Newcomers show well at city wrestling championships

For the likes of Victoria Day, Joel Lamontagne, Kaitlyn Castonguay, Sydney Hennigar and a host of other local wrestlers, the (relatively) easy part is over.

The quartet, all of whom achieved top 10 OFSAA finishes one year ago, safely survived the SDSSAA Ron Preston City Wrestling Championships last week at Lockerby Composite.

The Sudbury contingent are back in action on Feb. 21 with NOSSA championships at Macdonald-Cartier. Several locals are looking to the all-Ontario meet in Guelph with legitimate medal hopes, led by Day, a silver-medal winner one year ago in Peterborough.

The Grade 12 Lockerby student was one of 20 different weight-class winners that were crowned last week as a total of 11 different schools gathered for Step 1 of the road to OFSAA.

Though the returning crew of wrestlers are impressive, so, too, is a core of relative newcomers to the sport, including Sudbury Secondary sensation Erica Turcotte.

The 15-year-old Grade 10 student who transferred from Lasalle has taken the local scene by storm, achieving success both with her school team, as well as with the local Sudbury Regional Wrestling Club (SRWC).

With a background in gymnastics and hockey, it was a natural aggressiveness that seemed to point to a perfect fit on the mat.

“The coaches told me I was feisty and they could see me wrestling,” said Turcotte, who picked up the sport for the first time this year.

Capturing first place in the 47.5-kg weight class, Turcotte has seen the bar raised quickly, battling opponents who might well be able to draw on at least a few years of wrestling experience.

“When you're wrestling against somebody who is the same skill level, you try and make a move and you get caught,” she said. “It's tricky to get out of.”

Blessed with a fair bit of natural strength, Turcotte has quickly learned that simple muscle mass does not necessarily equate to success when it comes to a sport that requires pin-point perfection on the technical side.

“You can be stronger, but if you don't know what you're doing, you're not going to get any points,” Turcotte said. “You have to know how to move your opponent. Like a table with four legs, you have to take one out.”

Coming off an outstanding weekend at Junior Provincials a few weeks back, Turcotte is eyeing a top three finish at OFSAA.

Same goes for Charlene Lapointe of Confederation Secondary, despite not capturing gold at the city level.

The 16-year-old Grade 10 student happens to be stuck in the same weight class as the aforementioned Victoria Day. Foes at the SDSSAA level, Lapointe acknowledges that the club workouts provide a valuable learning environment.

“Everyone helps each other,” Lapointe said. “At SRWC, I get to know a whole bunch of people from different schools. (Victoria) helps me with moves and teaches me stuff.”

Just not enough that would allow Lapointe to overtake Day this year, as the Lockerby senior prepares for high school graduation in June.

Having picked up the sport toward the end of her first year at Confederation, Lapointe is now just beginning to expand the wealth of her skill-set in match settings, slowly moving from a defence-first approach.

“I'm finally starting to get more into my offence,” she said. “I'm breaking down the wall mentally. I've been working on ground work a lot. Sometimes, I get the person down and then I'm stuck there.”

With a bronze medal to her credit at Junior Provincials, Lapointe would be thrilled to share a podium with Day, as the Sudbury wrestling crew continue to make a name for themselves when it comes to the OFSAA stage.

Following are the SDSSAA weight class winners from the City finals, along with the top-three teams:

Girls Divisional Champions
47.5 kg - Erica Turcotte (Sudbury Secondary)
54 kg - Carissa Leblanc (Lockerby)
57.5 kg - Victoria Day (Lockerby)
61 kg - Emilie Charette (Sacré-Coeur)
64 kg - Jennifer Brazeau (Macdonald-Cartier)
67.5 kg - Kaitlyn Castonguay (Lo-Ellen)
83 kg - Amanda Sawyer (Notre-Dame)
UNL - Sierra Howard (Sacré-Coeur)
Teams - Lockerby (32); CND (24); Sacré-Coeur (22)

Boys Divisional Champions
51 kg - Joey Lapointe (Lasalle)
54 kg - Logan Blanchard (Lo-Ellen)
57.5 kg - Ethan Draper (Macdonald-Cartier)
61 kg - Brandon Jalbert (Lasalle)
64 kg - Dakota Pretty (Lasalle)
67.5 kg - Devon McComber (Lasalle)
72 kg - Joel Lamontagne (Champlain)
77 kg - James Collins (Lasalle)
83 kg - Kyle Fletcher (Lasalle)
95 kg - Kyle Poitras (Lasalle)
UNL - Tim Glasgow (Lasalle)
Teams - Lasalle (190); ESMC (31); Sudbury Secondary (26)

As for the Ontario Junior Championships, both Turcotte and Day joined Lapointe in picking up bronze medals, with Charette close behind in fourth and Poitras finishing fifth.