When Peacock Toilers wrestler Davin Miller lost in the regional final to Wilkie’s Darren Toothill last weekend, it would have been easy to assume that a medal at provincials was going to be all but impossible.
Factor in the top wrestlers from Regina and Saskatoon in a tournament featuring the best-of-the-best in the province? And then go out and lose your first-round match on top of it?
Little to no chance.
At least, for anyone other than Miller.
No, for the Grade 11 69-kg competitor, it was simply time to get to work.
Miller would win three straight matches through the repechage and advance to the medal round, where he’d defeat Saskatoon Marion Graham’s Isaac Loran by technical fall before meeting none other than Toothill in the championship final.
This time, it was Miller who came away with the win, and the SHSAA provincial championship gold medal.
“He wrestled awesome,” said coach Rob Villeneuve. “Right off the bat, some kids start cold and that might have been what happened with him because he lost his first match, but after that he was able to pick it up and come back and go all the way to the gold medal match. It was awesome.”
The loss at regionals actually played a key role in Miller’s provincial success – once the local club had an idea of what they were dealing with in Toothill, it was a matter of finding a way to win, if and when they met again.
“The best part of losing to him at regionals was we were able to identify that he was a good wrestler,” Villeneuve explained. “We were able to go back and look at the video and see where the kid was picking up some points and change some things up with Davin a bit. We just had to change a couple things so he could win and it all worked out.”
Miller was one of three medalists from Peacock at the event, with Grade 12 Dylan Yamniuk finishing second in the 73-kg division and Grade 11 Kyle Yamniuk landing silver in the 62-kg class.
For Dylan, it was a comfortable run through the main draw, winning both his matches by technical fall to reach the medal round. There, he’d pin Prince Albert’s Josh Jensen in 3:32 before falling to Saskatoon Tommy Douglas’ Cole Theriault in the gold medal bout.
Kyle, meanwhile, had a bit of a tougher draw, winning his opening match before falling to Saskatoon Holy Cross’ Blake Davis in the qualifying round final. He rebounded to take a decision win over Prince Albert’s Logan Blair in the repechage final, and followed with an 8-0 decision against Marion Graham’s Griffin Stewart in the championship semifinal.
That set up a rematch with Davis in the gold medal match, where the Saskatoon competitor would again find victory.
Peacock’s Connor Rowsell also reached the medal round before finishing fourth in the 90-kg division, while Grade 9 first-year high school competitors Kayce Owens took the mats in the 47-kg class and Central’s Nigel Fang in the 53-kg division.
Peacock would also end up winning the 4A boys provincial team title.
In girls’ competition, Central’s Alexis Bradish landed fourth in the 68-kg division, while Peacock’s Miheret Cridland also reached the bronze medal match before finishing fourth in the 56-kg class.
Peacock’s Sydnee Christmann was sixth in 73-kgs, while Grade 12s Alyssa Roney (53-kg) and Makayla Holmes (64-kg) were unable to reach the medal round.
All in all, Villeneuve was proud of his crew’s performances.
“They’re all dealing with the top 12 in the province, so while I knew they’d do well and wouldn’t get dumped out, some of them are still young and going up against kids a lot older,” Villeneuve said.
“Some of these kids have only a year or two under their belt, they all want to win and go there to win, so there’s a bit of sadness at the end. Sometimes it doesn’t turn out, and that’ll be the discussion at practice, where they’re at and how they’ve wrestled and how well they’ve done just to get to this point.”
The local competitors will be back on the mats during the Saskatchewan Amateur Wrestling Association provincial championships in Moose Jaw during the Mar. 21 weekend.
