WRES: Athletes to hit the mat Saturday to decide the best in the west

Brian Swane, special to CW

At the Canada West Wrestling Championships in 2016, the University of Saskatchewan finished atop the men’s standings and placed second in the women’s competition.

In 2017 and 2019, the roles reversed for Huskies wrestling, as Saskatchewan captured the women’s title while finishing as runners-up for the men’s championship.

Then, at the conference’s most recent championships in 2020, the Huskies reclaimed the men’s crown while ending up second in the women’s standings.

All told, four of the last five seasons of Canada West wrestling have ended with Saskatchewan finishing first in one championship and second in the other. But never have the Huskies taken the men’s and women’s titles in the same year.

Now they have a chance to change that on home turf, as the University of Saskatchewan hosts the 2022 Canada West Wrestling Championships at the Physical Activity Centre where the conference’s best will grapple for gold in several weight classes on Saturday (March 12).

"We are excited to be able to Host the Canada West championship for the 21-22 season,” says Daniel Oliver, Huskies wrestling head coach. “All teams have been grinding it out this season and to have the chance to showcase the talent in the west at home in the PAC is awesome."

The field includes student-athletes who topped the podium and received honours at the 2020 championships, including Saskatchewan’s Carson Lee (men’s 82kg champ and Rookie of the Year) and Haley Heffel (women’s 72kg champ and Canada West Athlete of the Year) from the University of Alberta, and the University of Calgary’s Grace Lew (women’s 51kg champ, as well as the Canada West Rookie of the Year and Student-Athlete Award recipient).

Saskatchewan has a rich wrestling history. The Huskies are five-time Canada West men’s champs and the have won the women’s title twice.

"We are excited to welcome the best wrestlers from across western Canada to Saskatoon for the 2022 Canada West Wrestling Championships,” says Shannon Chinn, the University of Saskatchewan’s Chief Athletic Officer, “With the incredible support from our wrestling community, Huskie Athletics and USask are really looking forward to putting on an exceptional event for student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans."

Alberta is the all-time Canada West wrestling leader with 12 men’s titles, while Calgary has won a record 11 women’s championships. Both have achieved a single-season double-championship, with Alberta doing it most recently, in 2018, when they served as host of the Canada West Wrestling Championships.

Catch all the action streaming live on CWTV presented by Co-op. Tickets to attend in person are available for purchase online.