Eight isn’t enough for Brock women
The Brock women’s wrestling team won its ninth straight U SPORTS title Saturday at Brock. Photo by STEPHEN LEITHWOOD.
The Brock women’s wrestling team won its ninth straight U SPORTS women’s wrestling title Saturday at Brock, but it took a massive effort on the final day to hold off a strong challenge from the University of Saskatchewan.
“We were in fight with Saskatchewan last year and it was even closer last year,” Brock head coach Marty Calder said. “We didn’t expect as much last year but this year we were ready for them.”
Brock was missing a wrestler in one of the weight classes after its 51-kilogram competitor, Sarah Hein, dislocated her elbow after Christmas.
“We are trying to recruit and make sure that doesn’t happen again but those lighter weights are tougher to fill,” he said. “We won it with seven of the eight weights.”
Before the finals started, Calder told Shauna Kuebeck, Hannah Taylor, Julie Steffler and Skylar Grote that he needed them to win their gold-medal matches and they did exactly that.
“I told them to enjoy it and embrace it, but we really need you,” Calder said. “They rose to the challenge and wrestled fantastic.”
TAYLOR-MADE VICTORY
Hannah Taylor sewed up her third straight U Sports championship by recording a 10-0, first-round technical superiority victory over Lakehead’s Madison Clayton in the 63-kilogram final.
The Cornwall, P.E.I., native garnered silver her first year at Brock before reeling off three straight Canadian championships.
“This one feels especially good because I did it in front of a home crowd and because I am in my fourth year at Brock University, I wanted to make sure I did a good job and was a good team captain by leading by example and expecting the best of myself.
“Going into every match with that in the back of my mind pushed me to be the best version of myself.”
Wrestling up a weight class, the bronze medalist at the 2019 under-23 world championships did exactly that, winning all of her matches in the first round by technical superiority.
The runner-up in the Olympic trials in the 57-kilogram division will have little time to rest up before competing at Senior Pan Am Championships March 6-9 in Ottawa.
“I am in a lucky spot to have the opportunity to go to that tournament as well and preparing for each tournament was pretty different,” she said. “I focus on one thing at a time and I pull all my eggs in the basket of training for U SPORTS. Now it’s time to redshift my focus and get ready for the next one.”
The 21-year-old is early into her wrestling career to have already built such an impressive resume but she tries not to think of herself as young.
“Although I am kind of considered a young stud, it doesn’t really matter because a senior is a senior.”
Taylor is looking to build on her performance at last year’s Senior Pan Ams.
“I was second and lost a close one in the final where I actually got pinned,” she said. “That was unfortunate and I am looking to get the gold this time around.”
Taylor would also like another crack at the under-23 worlds again. She needs to be the top under-23 finisher at the senior nationals to qualify.
“Each experience, whether I win or lose, I am building off of them,” she said. “Our coaches weren’t particularly happy with everything I did this weekend and neither was I, but it’s a good opportunity to build off of it and work towards the next goal of mine.”
KUEBECK IS GOLDEN AT LAST
Shauna Kuebeck won her first U SPORTS championship in convincing fashion Saturday.
Wrestling up a weight class in the 82-kilogram division, the 23-year-old Greenbank (north of Whitby) native was ahead 8-0 51 seconds into her gold-medal match when her opponent, Maddison Haney from Saskatchewan, had to withdraw from the match with an injury.
The fourth-year kinesiology student won U Sports bronze in her first and third years at Brock and finally got to celebrate gold in her home gym.
“It feels so good,” she said. “It sucks to end it with my opponent getting injured, but I wanted to win and I was ahead of her any ways.”
The third-place finisher at 76 kilograms at the Olympic trials had mostly smooth sailing on her way to the top of the podium.
“It was pretty good, but I wasn’t super happy with my first match because it wasn’t my best wrestling and I could have improved on a lot of things,” she said. “My second match was really clean and today’s match started really clean and I was very happy with it.”
