Moose Jaw will once again have a handful of wrestlers in the hunt for hardware when the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association provincial championships take place in Saskatoon during the Mar. 18 weekend.
A total of 11 competitors from Peacock and Central landed top six placings at regionals in Outlook on Mar. 5, with a handful of those winning medals and as a result emerging as ones to watch in just over a week’s time.
Peacock’s Kayde Kell finished second in the male 62-kilogram division, defeating Prince Albert’s Brandon Kowal and Swift Current’s Connor Hammer by technical fall before losing by pinfall at 4:36 to Wilkie’s Kaidin McGinnis.
Nigel Fang of Central went 2-3 to finish fifth in the same weight class.
The male 73-kg division saw two of the top Moose Jaw performances, led by Central’s Zarek Sand with a silver-medal showing. Sand opened his run by defeating Lloydminster’s Turner Hammett by pinfall in 1:04 and before pinning Peacock’s Kingston Usher in 2:26. That set the stage for the final against former provincial medalist Darren Toothill of Wilke, who would take an 11-0 technical fall win.
Usher rebounded from his loss to defeat Turnback 10-0 before pinning Swift Curren’t’s Dom Bonogofski in 1:55 to land in third place.
Things also went well for Peacock in the male 77-kg class, as Brady Ross reached his final before losing by pin to Prince Albert’s Logan Campbell in 24 seconds. Things went far better for Ross in his previous two matches: a 13-2 win over Lloydminsters’ Joe Hunter and pinfall in 4:51 over Warman’s Jaskarit Bola.
Peacock’s Caleb McCrystal (male 44 kg) and Payton Kell (male 56 kg) also qualified for provincials, as did Central’s Justin Arandia (male 53 kg) and Adrian Martin (male 65 kg).
Sydnee Christmann had the top showing among local female wrestlers, finishing second in the 73 kg division. Her run included a pin in 1:13 over Swift Current’s Taylor LaRocque and 47-second pin against Rosetown’s Allie Gawryuik before she dropped a 12-2 decision to Prince Albert’s Charleigh Barden.
Cassandra Bowles from Peacock was fourth in the female 60 kg class.
The Toilers’ overall success from the meet saw Peacock win both the 4A boys and girls regional team championships.
The SHSAA provincial wrestling tournament begin Friday, Mar. 18 and run throughout the day on Saturday, Mar. 19 at Saskatoon Evan Hardy.
