Wrestling event organization and talent first class

Hannah Lauridsen of Cowichan makes a great push but finishes second to Brandy Perry of Carson Graham in the championship final of the girls’ 60-kilogram Saturday.

Andrew Leong

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Cowichan put on a great show to match the talent during the provincial high school wrestling championships.

Cowichan Arena was transformed into a giant wrestling venue for two days of competition Friday and Saturday.

Everything went off without a hitch thanks to the great attention to detail by the Cowichan Valley Wrestling Club’s organizing committee.

“It met my expectations what I thought it was going to be like and better,’’ said Nick Zuback, head coach of the CVWC and tournament director.

“All the officials said to me, ‘thanks, you did a great job,’ one of the best B.C.s.’’

It was gratifying for the organizers to hear those comments and also from so many of the competitors and coaches because they put so much effort into making the championships memorable.

“We knew we would put on a good show,’’ said Zuback. “We’ve run a lot of tournaments. We knew we had the key people to put it on. Local sponsors and support from the community was great.’’

The host club had four members in the finals, representing three different schools.

Cowichan’s Maegan Kuruvita, Claremont’s Nolan Mitchell and Dover Bay’s Faye Tuck were all winners of their respective classes while Hannah Lauridsen placed a close second.

“I would have liked more matches,’’ Kuruvita said of her 64 kg girls’ class. “It wasn’t till six o’clock at night (Friday) was my first match.’’

She had two matches Friday and one Saturday to wrap up her title. Many of Kuruvita’s friends were there to cheer her on for one of the rare times at such a big competition in her hometown.

“It was nice,’’ she said. “It was close to home and everything was easy to get to.’’

Other newcomers and experienced wrestlers alike from Cowichan schools were prominent in their events.

Provincial champions for the girls’ classes were: Shay-Lynn Steiger (Salmon Arm, 40 kg); Jordon Bodnar (Alberni, 43 kg); Alex Schell (Smithers, 47 kg); Faye Tuck (Dover Bay, 51 kg); Ashley Osachuck (Timberline, 54 kg); Cholena Horne (Carson, 57 kg); Brandy Perry (Carson, 60 kg); Maegan Kuruvita (Cowichan, 64 kg); Piva Larissa (South Kamloops, 69 kg); Adrienne Lu (Sentinel, 75 kg); Payten Smith (Maple Ridge, 90 kg) and Amanda Laroque (Norkam, 90+ kg).

Provincial champions for the boys’ classes were: Yo Romah (Charles Tupper, 38 kg); Navdeep Toor (Eugene Reimer, 41 kg); Nolan Mitchell (Claremont, 45 kg); Oscar Bulaquui (St. Thomas Aquinas, 48 kg); Jesse Wagner (Alberni, 51 kg); Dave Sharma (M.E.I., 54 kg); Matt Dignan (Yale, 57 kg); Amrit Benning (Mouat, 60 kg); Dallan Bhatti (Windsor, 63 kg); Matthew Cheung (Sentinel, 66 kg); Justin Gill (Rick Hansen, 70 kg); Jaskarn Ranu (Lord Tweedsmuir, 74 kg); Nishan Randhawa (Mouat, 78 kg); Jobanjit Phulka (Rick Hansen, 84 kg); Daman Bilen (Queen Elizabeth, 90 kg); Paul Sahota (Tamanawis, 110 kg); and Amar Dhesi (Burnaby Central, 110+ kg).

“You’re building and working so hard to get ready for this event, now it’s over,’’ said Zuback. “You can look back and say what an experience it was.’’