It was especially gratifying for Kuebeck to win in her home gym.
“My family is here, my friends all came out to watch me and it meant so much for me to do it at home.”
With Saskatchewan hot on Brock’s heels for the team title, Kuebeck knew she needed to win.
“I used to really hate that kind of pressure but lately, it’s something that pushes me on, especially in my home gym,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let anyone walk away with that title. That is our title.”
Next up for Kuebeck is the Senior Pan Am Championships March 6-9 in Ottawa.
“I have to cut weight to get back down to 72 and I am going to be getting ready for Pan Ams.”
GROTE REBOUNDS
Skylar Grote made sure there was no repeat of 2019.
The 22-year-old Frelinghuisen, N.J, native grabbed a 3-0 first-round lead on Calgary’s Ellise Daynes in the 67-kilogram final and then won the match by technical superiority in the second round when she built a 10-0 advantage.
It was the second U SPORTS championship in her time at Brock. She won in 2018 and then got upset in the first round in 2019 before rallying to win the bronze medal.
“I don’t really know what it was last year, maybe I just wasn’t ready or maybe I had the wrong mindset going in.” she said.
Grote entered this season with a different mindset.
“This year it was not to take anyone lightly and go out there and give it my all no matter who it is,” she said. “I think sometimes that I put my competitors on a pedestal or I didn’t focus on them enough.”
Winning at home was extra special.
“It’s a lot more pressure, of course, when we are home, but it’s not very often that I get to compete in front of my friends and family and everyone here.”
Grote attended a private high school in the States but couldn’t find the right fit to remain in her home country when she graduated.
“I was stuck with putting my education first or my wrestling first and then my dad told me there were two decent academic schools in Canada and asked if I wanted to give it a try,” she said. “We looked at Guelph first and nothing against Guelph but it just didn’t feel at home for me.”
Two days later, she found a home at Brock.
“I came to Brock and practised with the team and knew that if I wanted to go to the Olympics, this is the room I needed to be in,” she said. “That’s why I am here.”
Grote has been to two Olympics qualifiers so far in the States and each time she came within one match of earning a berth in the final Olympic qualifier.
“I have another one coming up March 26 and if I take top two there, five days later I will wrestle at the Olympic trials.”
IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM
Julie Steffler found a home and a U SPORTS gold medal with the Brock women’s wrestling team.
The 23-year-old Tottenham native won a U SPORTS bronze in 2018 and a silver in 2019 with Western before transferring to Brock to work on a masters degree.
On Saturday, she defeated Calgary’s Amy Bellavia 12-5 to win gold in the 59-kilogram division.
“It’s awesome and since coming to Brock everything has been really awesome,” she said. “The room feels like a big family and it really feels like more than just one wrestler out there when you are at Brock.
“Everyone is going for a gold and it felt really special to be on home turf and have my dad here and a bunch of people from work.”
Steffler spent five years at Western but still had a year of eligibility left because she missed a full year after having a pair of surgeries on her left knee.
“It has been a trip,” she said. “The first surgery I never doubted coming back but the second time I had a lot of mental health issues and I tried to fight that.”
She had a lot of help in the battle.
“I had a lot of athlete friends who kept an eye on me and kept track of me and that carried me through it,” Steffler said. “Then I joined the Crossfit community and worked my tail off at rehab. Now I am a crossfit coach and everything is good.”
Brock needed her to be good Saturday to keep Saskatchewan from taking the team title.
“All the years at Western, no one could ever touch Brock,” she said. “Marty was in the practice room and he said, ‘OK, you gotta win, you gotta win and you gotta win.’ That was cool.”
Last year, Steffler lost in the final to Brock teammate Hannah Taylor.
Also helping Brock defend its team title were: Samantha Romano, who won a silver at 48 kilograms; Leigha Smith, who placed fourth at 72 kilograms; and, Daina Armstrong, who was seventh at 55 kilograms.
