WRES: Rookie wrestlers capture gold in third event of the season
ALB wrestlers earn CW Wrestler of the Week honours
CALGARY - Alberta's Aleah Nickel and Sam Pereira were named the CW Wrestlers of the Week by the conference Tuesday.
Nickel captured gold in the women's 63 kg weight class at the Bears and Pandas home event this weekend.
All three of her wins came by virtue of a fall. The first-year Swift Current product defeated the Calgary Dinos' Katharine Kovalik and Angelina Ellis-Todd before pinning Simon Fraser's Jade Trolland in the final.
This was the best result of the season for the Pandas Rookie, who earned third-place finishes in the 63kg weight class at both the Dinos Open and Huskie Open earlier this season.
Her finish helped the Bears and Pandas to a combined 90 team points, enough to take the tournament.
Event log: Golden Bears and Pandas Invitational
Jan. 28 & Jan. 29: Gold in 63kg weight class
Meanwhile, Alberta's Pereira also put together a dominant performance to win the men’s 100kg class.
The Edmonton Wrestling Club product owned his weight class at the Bears' home event, winning all three of his matches with technical falls.
The first-year defeated the Calgary Dinos' Scott Coulthart (12-0) and Joseph Demaio (11-0) in the first two rounds, before beating Rustom Wrestling Club athlete Baltej Mundi 10-0 in round three.
The rookie also won the 100kg class at the Dinos open earlier this season in Calgary, while placing third at the SFU Wrestling Invitational in Burnaby.
The next event on the calendar for the Bears & Pandas wrestlers is the 2022 Canada West Championship, which will be hosted by the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon.
Event log: Golden Bears and Pandas Invitational
Jan. 28 & Jan. 29: Gold in 100kg weight class