Tis the season for giving and the Salmon Arm Secondary Wrestling Team were giving their opponents plenty of opportunity to view the ceiling and build some character at the War On The Floor Novice and Elite Wrestling Tournament on Dec. 10 and 11.
“We hurt more than their feelings at this tournament. We are defiantly reaching the upper echelon of the BC wrestling community,” said coach Ray Munsie.
The two-day tournament was put on by the Simon Fraser University Wrestling Team and took place at Pine Tree Secondary in Coquitlam. The tournament featured some of the province’s best new and experienced wrestlers.
Approximately 410 students in Grades 8 to 12 wrestled in the novice tournament on Dec. 10, and there were 210 students wrestling in the elite tournament on Dec. 11. Twenty-seven wrestlers from Salmon Arm Secondary made the trip to the tournament. Of the 27, 18 students wrestled in the novice division and 11 in the elite division. The top SAS wrestlers included: Elijah Lazar won first in the 38-Kilogram weight class; Scott Favell also took the top spot in the 41-kg and Damien Patrick claimed fourth in the 66-kg male novice division.
In the female novice division, Rayn Lee won second in the 57-kg weight class, Shyanne Matthys was third in the 69-kg and Cassie O’Flaherty took home bronze in the 47-kg class.
After their impressive results in the novice division, Lazar and Favell were invited to wrestle in the elite division.
Moving up to the more competitive division did not deter either wrestler as they both reached the podium again. Lazar claimed his second gold medal of the weekend in the 38-kg weight class and Favell won third in the 45-kg.
Also reaching the podium in the male elite division was Reid McInnes winning second in the 57-kg, Rohan Kafle won third in the 48-kg, Colin Robinson claimed fourth in the 48-kg and Awatar Kafle snuck on to the podium in fourth in the 51-kg. Jenna Cote was the lone wrestler from SAS to reach the podium in the female elite division, winning a silver medal in the 54-kg weight class.
Next up for SAS is the Western Age Class at the Richmond Oval on Jan. 22-23, 2016.