Campbell River wrestlers were top contenders and represented their schools well at the Island Championships in Port Hardy on Feb. 12.
Thirteen of the 15 Campbell River wrestlers returned with top three placements and a guaranteed berth to the provincial championship in Abottsford later this month.
Timberline’s Ashley Osachuk (60 kg) was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second straight tournament, finishing first in her weight division. Her gold combined with gold medal finishes for Carihi’s Emily McIsaac (51 kg) and Olivia Carter (57 kg) were only part of the unfolding of the girls’ dominance at the tournament.
Carihi teammate Justice Janveaux (43 kg), Southgate’s Brooke Guindon (54 kg) and Phoenix’s Keigan Smith (51kg) all earned silver medals. Phoenix student Hailey Dean (43 kg) finished with a bronze.
Where Carihi and Phoenix have a very strong female contingent, this is balanced by strong Timberline/Southgate boys representation. Southgate’s Brett Nelson (51 kg) finished with a gold medal followed by teammate Chris Klatt (48 kg) with a bronze. This pattern was repeated with Timberline’s Hunter McKay’s (70 kg) gold medal and teammate Justin Allard’s (78 kg) bronze.
Rounding out the medals for the boys were two silver finishes by Phoenix’s Mike Herman (48 kg) and Carihi’s Jose Figueroa (84 kg).
Sixth place finishes were earned by another Timberline/Southgate combination; Corry Cossenas (57 kg) and Dawson McKay (84 kg).
Several of the provincial qualifiers also qualified to attend the National Championships in Windsor, Ontario in April.
These wrestlers are holding a bottle drive on Saturday to raise funds for travel costs. Anyone wishing to donate bottles can drop them off at the Bottle Depot on Maple Street between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Volunteers will be sorting and would be happy to receive contributions.