W.J. Mouat’s wrestling team, the Hawks, has won big at the B.C. School Sports (BCSS) Provincial Wrestling Championships.
The competition drew 394 student athletes to the PNE Coliseum over the weekend (Feb. 25-26).
W.J. Mouat was named the BCSS Aggregate Team Champions. The boys team won second place (75 points) and the girls were fourth (21 points). The combined total of their scores are what earned them the aggregate award.
This is the third banner the school has won at the championships over the last 15 years, says coach Jim Mitchell, and the first time they’ve won the aggregate title.
He said it’s the girls’ effort that really set them over the top for the title.
“We all connected and we worked as a team,” he said. “We were one point away from getting the boys banner, so the girls really had to get those points.”
A relative newcomer to the girls team, Sukhjit Dhadda, earned bronze in her class at 57kg, giving the Mouat team the extra push it needed.
There have been few chances for the students to compete this season, Mitchell said, with COVID regulations affecting a lot of meets. They only had a few weeks to put the provincials together, and as one of the chairmen, he’s impressed with the turnout — only down by about 40 students from regular years.
“It was a colossal task,” he said, adding that it was important to give the athletes the chance to showcase their hard work, and experience the competition.
Videos of the competition can be found by clicking here.
Competition is an essential part of wrestling, as each match up of wrestlers brings different challenges. A lot of wrestlers in the region travel long distances to be able to practise against a good match for them, he said.
“You could be the best wrestler in the world but not have a partner,” he said.
Students from other Abbotsford schools practise with them to deepen the pool, in addition to practising in their own community clubs.
While the season is over for many, there are students who will carry on a bit further, he added.
“Some of these kids have some more things on their plate,” he said, including trying out for Team BC for the Canada Games, the Summer Games in Prince George and the youth 17-19 championships in Calgary.
From Mouat, Jagvir Grewal (60kg) and Tejvir Dhinsa (70kg) placed gold. Rick Hansen’s Humraj Sandhar (74) won gold, as did Robert Bateman’s Rupinder Johal (75 kg).
Mouat’s Mikaela Trolland (69kg, girls) earned silver. So did Michaeljeet Grewal (78 kg) and Jorawar Dhinsa (110 kg).
Parmveer Dhillon (110 kg, Rick Hansen) and Gurshar Johal from Eugene Reimer also won silver.
Bronze winners include Akikam Sahota (Abbotsford middle), Jagroop Dhinsa, and Dhadda.
READ MORE: Agassiz’s sole high school wrestler sweeps top honours at provincials
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