With a formidable roster and a collection of returning star wrestlers, the Brock men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The Badgers are focused more than ever this season as eight varsity wrestlers will first take part in the Canadian Wrestling Trials\u2019 men\u2019s freestyle event at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls beginning on Dec. 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur men\u2019s team is looking forward some big challenges ahead in the next couple of months starting this weekend with the Canadian Olympic Team Trials,\u201d said head coach Marty Calder. \u201cUltimately, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
To qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, wrestlers must first win the Trials.<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
Sadiku, a Kinesiology student from Summerside, PEI, is the No. 2 seed in the 57kg group. He\u2019s likely to give Darthe Capellan, who has held the top spot in the 57 for the past two years, a run for his money.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a brutal training camp,\u201d said Calder. \u201cWe were wrestling their best. The volume and the intensity is through the roof, and Ligrit held his own. He has a lot of heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadiku, who was born in Kosovo and possesses a strong Albanian heritage, said his work ethic comes from his parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey always believe in my abilities and always supporting me in my wrestling,\u201d he said. \u201cThe biggest thing I learned from both my parents and coaches is how important the value of hard work is when achieving a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pye, a senior Psychology student, is seeded fourth in the 86-kilogram weight class heading into Trials.<\/p>\n
As a Badger, Pye has found success at all levels of university wrestling despite his fair share of adversity.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He credited Calder for shaping him into the wrestler he is today.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I got to Brock, I wasn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019d call a tactician. Just a brute,\u201d said Pye. \u201cMarty taught me my best moves and has worked diligently with me to refine the fundamentals. Besides that, he\u2019s just a great coach in general. He\u2019s picked me up when I\u2019ve been at my worst and brings the best out of my wrestling every practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pye\u2019s 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\u2019t had a point scored against him at the past two Canadian Championships.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy competition each have their own unique styles,\u201d said Pye. \u201cSome 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\u2019s what I\u2019ve been training for.\u201d<\/p>\n
This season, the varsity men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MEN\u2019S OLYMPIC TRIALS ENTRIES AND WEIGHT CLASSES<\/strong><\/p>\n 57 kg<\/p>\n Arciaga, Melvin \u2013 EWC Bears<\/p>\n Aziz, Freddie \u2013 Dinos Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Capellan, Darthe \u2013 Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Jagas, Samuel \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Malu, Joshua \u2013 Team Impact<\/p>\n Moher, Alexander \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Musonza, Golden \u2013 Regina Advanced Wrestling Academy<\/p>\n Nikolaou, Chris \u2013 London-Western WC<\/p>\n Palani, Aso \u2013 Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Sadiku, Ligrit \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Schiller, Scott \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Todd, Brayden \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 65 kg<\/p>\n Alexander Torres, Jacob \u2013 BMWC<\/p>\n Asselstine, Michael \u2013 EWC Bears<\/p>\n Bodnarchuk, Joshua \u2013 Dinos Wrestling Club<\/p>\n De Marinis, Vince \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Leder, Patrik \u2013 Team Impact Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Lee, Josh \u2013 Unattached<\/p>\n Manning, Cruiz \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n McIsaac, Chris \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Musonza, Gilbert \u2013 Regina Advanced Wrestling Academy<\/p>\n Podlog, Jeremy \u2013 Independent<\/p>\n Uzunovic, Elvir \u2013 Guelph Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Williams, Dillon \u2013 Team Impact<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 74 kg<\/p>\n Balfour, Jevon \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Barmish, Sam \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Bauer, Alec \u2013 Independent Ontario<\/p>\n Bridgwater, Ty \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Chaves, Alexander \u2013 Guelph Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Crooks, Michael C \u2013 EWC Bears<\/p>\n Fayad, John \u2013 Dinos Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Godding, Joel \u2013 Independent Ontario<\/p>\n Goleniec, Nicholas \u2013 EWC Bears<\/p>\n Kato, Trystan \u2013 Hamilton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Kryger, Brett \u2013 Regina Midwest Wrestling Club<\/p>\n McNeice, Callum \u2013 Dinos Wrestling Club<\/p>\n McNeice, Connor \u2013 Dinos Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Ncube, Cleopas \u2013 Kingston & Area Olympic Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Phulka, Jasmit Singh \u2013 Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Quinton, Connor \u2013 Hamilton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Rowe, Tyler \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Ruslanzada, Guseyn \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Rutner, Caleb \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Shannon, Peter \u2013 Carleton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 86 kg<\/p>\n Aghamirian, Ameen \u2013 Hamilton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Ayyoub, Ismail \u2013 NCWC<\/p>\n Bains, Jasonpreet \u2013 Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Brown-Theriault, Alex \u2013 Carleton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Budgey, Max \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Johnson, Andrew \u2013 Saskatoon Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Johnston, Collin \u2013 London-Western WC<\/p>\n Lee, Hunter \u2013 Saskatoon Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Magarrey, Bradley \u2013 Hamilton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Moore, Alex \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Munro, Brock \u2013 Keystone Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Narlidis, Ioannis \u2013 Central Toronto Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Pitt, Ignatius \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Pye, Clayton \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Saxena, Shekhar \u2013 Akhara Of Champions<\/p>\n Shamiya, Ahmed \u2013 Hamilton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Zahra, Ben \u2013 Hamilton Wrestling Club<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 97 kg<\/p>\n Bazrafshan, Amir \u2013 Team Impact<\/p>\n Bertholet, Noah \u2013 Saskatoon Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Deschatelets, Richard \u2013 Brock Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Jacobs, Nico \u2013 Dinos Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Kato, Jalen \u2013 McMaster Wrestling<\/p>\n Randhawa, Nishan \u2013 Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Steen, Jordie \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 125 kg<\/p>\n Barghout, Aly \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Choquette, Frederick \u2013 Montreal WC<\/p>\n Dhesi, Amarveer \u2013 Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Hildenbrandt, Bradley \u2013 Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Jarvis, Korey \u2013 Guelph Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Molle, Sean \u2013 Dinos Wrestling Club<\/p>\n Schug, Joshua \u2013 EWC Bears<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With a formidable roster and a collection of returning star wrestlers, the Brock men\u2019s 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 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