The winning streak continues for St. Thomas More.
The Burnaby private school’s wrestling program racked up its fifth consecutive title at the B.C. high school championships on the weekend in Salmon Arm, while dominating in the girls division for a fourth straight year.
The returns included two gold medals, a pair of silvers and four bronze, catapulting them to first with an aggregate total of 79 points, 17 points better than second-place Alberni District.
“Definitely, to win five in a row has been some kind of a run,” said STM coach Doug Corbett. “It’s been kind of surreal; I thought we had a chance, but I’m still surprised that we did it, because a lot of things have to go right.”
Among the gold champions was Corbett’s daughter, Caileen, who topped the girls 43-kilogram division with a 9-0 win over Calista Espinosa of St. Pat’s. The decision and the manner in which it was won impressed the judges, who voted it the Most Outstanding Match in the girls division.
“(Caileen) fought a very defensively sound match,” said the proud coach and father. “She just dominated it; her opponent couldn’t counter and couldn’t score a point.”
Caileen entered the weekend having had little wrestling practice over the past month due to a concussion suffered in January. While her coach knew the technical preparation was sound, he was aware the lack of match
experience was an obstacle.
She won her first two by fall in quick fashion, setting the stage for a strong finish.
“(Caileen) had not much match work, so we were a little worried,” he said. “But she’s very competitive and wanted it very badly. She stuck to her game plan.”
It was one of four matches for her at the competition, and to end her high school career with a provincial gold – after finishing second last year – was fitting.
The other gold also came on the girls side, where Grade 10 Amanda Silveri beat Kyla McAuley of Alberni by a quick 6-0 pin. It was Silveri’s lone match in the heavyweight division, and gave her the result she had worked towards since taking silver a year ago.
Burnaby South’s Matthew Magano was the only other local gold medalist, blanking North Van’s Hyatt Verdozco 10-0 for the 38kg title. Over three matches, Magano surrendered just two points.
Also on the boys side, the STM pair of Tyler Eckert and Sam Steele were silver medalists in their respective divisions, running into two New Westminster rivals.
Eckert was bested 13-3 by Connor Pattison in the 90kg division, while Steele fell 11-0 to Sammy Sidhu in the 84kg final.
Placing third in boys 57kg was STM’s Daniel Alphonso.
Burnaby Central’s Sara Brinkac put in a valiant performance to defend her 60kg title, but ended up losing in a 12-6 decision to Scout Stipec of Elphinstone in a rematch of last year’s final. Finishing third overall was STM’s Gabriella Bellini.
Also collecting bronze medals were STM’s Gabi Chavez, in the girls 47kg, Grade 8 Ayesha Mian, in 40kg, and Burnaby Central’s Sylvia Ly, in 54kg.
