In a rare instance, Quebec hosted the trials for the U23 and Non-Olympic weights at Place Bell in Laval Quebec on May 27-28th. National level events don’t often come this way so it was refreshing to see some of Canada’s best athletes converge on Laval for the event.
George St-Pierre: Honourary Tournament President
Coach Peter Montour reads the land acknowledgment
Honourary Delegates and Tournament Convenors pose for a photo
FLOQ President (pictured to the right) poses for a photo
The competition would kick off with the U23 competition on Saturday May 27th. Quebec was well represented at the tournament as Madison Charlton (50 kg) and Virginie Gascon (55 kg) from the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC would represent the women while also representing the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC for the men would be Jason Luneau (61 kg), Stone Lewis (70 kg), Yann Heymug (74kg) and Connor Church (79 kg). Wrestling for CLIC would be Laurence Lescadre (55 kg) and Christopher Merlo (61 kg) while Xavier Lauzon (86 kg) from the Triton Performance Wrestling Club to complete our contingent of Quebec athletes.
Christopher Merlo with the shoulder throw
Yann Heymug goes for the takedown
The first day of competition was extremely competitive with our Quebec athletes acquitting themselves extremely well. The results for the tournament were as follows:
| U23 | ||
| Name | Weight Category | Final Result |
| Madison Charlton (MWCNTC) | WW 50 kg | 4th |
| Virginie Gascon (MWCNTC) | WW 55 kg | 1st |
| Laurence Lescadre (CLIC) | WW 55 kg | 3rd |
| Christopher Merlo (CLIC) | FS 61 kg | 3rd |
| Jason Luneau (MWCNTC) | FS 65 kg | 1st |
| Stone Lewis (MWCNTC) | FS 70 kg | 1st |
| Yann Heymug (MWCNTC) | FS 74 kg | 3rd |
| Connor Church (MWCNTC) | FS 79 kg | 2nd |
| Xavier Lauzon (TPWC) | FS 86 kg | 5th |
Congratulations to our Quebec athletes, Virginie Gascon, Jason Luneau and Stone Lewis for their qualification to the U23 World Championships in Tampere, Finland! A special mention also goes out to Virginie Gascon who won the Outstanding Wrestler for the women at the tournament!
Stone Lewis with the crossed ankles
Jason Luneau completes the low single takedown
On Sunday, spots in the Non-Olympic weights would be up for grabs for the World Team as Laurence Beauregard (59 kg), Amanda Savard (65 kg) and Alexia Sherland (72 kg), all representing the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC would be competing on the women’s side while competing for the men, Vincent De Marinis (70 kg), Mohammad Hozayen (70 kg), Sam Barmish (79 kg), Riley Otto (92 kg) and Jeremy Poirier (92 kg) also from the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC. Christopher Merlo (61 kg) and Youcef Amellai (70 kg) from CLIC would round out the athletes from Quebec. Both Amanda and Jeremy would go into the competition as the Top Seed, being the respective winners at their weight classes at Canadian National Championships earlier this year.
Vincent De Marinis goes for the pin
Riley Otto prepares to engage
While the level of competition was extremely high, many of our Quebec athletes wrestled extremely well. The results were as follows:
| Senior Non-Olympic | ||
| Name | Weight Category | Final Result |
| Laurence Beauregard (MWCNTC) | WW 59 kg | 1st |
| Amanda Savard (MWCNTC) | WW 65 kg | 3rd |
| Alexia Sherland (MWCNTC) | WW 72 kg | DNP |
| Christopher Merlo (CLIC) | FS 61 kg | 3rd |
| Youcef Amellai (CLIC) | FS 70 kg | DNP |
| Vincent De Marinis (MWCNTC) | FS 70 kg | 2nd |
| Mohammad Hozayen (MWCNTC) | FS 70 kg | DNP |
| Sam Barmish (MWCNTC) | FS 79 kg | 3rd |
| Riley Otto (MWCNTC) | FS 92 kg | DNP |
| Jeremy Poirier (MWCNTC) | FS 92 kg | 2nd |
In the end, Laurence Beauregard would be the only athlete to qualify for the World Championships thanks to her dominant win over 2018 U23 World Champion Alexandria Town by Technical Superiority (11-1). Congratulations to our Quebec athletes on a hard fought tournament and best of luck to Laurence who will join Alex Moore at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia!
Mohammad Hozayen prepares to tie up
Laurence Beauregard with a commanding lead on Town