Three national level tournaments were held in Ottawa at the TD Place from March 13th-16th. The Cadet Team Trials, Junior National Championships, the Senior National Championships and the Greco-Roman Nationals at Juniors and Seniors saw CLIC, Kanieinkehaka Tehontatienas Mohawk / HSB, LES Crazy Dogs, Montreal Wrestling Club NTC/Loyola, The Montreal Wrestling Club NTC, les Patriotes de St-Cesaire, the Riverdale Wrestling Club and the Tritton Performance Wrestling Club would send athletes to the competition.
Logan Abell prepares to engage
U17 Cadet Team Trials
The first tournament would be the Cadet Team Trials. On the line was a spot for the U17 Pan-American Championships Team in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic on June 27-29th. Owen Rooney (65 kg), Ethan Rooney (71 kg), Anthony Campione (80 kg), Reid King (80 kg) from Montreal Wrestling Club NTC/Loyola were joined by Giuliana Iannuzzi (61 kg) from the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC and Logan Abell from the LES Crazy Dogs. The results from the competition were as follows:
Anthony Campione gets himself set
| LES Crazy Dogs | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Logan Abell | 71 kg | DNP |
| Montreal Wrestling Club NTC/Loyola | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Owen Rooney | Boys 65 kg | 5th |
| Ethan Rooney | Boys 71 kg | 6th |
| Anthony Campione | Boys 80 kg | 4th |
| Reid King | Boys 80 kg | DNP |
| Montreal Wrestling Club NTC | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Giuliana Iannuzzi | Girls 61 kg | Gold Medal |
Giuliana Iannuzzi in a close Gold Medal final
The Junior National Championships
The following day would see the Juniors take to the mat. More clubs were present at this tournament as CLIC, Kanieinkehaka Tehontatienas Mohawk /HBS, Montreal Wrestling Club NTC, les Patriotes de St-Cesaire, the Riverdale Wrestling Club and the Tritton Performance Wrestling Club were all present with some great matches wrestled on that day. The results from a very competitive day were the following:
Zaurbek Arsagov goes for the crossed-ankles
Nathan Rainville with the pin
| CLIC | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Raphael St-Pierre | Men 65 kg | 4th |
| Laurence Lescadre | Women 55 kg | Bronze Medal |
| Kanieinkehaka Tehontatienas Mohawk /HBS | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Gabriel Ouellette-Whallen | Men 70 kg | DNP |
| Charles-Anthony Divita | Men 92 kg | DNP |
| Montreal Wrestling Club NTC | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Cruz Lewis | Men 61 kg | Silver Medal |
| Abdoulla Merhaydar | Men 61 kg | 6th |
| Ryder Church | Men 65 kg | Silver Medal |
| Bryce Rooney | Men 70 kg | 5th |
| Connor Rooney | Men 79 kg | Silver Medal |
| Zaurbek Arsagov | Men 92 kg | Gold Medal |
| Madison Charlton | Women 50 kg | 5th |
| Patriotes de St-Cesaire | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Nathan Rainville | Men 70 kg | Gold Medal |
| Rose Lacoste | Women 72 kg | Silver Medal |
| Riverdale Wrestling Club | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Kenneth Dickson | Men 61 kg | DNP |
| Tritton Performance Wrestling Club | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Timotei Daniel Cojocaru | Men 74 kg | DNP |
| Lucas Macdonald | Men 92 kg | DNP |
| Inara Bardai | Women 59 kg | Silver Medal |
In addition to this, the Montreal Wrestling Club/NTC won the Team Title for Junior Men while Zaurbek Arsagov won the Outstanding Male Wrestler for the tournament!
Cruz Lewis with the takedown
Inara Bardai goes for Gold
Zaurbek Arsagov Outstanding Wrestler: Junior Men
Montreal Wrestling Club/NTC win Top Team for the Junior Men’s Division
The Senior National Championships
The next tournament was the showcase event, the Senior National Championships. Quebec clubs were once again well represented as CLIC, the Montreal Wrestling Club/NTC and the Tritton Performance Wrestling Club all had athletes competing for the highest honours and a spot on the World Team in the Olympic Weights. The results for the tournament were the following:
Laurence Beauregard works par-terre
| CLIC | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Christopher Merlo | Men 61 kg | Bronze Medal |
| Youcef Amellal | Men 70 kg | DNP |
| Montreal Wrestling Club NTC | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Trevor Banks | Men 57 kg | Bronze Medal |
| Jason Luneau | Men 65 kg | Silver Medal |
| Liam Menard | Men 70 kg | 6th |
| Mohamed Hozayen | Men 74 kg | 6th |
| Yann Heymug | Men 74 kg | DNP |
| Connor Church | Men 79 kg | Gold Medal |
| Riley Otto | Men 97 kg | Silver Medal |
| Jordan Lee-Byers | Men 125 kg | Bronze Medal |
| Jade Dufour | Women 50 kg | 4th |
| Virgine Gascon | Women 55 kg | Gold Medal |
| Sophia Bechard | Women 55 kg | Silver Medal |
| Laurence Beauregard | Women 57 kg | Silver Medal |
| Jolie Brisco | Women 62 kg | Silver Medal |
| Amanda Savard | Women 65 kg | 5th |
| Alexia Sherland | Women 72 kg | Gold Medal |
| Kiana Boschitsch | Women 76 kg | 5th |
| Tritton Performance Wrestling Club | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Kanerahtens Bush | Men 57 kg | 5th |
| Xavier Lauzon | Men 97 kg | DNP |
Montreal Wrestling Club/NTC would make it a clean sweep once again by winning the Team Title in the Men in the Senior Men’s Division!
Christopher Merlo en-route to a Bronze Medal finish
Connor Church would put up a dominant performance in the Gold Medal Final
The Greco-Roman Nationals Championships (Junior and Senior)
The final two tournaments took place on Sunday, March 17 with the Greco-Roman wrestlers taking to the mat in the Junior and Senior divisons. CLIC, the Riverdale Wrestling Club and Tritton Performance Wrestling Club had wrestlers competing, with the results being the following:
| CLIC | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Azouaou Cherik | Senior GR 63 kg | Gold Medal |
| Riverdale Wrestling Club | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Kenneth Dickson | Junior GR 60 kg | Gold Medal |
| Tritton Performance Wrestling Club | ||
| Name | Weight | Final Place |
| Lucas Macdonald | Junior GR 67 kg | Gold Medal |
| Kanerahtens Bush | Senior GR 55 kg | Gold Medal |
| Gajenthikumar Sakthiku | Senior GR 55 kg | Silver Medal |
| Xavier Lauzon | Senior GR 97 kg | Gold Medal |
After a gruelling four days of tournaments, it can’t be overstated that Quebec athletes competed at their best and acquitted themselves on the National Stage. Congratulations to all our Quebec athletes on their performances this past weekend. We will see you in a few weeks in Mississauga for the U15, U17 and U19 National Championships!
The venue did not disappoint