With a formidable roster and a collection of returning star wrestlers, the Brock men’s team is poised to defend their sixth consecutive championship title when they host the U SPORTS Wrestling Championships at Brock University from Feb. 21 to 22.

The Badgers are focused more than ever this season as eight varsity wrestlers will first take part in the Canadian Wrestling Trials’ men’s freestyle event at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls beginning on Dec. 6.

“Our men’s team is looking forward some big challenges ahead in the next couple of months starting this weekend with the Canadian Olympic Team Trials,” said head coach Marty Calder. “Ultimately, we look forward to competing for a national championship in February in our gym. These guys love the big moments, we hope to capitalize on the opportunity in February.”

To qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, wrestlers must first win the Trials.

Brock has eight student-athletes competing across various weight classes in Niagara Falls: Ligrit Sadiku (57-kilogram division), Chris McIsaac (65kg), Cruiz Manning (65kg), Ty Bridgwater (74kg), Clayton Pye (86kg), Max Budgey (86kg), Ignatius Pitt (86kg) and Richard DesChatelets (97kg).

Sadiku, a Kinesiology student from Summerside, PEI, is the No. 2 seed in the 57kg group. He’s likely to give Darthe Capellan, who has held the top spot in the 57 for the past two years, a run for his money.

Sadiku and the Badgers traveled to the United States for their training camp this year in order to give themselves an edge during this delicate time of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. They worked out with the No. 1-ranked wrestling team in the NCAA: the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“That was a brutal training camp,” said Calder. “We were wrestling their best. The volume and the intensity is through the roof, and Ligrit held his own. He has a lot of heart.”

Sadiku, who was born in Kosovo and possesses a strong Albanian heritage, said his work ethic comes from his parents.

“They always believe in my abilities and always supporting me in my wrestling,” he said. “The biggest thing I learned from both my parents and coaches is how important the value of hard work is when achieving a goal.”

Pye, a senior Psychology student, is seeded fourth in the 86-kilogram weight class heading into Trials.

As a Badger, Pye has found success at all levels of university wrestling despite his fair share of adversity.

He won a U SPORTS gold medal in 2018, and also secured a silver and two bronze medals on the national stage. Pye has also captured a pair of gold medals at the OUA Championships, including a silver.

Pye was a much different wrestler before coming to Brock. He grew up in Ingersoll and joined the Badgers after graduating from Stratford Northwestern Secondary School.

He credited Calder for shaping him into the wrestler he is today.

“Before I got to Brock, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a tactician. Just a brute,” said Pye. “Marty taught me my best moves and has worked diligently with me to refine the fundamentals. Besides that, he’s just a great coach in general. He’s picked me up when I’ve been at my worst and brings the best out of my wrestling every practice.”

Pye’s 86kg weight class at Trials also includes teammates Ignatius Pitt and Max Budgey. The No. 1 seed of this field is Alex Moore of Concordia University. A member of the Montreal Wrestling Club, Moore hasn’t had a point scored against him at the past two Canadian Championships.

“My competition each have their own unique styles,” said Pye. “Some are fast, some are strong, and some are very technical. I know what to expect and I have game plans for my opponents. I expect a battle, and that’s what I’ve been training for.”

This season, the varsity men’s roster also includes Tejvir Boal, Reet Chahil, Dominick Ditoro, David Emanuel, Matthew Hiebert, Qasim Khan, Joe Martin, Bobby Narwal, Joshua Piette-Walton, Roch Provost, Matthew Pugliese, Garette Saunders and Mark Summers.

 

MEN’S OLYMPIC TRIALS ENTRIES AND WEIGHT CLASSES

57 kg

Arciaga, Melvin – EWC Bears

Aziz, Freddie – Dinos Wrestling Club

Capellan, Darthe – Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club

Jagas, Samuel – Brock Wrestling Club

Malu, Joshua – Team Impact

Moher, Alexander – Brock Wrestling Club

Musonza, Golden – Regina Advanced Wrestling Academy

Nikolaou, Chris – London-Western WC

Palani, Aso – Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club

Sadiku, Ligrit – Brock Wrestling Club

Schiller, Scott – Montreal WC

Todd, Brayden – Montreal WC

 

65 kg

Alexander Torres, Jacob – BMWC

Asselstine, Michael – EWC Bears

Bodnarchuk, Joshua – Dinos Wrestling Club

De Marinis, Vince – Montreal WC

Leder, Patrik – Team Impact Wrestling Club

Lee, Josh – Unattached

Manning, Cruiz – Brock Wrestling Club

McIsaac, Chris – Brock Wrestling Club

Musonza, Gilbert – Regina Advanced Wrestling Academy

Podlog, Jeremy – Independent

Uzunovic, Elvir – Guelph Wrestling Club

Williams, Dillon – Team Impact

 

74 kg

Balfour, Jevon – Brock Wrestling Club

Barmish, Sam – Montreal WC

Bauer, Alec – Independent Ontario

Bridgwater, Ty – Brock Wrestling Club

Chaves, Alexander – Guelph Wrestling Club

Crooks, Michael C – EWC Bears

Fayad, John – Dinos Wrestling Club

Godding, Joel – Independent Ontario

Goleniec, Nicholas – EWC Bears

Kato, Trystan – Hamilton Wrestling Club

Kryger, Brett – Regina Midwest Wrestling Club

McNeice, Callum – Dinos Wrestling Club

McNeice, Connor – Dinos Wrestling Club

Ncube, Cleopas – Kingston & Area Olympic Wrestling Club

Phulka, Jasmit Singh – Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club

Quinton, Connor – Hamilton Wrestling Club

Rowe, Tyler – Brock Wrestling Club

Ruslanzada, Guseyn – Montreal WC

Rutner, Caleb – Montreal WC

Shannon, Peter – Carleton Wrestling Club

 

86 kg

Aghamirian, Ameen – Hamilton Wrestling Club

Ayyoub, Ismail – NCWC

Bains, Jasonpreet – Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club

Brown-Theriault, Alex – Carleton Wrestling Club

Budgey, Max – Brock Wrestling Club

Johnson, Andrew – Saskatoon Wrestling Club

Johnston, Collin – London-Western WC

Lee, Hunter – Saskatoon Wrestling Club

Magarrey, Bradley – Hamilton Wrestling Club

Moore, Alex – Montreal WC

Munro, Brock – Keystone Wrestling Club

Narlidis, Ioannis – Central Toronto Wrestling Club

Pitt, Ignatius – Brock Wrestling Club

Pye, Clayton – Brock Wrestling Club

Saxena, Shekhar – Akhara Of Champions

Shamiya, Ahmed – Hamilton Wrestling Club

Zahra, Ben – Hamilton Wrestling Club

 

97 kg

Bazrafshan, Amir – Team Impact

Bertholet, Noah – Saskatoon Wrestling Club

Deschatelets, Richard – Brock Wrestling Club

Jacobs, Nico – Dinos Wrestling Club

Kato, Jalen – McMaster Wrestling

Randhawa, Nishan – Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club

Steen, Jordie – Montreal WC

 

125 kg

Barghout, Aly – Montreal WC

Choquette, Frederick – Montreal WC

Dhesi, Amarveer – Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club

Hildenbrandt, Bradley – Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club

Jarvis, Korey – Guelph Wrestling Club

Molle, Sean – Dinos Wrestling Club

Schug, Joshua – EWC Bears