The Maple Ridge secondary wrestling team won the girls team title at the BC High School Wrestling Championships held this weekend at the Pacific Colliseum.
They also finished second in the aggregate boys and girls team title.
Tatyana Lagrange won gold in the 69 kg weight class, in her first year. Up against a past B.C. champion, Lagrange was down by a score of 6-0, but kept battling and ultimately wore down her opponent, said Ramblers coach Bill McCrae. The longtime coach said it was the match of the tournament, as Lagrange scored just before the end of the match to beat an exhausted opponent.
Madi Grof and Ashton Senko brought home silver medals with team co-captain Ethan Peever, Kynan Haintz and Erica Neumann earning hard-fought bronze medals.
Rounding out the team scoring were team co-captain Kia Haintz in fifth and Isabella Easby sixth.
McCrae said the Ramblers will have a stronger team next year, as their young grapplers gain experience, and just two will graduate.
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Garibaldi champion
Garibaldi secondary wrestler Lucas Bonifazi also won a gold medal at the provincials, in the 41 kg class, to become the school’s first provincial champion in recent memory, said coach Marc Audette.
He was dominant, up on his opponent 12-1 when he won the championship match with a pin. Audette said Bonifazi is not eligible for nationals because he is just Grade 8, but that could be his goal for next year.
It is just the school’s second season with a wrestling team, and they had four wrestlers at the provincials. All are Grade 8s, and up against older wrestlers, but “they represented our school well,” said Audette.
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