A group of high school-level wrestlers brought a solid season to a close with a strong showing at a recent tournament.
Riley Richards, Kurt Hoffman, and Jordan Stewart competed in Wrestling Canada Lutte鈥檚 Under-16/Under-17 Canadian Wrestling Championships (UCWC) in Edmonton on Apr. 13-15. While they didn鈥檛 bring home any medals, they performed well and established themselves as big threats for the next wrestling season.
鈥淸I鈥檓] really impressed with the guys,鈥� said team coach Austin Hovrisko. 鈥淭his was the first time they were experiencing that high-calibre of wrestling.
鈥淣ext year it鈥檚 looking to be a lot better.鈥�
The team has evolved and enhanced their wrestling styles during this season. Hovrisko introduced them to weightlifting to give them an advantage in speed and power flexibility. They translated that newfound skill into medal victories in weightlifting at the Saskatchewan Winter games. They also scored medals at the 2018 Provincial Wrestling Championships in March.
鈥淭hey are showing marked improvement,鈥� Hovrisko said.
They brought their hard-earned skills to the UCWC earlier this month. Richards, Hoffman, and Stewart all competed in the Under-19 Freestyle event. Richards snagged the fourth place position, Richards achieved the sixth place spot, and Stewart secured the seventh place ranking.
鈥淗onestly, it was a really good tournament,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淭o test my mettle against the best in the nation is not too bad.
鈥淚n a lot of areas, I could have improved, but that will come with time and patience and hard work. That鈥檚 what the sport is all about.鈥�
Stewart and Richards also competed in the Under-19 Greco Roman event, coming in sixth and fifth place, respectively. Richards felt the tournament was a stranger beast than other competitions.
鈥淟ooking at the big crowd...was kind of scary,鈥� Richards said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 expect 300 people.
鈥淚t was a different experience.鈥�
After Hoffman鈥檚 Under-19 Freestyle performance, he qualified for the Cadet Team trials, which determined the wrestlers for the Cadet World Championships and Cadet PanAM Championship teams. Hoffman came close to securing a spot on the group, finishing in third place.
鈥淚 felt like it was my favourite tournament,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot more important than other tournaments.
鈥淭he opponents were way harder.鈥�
Now the wrestling season is over, Hoffman, Richards, and Stewart plan to stay in shape with football, weightlifting, and wrestling training.
Hovrisko plans to hone the wrestlers鈥� specific skills next season.
鈥淚 want to condition them physically,鈥� he said. 鈥淕et them faster, get them leaner, get them prepared.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e reaching a higher plateau of wrestling.鈥�
The new wrestling season will begin in November of this year.聽
