s wrestling), Brianna Fraser (women’s wrestling)
Stay tuned to The Brock Press over the coming weeks as our Men’s and Women’s Rookie of the Year and Athlete of the Year award winners are announced.