Local wrestlers qualify for Universaide Games

…doesn’t seem to be a wrestling tag.

Local wrestlers qualify for Universaide Games

Wrestlers Stefanie Howorun and Ohenewa Akuffo will get the chance to talk turkey this summer.

That’s because both have earned the right to represent Canada at the FISU Universaide in Izmer Turkey from August 11 to 17. For both of them that is part of a busy few months of travel and competition.

Akuffo is also going to the world championships in Budapest Hungary from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2.

Both earned their latest honours during a productive weekend at the senior national championships and World University Games qualifier in Renfrew.

Akuffo, who represents the Guelph Wrestling Club, was dominant in winning the national title at 72 kilograms. She did not have a point scored against her.

Howorun, a second-year McMaster University student also had a strong showing at the two-day event in the 67 kgs division, achieving what is likely the biggest upset of the tournament. In her semifinal she defeated Concordia’s Martine Dugreneir who had won her second consecutive national title the previous day.

Dugreneir is also the defending gold medallist from the 2004 Universaide. She had not lost a match in two years going in and is the three-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) champion.

Although Dugrenier took a 3-0 lead in the first period she made a critical mistake which allowed Howorun to throw her for three points. The Mayfield graduate then finished off the move pinning Dugrenier which gave her the huge upset.

Howorun finished things off by defeating Meghan Wilton of Guelph in the final to win the gold medal and earn her trip to Turkey. She also won a spot on the under-23 national team.

During the national championship Howorun reached the semifinal before she lost to 2005 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) 70 kgs champion Megan Buydens from the University of Saskatchewan.

Howorun won the first period 1-0, lost the second 3-2 and then Buydens won the third. Howorun defeated Wilton to secure the bronze medal.

Besides her wrestling prowess Howorun is also a national level competitor in judo. Last weekend she added a silver medal at the senior national judo championship in St. John’s, her best showing ever at that event.

Howorun lost the gold medal bout in overtime.

Later this summer she will be going to the Senior Pan-Am Games in Venezuela in judo.

She manages to combine her training for both judo and wrestling while maintaining a full-time course load at McMaster in kinesiology.

In the men’s division at the Canadian Senior Wrestling championships two former Brampton high school wrestlers competed in the 55 kilograms division. Frank Mensah, a Bramalea graduate competed for the Burnaby (B.C.) Mountain Wrestling Club finished fourth while St. Augustine grad Chris Camarata from Lakehead University wound up sixth.

Camarata finished second earlier this season at the national junior championship and has earned a trip to the World Junior Championships later this summer in Lithuania.

http://www.northpeel.com/br/sports/story/2802590p-3245393c.html

Kinda cute too.
Guelph (100km out of TO), Ontario, Canada has some good wrestling.