Members of the Maple Ridge Ramblers Grade 8 wrestling team made school history last weekend in Port Alberni, as four athletes made the journey to the Island and all returned with gold medals.
Overall the team placed tied for second out of 75 teams and 450 athletes at the tournament.
Adrian Truong duplicated his B.C. Age Class achievement from two weeks ago, winning all three matches without getting a single point scored upon him, as did team mate Ivy Threatful.
Both Haider Allami and Jacob McClure made their first trip to the top of the podium, but it won’t be their last, according to their coach.
“Haider and Jacob have broken through, and are reaping the rewards of all their hard work all year long,” said Bill McCrae.
Other outstanding performances were made by the number one provincial seed Ryan Hicks, and War on the Floor Champion Miki Rowbottom – both winning gold.
Rounding out the medal haul were Marquesis Haintz, Lucas Kolobara and Ashleigh Roy with bronze medal performances.
“Well, we sent our van full of 11 athletes to the Port, and nine of them returned with medals. I’d say we had a pretty good weekend,” concluded McCrae.
Ridge wrestlers next take to the mat in two weeks at the Upper Fraser Valley Championships, where they are defending tournament champions.
The top-five finishers in each weight class at that event will compete in the B.C. High School Championships, to be held in Salmon Arm in a month.