Barry Wright
Until recently the Sarnia/Bluewater Wrestling Club had never won a provincial girls bantam crown.
But the drought ended a few weeks ago when a group of Grade 7-8 wrestlers edged out larger clubs from across the province to claim an Ontario Championship plaque at the Youth Wrestling Festival in Milton, Ont.
Sarnia/Bluewater won the title by a single point over the Matmen Wrestling Club from Kitchener and Oshawa's Team Impact Wrestling Club.
Other teams were from the G.T.A, Ottawa region, Orillia, Barrie, Thunder Bay, Kingston and Windsor.
The winning team was comprised of MacKenna Hunt, Kayla Hunt, Sarah Wilson, Taijah Allen and Shailah Allen, and coached by Jeff VanderSlagt.
“It was really exciting that they could compete against the best clubs in the province and come out with the result that they did,” said VanderSlagt. “It's pretty spectacular.”
The girls trained hard throughout the season and earned the success that they achieved, he added.
Individually, MacKenna Hunt won her weight class, while the other four members of the team all finished second in their respective categories.
As well as recognizing the winning girls team at the club's annual awards dinner last week, several other awards were presented.
They are listed below, courtesy of Sarnia/Bluewater head coach John Burke:
YOUTH CLUB WINNERS:
Bulldog Tough Award (for hard work and dedication)
Hunter Dalgety
Alex Boekhorst
Kelso Jennings
Jackson Lane
Peyton Armitage
Dungeon Master - Outstanding Wrestler
Kevin Robertson
Adam VandersSlagt
HIGH SCHOOL AWARDS:
Bulldog Tough Awards (for hard work and dedication)
Lucas Pawley - SCITS
Nathan McMillan - St Francois Xavier
Tyler Belanger - St Pat's
Jack Lewis - SCITS
Hannah VanderSlagt - St Clair
Dungeon Master - Outstanding Wrestler
Taryn Robinson - SCITS
Greg Wilson - North Lambton