KES Invitational Wrestling Tournament

The young men and women of the King's-Edgehill wrestling team provided our School with some phenomenal results over the weekend. In addition to conducting themselves in the dignified and respectful manner befitting our student-athletes, the 28th annual KES Invitational and Wrestling Nova Scotia Open tournaments were a huge success. 

Our wrestlers brought home ten medals, including three golds and a very close second-place finish for the junior boys, during the KES Invitational. 

Yuta Takahashi ‘24 secured third place, due in large part to his excellent double-leg takedown, the best in the province. Graydon Spence ‘24 also earned a bronze medal with some of the most technical wrestling he has ever performed.   
 

Sofia Lohr ’24 had her first competition ever. She overcame her nervousness to earn second place against a very experienced opponent. Her skills improved with every match. 

Liz Hardy ‘24 also wrestled for the first time. She borrowed some of her tackling skills from the rugby pitch to earn a gold medal. 
  

Claire Morton ‘24 made her return to the mat after not competing last year to also win gold.
 

A major highlight on Saturday was our junior boys team. KES has not had this competitive a team in that division in a long time. Giacomo Pogliani ‘27, our most experienced wrestler in the school, earned third place. Kenta Matsuda ’27 won a silver medal in a final against a highly accomplished opponent. Hugo Montgomery ‘27, a second-generation KES wrestler, won silver in one of the most heroic performances this coach has ever seen. Finally, the 'Twin Titans', Ewan Shaw ‘30, and Caleb DeCoste ‘30 both in Grade 6, finished in first and third place, respectively, in their first competitions.

In addition to the great wrestling on display, the highlight of the day on Saturday was when the entire tournament came to a standstill for a presentation to recognize the incredible, nationwide contributions of Mr. Kim Walsh ‘79 to wrestling and to education over the past 28 years. Keeping in mind that this was the 28th and final time Mr. Walsh organized this tournament and acted as a figurehead and an inspiration for everyone involved in wrestling in Nova Scotia, some very distinguished speakers below paid homage to everything Mr. Walsh has done for education and for wrestling. The ovations nearly brought the house down. 

Thank you to our speakers:

A special thank you to all of our volunteers for helping to run the tournament and cleaning up afterward, the girls rugby team and the DECA Club for running the canteen, Brandon Jodrey and the physical plant for setting up, Crystal Lantz for running the front desk, Joe Seagram for always supporting our team, Kyla Walsh ‘15 for helping coach and inspire, and especially to Mr. Walsh for everything he has done for wrestling for the past 28 years!