DM’s golden girl
It was capital punishment for Leela Benjamin’s opponents at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations wrestling championships in Ottawa this week.
The Grade 12 student at Denis Morris completely dominated the field in the 115-kilogram division, pinning all four of her opponents without surrendering a single point in the tournament.
“Leela showed a level of composure and discipline that was second to none; every match she had a game plan and never wavered from it. She did all this while smiling ear to ear. She was such a pleasure to coach,” Denis Morris coach Ryan Weicker said. “Leela wrestled a perfect tournament and she truly made us all so proud.”
The three-time Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association champion won bronze in 2018 before climbing to the top of the podium this year.
“On the first day, I was really nervous and I didn’t know what to expect,” the 18-year-old said. “But on the second day, during the semifinals and finals, I was still nervous, but I was more excited to see what would come out of it and what the result would be.”
The end result was a pin of Bishop Ryan’s Madison Caruso 1:58 into the first round of the final.
“I was so happy and I was kind of shocked,” Benjamin said. “It didn’t hit me until later that night when I got to my hotel.”
She realized the final wasn’t going to be easy.
“I knew that girl was a really good wrestler and she has beaten me before,” Benjamin said. “I was really proud of myself.”
Benjamin attributes her incredible OFSAA performance to an attitude adjustment.
“I was a lot more focused on bettering myself this year, focusing on my strengths and getting stronger instead of trying to learn all the moves in the book,” she said. “I focused on what I knew I could do.”
Her motivation was simple.
“It’s my last year of high school and I wanted to go out with a bang and my goal was to just place higher than last year,” she said. “The ultimate goal was to win and I achieved that.”
Benjamin is involved in many other things at Denis Morris besides wrestling. She participates in choir, social justice club, peer acceptance club and student council. She will graduate this spring and is heading to university. Among her four choices, she has already been accepted at Brock and Trent for psychology.
Benjamin is hopeful to continue wrestling in university.
“I will try wrestling when I start university and see how it fits with me and if it works well with life in university,” she said. “If it does, I will continue to do it.”
The sport has become a big part of her life.
“It started out with me just liking the atmosphere and how everyone was so supportive of each other,” she said. “Now I like the mindset of it, how you have to think while you are doing everything and how it is meant for everyone.
“It’s really inclusive.”
Benjamin had little time to savour her OFSAA triumph as she was catching a plane Thursday to join up with a class trip to Paris and Rome.
“I wasn’t going to go on the Europe trip because it started during wrestling and I double-booked by accident,” she said. “I had to choose between Europe and OFSAA and it was a hard choice. But I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go to OFSAA.”
Thankfully it all worked out for the talented teen and she was able to catch a later flight overseas.
Five other Niagara wrestlers ended up reaching the podium at OFSAA.
Beamsville’s Samantha Adams, the reigning OFSAA champion, captured bronze in the 51-kilogram division with a 10-9 victory over Jenny Mackean of Sacred Heart.
Competing in the 61-kilogram division, Governor Simcoe’s Mia Friesen won bronze thanks to a 9-0 victory over Guelph Collegiate’s Raphaele Arabadjian.
Thorold’s Brodie Gibson took home antique bronze (fourth) in the boys 64-kilogram division after losing 9-0 to Mateo Anisi of Pickering in the bronze-medal match.
Competing in the 72-kilogram boys event, Jordan Wylie of St. Francis also earned antique bronze. He lost 8-0 to Oakridge’s Ideen Maghsud in the bronze-medal match.
Centennial’s Katelyn Romano mined antique bronze in the 47.5-kilogram division. She lost 4-0 to Zaniq King of St. Francis Xavier in the bronze-medal match.
