The Brock Badgers pinned down two national titles at the U SPORTS Wrestling Championships in Guelph on Saturday, March 2.<\/p>\n
The Brock women’s team claimed their 11th\u00a0national championship title in program history while the men’s team captured their ninth consecutive championship title, and 22nd\u00a0overall. It’s the ninth time both of the Brock men’s and women’s wrestling teams have captured a title together at the national championships.<\/p>\n
In total, the Badgers won a total of 16 medals between the two teams, including eight gold, six silver and two bronze medals.<\/p>\n
Brock head coach\u00a0Marty Calder\u00a0attributed the teams\u2019 success to the relentless efforts of student-athletes.<\/p>\n
“Our opponents get stronger every year, but our student-athletes take on the challenge and they perform their best at this tournament,” Calder said. “Winning this championship is never a cakewalk. Injuries and keeping everyone healthy are always a battle.”<\/p>\n
Brock also received three major awards. Francesca Lo Greco\u00a0secured U SPORTS Female Rookie of the Year,\u00a0Dave Collie\u00a0was named the U SPORTS Women’s Coach of the Year and\u00a0Marty Calder\u00a0won U SPORTS Men’s Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n
Lo Greco, a Neuroscience student from Angus, won by decision 10-2 over Saskatchewan’s Abby Wolff in the women’s 50-kilogram gold-medal match.<\/p>\n
“I love this team and I just couldn’t imagine my life without being at Brock,” Lo Greco said. “The camaraderie within this team, the friendships I’ve made and the unwavering support we have for one another has changed my life.”<\/p>\n
Lo Greco, together with fellow gold medal winners Mia Friesen (56kg) and Brianna Fraser (83kg), played a pivotal role in scoring points for their team, securing a national championship title for the first time since the 2019-20 season.<\/p>\n
“The team was disappointed they didn’t win last year, so they really embraced the high-performance lifestyle this season,” Collie said. “It was incredible to witness all of their hard work and sacrifice pay off.”<\/p>\n
Jessica Tillmanns\u00a0(68kg),\u00a0Vanessa Keefe\u00a0(72kg) and\u00a0Cassie Corbett\u00a0(76kg) each earned a silver medal while\u00a0Brooklyn Brown\u00a0(53kg) and\u00a0Michaela Rankin\u00a0(59kg) each collected a bronze.<\/p>\n
Veteran men\u2019s team captain\u00a0Bobby Narwal\u00a0won an emotional gold-medal match after his grandmother, Harbans Kaur, passed away last week.<\/p>\n
“Mentally, finding the motivation to get myself out of bed this morning was tough, but something my grandma always emphasized was that family holds a significant importance in our lives,” Narwal said. “Knowing the family I have here at Brock was more than enough motivation for me to fight today.”<\/p>\n
He was joined on the podium by fellow Brock gold medallists Garette Saunders (61kg), Nicolae Gandrabura (65kg), Callum Knox (100kg) and Roger Li (125kg).<\/p>\n
Gaberiel Blanchette (68kg),\u00a0Johannes Budgey\u00a0(76kg) and\u00a0Yazdan Farokhizad\u00a0(90kg) each brought home a silver medal.<\/p>\n
“We’re a team that gives our best. The program demands it. Everyone on our team tries to be the best that they can be,” said Calder. “We outperformed our ranking. We took it to another level, again. When teams do that, they have character, passion and determination. Our student-athletes have those qualities within them.”<\/p>\n