Sackville Invitational and WNS Opens

The young men and women of the King’s-Edgehill wrestling team had another successful weekend, this time at two tournaments at Sackville High School on Saturday and Sunday. They represented our school very well on and off the mat. In addition to winning eleven medals over two days, they wrestled some of the best matches of the season so far.

Inyong Hwang is one of our best natural wrestlers. After some good matches, his quote of the day was “After I wrestle, every muscle hurts.” Graydon Spence and Yuta Takahashi placed 2^nd and 5^th, respectively, in draws of 20 and 10 wrestlers. They both put on excellent technical displays. Yuta went on to win first place in the under-21 division at the Wrestling Nova Scotia open tournament the next day. Colton Phillips, still very new to the sport, had his first full six-minute match on Saturday. Despite, or maybe because of, the grueling nature of the contest, he finished victorious. Liz Hardy, after having won gold on both days, remains our only undefeated wrestler. Her cerebral approach compliments her athleticism.

On the junior side, good friends and training partners Ewan Shaw and Caleb Decoste finish 1^st and 2^nd on Saturday, and then 2^nd and 3^rd on Sunday. Their positive attitude and high energy are infectious. Fellow junior boy Ollie Boyle competed on Sunday only, going one and one in exhibition matches. Our most experienced athlete had a tough weekend. Giacomo Pogliani entered the tournament on Saturday at less than 100% and he did not wrestle his best, but we are confident that his skills and leadership will come to the fore as the season progresses. Kenta Matsuda was one of the major highlights of the weekend. He placed 2^nd on both days; the second day competing in the U19 division against exceptionally tough competition.

The team is now in preparation for the regional qualifiers in several weeks. As always, special thanks go to coaches Ky Walsh and Kim Walsh.

Coach Stuart