Chemainus Secondary School wrestlers did themselves proud and put on a great show in the familiar confines of their own gym during the Island high school wrestling championships Saturday.
The overall entry of 92 wrestlers was lower than previous years, but the gym still had a raucous atmosphere, especially during some hotly-contested finals.
The first time Cowichan hosted the event, there were 166 kids. “That’s a big change,” conceded Cowichan Valley Wrestling Club coach Nick Zuback, who oversaw the wrestlers from all the individual Valley schools along with his staff.
Chemainus Secondary put two girls and one boy into the finals. Emily Reid was an automatic winner of the heavyweight girls, with no other competitors entered in the class, and qualified for the provincial championships March 1 to 3 in Port Alberni.
Veteran Hannah Tuplin made short work of Anna Frost from Alberni District Secondary in the 54 kilogram girls final to make the provincials again. It was the only match Tuplin wrestled in the entire event, with Frost being the only other entry.
“Hannah just dominated her, pretty one-sided there,” noted Zuback.
Tuplin received the Island female wrestler of the year award from among the graduating group. Her goal now is to bring home the provincial title.
“That’s what we want to see her go out as a provincial champion in her Grade 12 year,” enthused Zuback.
Rosie Klatt-Leblanc of Chemainus came second in the 75 kg female division, but lost to a very tough opponent in Paige Maher of Alberni District.
The 130 kg boys final was a classic match-up, with Chemainus’ Luther Tiddler winning over Tyler Shaffer of Esquimalt.
Shaffer actually built up a sizable lead on points, but Tiddler fought back with a pin to take the match amid a loud applause.
“It was pretty entertaining, two big guys going at it,” Zuback indicated. “They’ve had some good battles throughout the tear. It was great to see Luther come back and pull out the win.”
It just goes to show, he added, “you’re never really out of a match until the referee blows the final whistle.”
Chloe Siddals of Chemainus, Zuback pointed out, “was in probably one of the toughest weight classes for girls.”
The 60 kg was loaded with entries and Siddals wound up placing fourth.
A late addition to the Chemainus girls’ group was Kaz Bannister of Thetis Island, who always seems gung-ho to try anything. She placed fourth after losing her three matches in 57 kg, but made a strong impression.
“Her time will come,” said Zuback through continued training since she’s had such minimal time to even practice. “The one match she got something like 12 points. She did well.”
“A few weeks ago, Coach (Eric) Anderson came to Chemainus Secondary to teach my P.E class a wrestling unit,” Bannister pointed out. “He said I had potential and that I should come to a club practice sometime. So a couple of weeks later I showed up to practice and was launched right into the world of wrestling. I feel like I already had a pretty busy life, but wrestling was one of those new opportunities that walked through the door and I greeted it with open arms because it felt life-changing.”
Bannister added it was amazing to see people with all different styles and body types being part of it.
“I go to practice in Duncan as often as I can, usually just once a week because of my track practices and all the commuting,” she noted. “It’s one of the only places that I feel like everyone else feels the same as me. We all want to be there and want to try, and want to put in our very best to succeed. We’re all there because we fell for the sport and the people who participate in it. Somehow there’s a great camaraderie in learning to beat up your friends, everyone helps everyone else. The coaches are really different from each other but all are super encouraging.”
Going to the Island Championships as her first tournament was a big deal to Bannister “and probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she pointed out. “I had only had five practices before the tournament. The night before I was surprised that I had to drop a kilo to make my weight class so I did a pretty intense workout and made it.”
She took a bad blow from the back of an opponent’s head during the competition, but still had a good time.
“The opportunity to wrestle is such a gift and I’m so grateful for it,” she reasoned.
