Three Thunderbird Wrestlers reached the podium at the OUA Wrestling Championships hosted by the University of Guelph on Saturday, February 1st. Brody Collison won a Gold in the men’s 54 kg category, Emily Duchesne won Bronze in the women’s 51 kg category and Bryce Davis also won Bronze in the men’s 68 kg category. All three Wrestlers have qualified for the U Sports National Wrestling Championships being hosted by Brock University on February 21st and 22nd at the Bob Davis Gymnasium. The Algoma Thunderbird Men’s Wrestling team finished sixth in the team rankings and Thunderbird Women’s team finished ninth. Along with Broderick’s Gold Medal, he is also an OUA First-Team All-Star.
Brody Collison said “The OUA Championship was phenomenal! My day got off to a great start and I think that was the difference from other tournaments. I usually have slow starts and it takes me a match or two to get comfortable. Having my team, friends and family watching, really motivated me to push through my injuries, into the finals and to the top of the podium.”
Bryce Davis said: “It feels good to have qualified for Nationals. I didn’t have the greatest opening match but I was able to rebound. Although I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to, I am excited to move on and finish with a strong performance at U Sports.”
Emily Duchesne said:” This past weekend was one of the highlights of the season for me. I feel very proud to be a member of this team and the results I achieved. Finishing with a medal at the OUA’s in my first year demonstrates all the hard work I’ve put in and I am excited to get back to work and prepare for U Sports in two weeks.”
Head Coach of Algoma Wrestling Trevor Manchester: “The team wrestled very well overall. We have three wrestlers at the moment that have qualified for the USports Championships, with the possibility of a couple more getting pulled in. Having Brody win Algoma University’s first every OUA Gold medal shows the hard work this entire team has put in. Our men’s team had a very respectable 6th place finish, with big wins from David Serra and Stephen Kreyenbuhl helping provide some points. Unfortunately, Kyle Price hurt his knee in his first match and wasn’t able to continue, even though he was a Nationally ranked wrestler with high expectations for the year.”
Below are complete Thunderbird results from the OUA Championships:
Women’s 51 kg – Emily Duchesne – Bronze Medal – won by tech fall over Rylie George (Lakehead) (TF 10 – 0)
Women’s 63 kg – Skelr Perron – 6th Place
Men’s 54 kg – Broderick Collison – Gold Medal – won by decision over Hasan Ercan (Lakehead) (Dec 13 – 9)
Men’s 68 kg – Bryce Davis – Bronze Medal – won by tech fall over Alex Stiring (Lakehead) (TF 14 – 4)
Men’s 72 kg – David Serra – 5th Place – won by fall over Tate Levesque (Western) (Fall 0:58)
Men’s 76 kg – Adam Gouge – 8th Place
Men’s 82 kg – Kyle Price – 6th Place
Men’s 120 kg – 4th Place
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