Wrestlers from Quesnel junior secondary and Correlieu senior secondary schools tested their skills last Saturday against athletes from 19 different schools and managed to pin down some good results.
One of the most anticipated matches of the day was the 65 kg final match between Sam Palfrey of CSS and Dylan Turmel from Kelly Road of Prince George.
Despite a valient effort, Turmel took two rounds from Palfrey, including a pin down in the second round following an explosive double leg take down that Palfrey could not escape from.
Palfry and coach McGregor were optimistic going into the match as Palfry had earned the gold medal at the Golden Bears Invitational in Edmonton the previous week.
“He’s quick,” Palfrey said of Turmel.
“He’s very good technically as well.”
The key, Palfrey and coach Rob McGregor said, was a difference in upper body strength.
Palfry, who began wrestling in Yellowknife in 2001 while attending William Macdonald School, had faced Turmel many times in the two years he has lived in Quesnel, said with each experience he has closed the gap on his nemesis.
“Before he used to get me pretty easy, but now it’s getting pretty even,” Palfrey said.
Closing the gap, Palfrey said, was thanks to harder training on the technical side as well as physically and attending as many tournaments as possible to gain experience.
The importance of skill and technical ability were highlighted in another final match involving Grade 12 student Zack Boesem of CSS in the 74 kg class.
Boesem, a Grade 12 student, took up wrestling just a few months ago to improve his fitness admitted after the match the technical aspect is what he lacked.
“I only have a certain number of moves burned into my memory,” Boesem said.
The second-place finish qualified Boesem to attend the provincial championships in two weeks time and he knows exactly what he needs to do between now and then.
“I need to train intensively and learn more moves,” he said.
The varsity wrestling program is in its second year, coach and athletic director at CSS, Rob McGregor said.
As with everything else in life, experience is an important component to success in wrestling and McGregor has had the team wrestling at every available opportunity from Prince George to Kamloops, Simon Fraser University and Edmonton.
One element that surprises newcomers to the sport of wrestling is the cardiovascular demand of the sport that has wrestlers square off in three two-minute rounds, a mere six minutes.
To help build up endurance, the team practices three times a week for two hours and outside of practices there is weight training and running and others will also do some boxing or Jujitsu.
In all 88 wrestlers, including boys and girls, competed in the day-long event held at the indoor soccer facility.
With their second-place finishes, both Palfrey and Boesem are headed to Abbottsford for the provincial championships this weekend.