St. Thomas More did it again.
The small Burnaby independent high school topped the B.C. high school wrestling championships for a third consecutive year following last weekend’s provincial championships in Abbotsford.
Individual champions junior Caileen Corbett, fifth-year senior Nicole Depa and Livleen Sidhu, who started wrestling as a Grade 9, led the lady Knights to a resounding defence of the aggregate girls’ banner, garnering a ladder-topping 83 total points, far outdistancing runner-up Ucluelet by more than 50 points.
The STM boys chipped in with 30 more team points to secure the program its third straight aggregate title.
"It's a great feeling and a great feeling for (the team)," said STM wrestling coach Doug Corbett. "I told them, 'Don't left anyone take (the banner) away from you. All the girls wanted to do better than they did last year, and they did.
"It's very difficult to do. We have a good coaching staff and that makes a big difference. But we put in a lot of extra time as a group. We're lucky we got a lot of good support, but our kids buy into it."
Caileen Corbett won at 40 kilograms, while Depa topped the field at 57kg and Sidhu earned gold at 69kg.
Ciara Corbett won a silver medal at 51kg and Amanda Silveri was also a runner-up at 110kg for STM. Taylor McIntosh earned a bronze medal at 60kg.
Also making the podium were fifth-year Meagan Chow and Gabriela Chavez, fourth and sixth, respectively, at 43kg; and Natalie Nelson, who also placed fourth at 64kg.
The Knight boys also wrestled well, with Stephano Pozzolo and Joel Calica, who came back from a rib injury in December, placing second in their respective 45 and 48kg weight classes. Daniel Alphonso was fourth at 51kg.
But the jewel in STM's crown are the girls' who, for the past decade, continue to place as a top-five team at the provincials.
"The team we had this year was pretty solid," Corbett said. "It is perhaps the smallest team we've had, but the (wrestlers) we had were good."
Notre Dame’s Serena Woldring won the girls’ 75kg gold, while teammate Toni Medeiros was third at 40kg.
Chelsea Coombes of Burnaby North won a bronze medal at 51kg and Mele Viklani of Burnaby Central was fifth at 75kg.
On the boys’ side, Jimmy Sidhu of South won at 130kg, while brother Sammy Sidhu, who wrestles with New Westminster Secondary, was fourth at 66kg.
TJ Cordoviz of NWSS placed third at 45kg, while Connor Pattison was fifth at 84kg and David Penalver was sixth at 51kg.
Aidan Labreche of Central earned a silver medal at 41kg. Central teammate Ansel Hait was fourth at 84kg.
Notre Dame’s Sira Santiago and Flixzl Reyes both placed fifth in their respective weight divisions.
Abbotsford Traditional topped the aggregate boys’ standings with 81 points. WJ Mouat finished third overall with 76 total points.
