Burnaby Mountain Wrestling crowned four champions at the Canadian junior freestyle wrestling championships.
Manheet Khalon outpointed Kahnawake’s Terrance Nolan in the junior men’s 120-kilogram final to win one of four B.C. titles at Brock University in Ontario last weekend.
Nishanpreet Rhandhawa defeated St. Catharines’ Angus Cowell in the men’s 96kg final
Ajay Gill also won at 84kg for Burnaby Mountain, beating Alberni’s Nolan Bedovinac by a technical decision at 84kg. Gill blanked the opposition in his other three earlier matches.
Oscar Bulaqui was also a winner at 50kg in a close 4-1 final win over Sudbury wrestling’s Said Motkual.
Burnaby’s Darthe Capellan lost a close three-round final match at 55kg to outstanding junior male wrestler Sam Jagas of Brock.
The first-year junior and St. Thomas More Collegiate grad defeated Burnaby South rival Melvin Arciaga 11-0 in the semifinals. Arciaga took home the bronze medal with a 10-8 decision over Saskatoon’s Josh Bodnarchuk in the consolation final.
In junior women’s wrestling, Tiffany Hibbert and Payten Smith both claimed runner-up medals in their respective weight classes.
Hibbert lost the women’s 67kg final to Alison Carrow of Guelph, while Smith was outpointed 10-6 by Gracelyn Doogan of Guelph at 72kg. Megan Kurivita placed fourth at 67kg.
Other Burnaby Mountain podium finishers included: Ashley Osachuk of Burnaby Mountain, third at 55kg; Abby Loyd, third at 48kg and Devin Purewal, fourth in men’s 74kg.
Senior club second
Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club placed runner-up in both women’s and men’s divisions at the senior national freestyle wrestling championships in St.Catharines, Ont.
The Simon Fraser University-based club finished second behind the Calgary Dinos cub in women’s wrestling and Team Impact in men’s at the nationals this past weekend.
Justina Distasio was the women’s lone gold-medal winner, taking top spot in the 75-kilogram division, winning a five-competitor pool, including a close match against runner-up Erica Wiebe of Calgary.
Burnaby’s John Pineda earned a gold medal with a 10-0 decision over clubmate Aso Palani in the 57kg men’s senior final.
Palani also outpointed another Burnaby Mountain wrestler Sukhan Chahal in the semifinals.
Junior runner-up Darthe Capellan of Burnaby was defeated in his first step up to the senior quarter-finals.
National team member Haislan Garcia won easily at 65kg, taking the national title without a single point scored against him in four matches.
Other top Burnaby Mountain placers were Jasmit Phulka and Josh Kim, fourth and fifth, respectively, at 86kg; Arjun Gill, Manjot Sandhu and Nishanpreet Randhawa, who placed second through fourth, respectively, at 97kg; Superheavyweight Gurjot Kooner,runner-up and Manheet Khalon, sixth at 125kg.
Others included Bailey Halvorson, fifth in women’s 69kg; Stacie Anaka, fifth at 63kg; Amanda Gerhart, third at 58kg; Ashley Osachuk, third at 55kg; and Niki Brar, third at 48kg.
