Local sports March 11: Pan Am wrestling results; Meridian sponsors Summer Games; Welland Tigers hockey
Clayton Pye, shown above on left, won a bronze medal at the Pan-American Wrestling Championships in Ottawa.
PAN AM WRESTLING
Brock Wrestling Club members won two silver medals and five bronze medals at the recent Pan-American Championships in Ottawa.
Hannah Taylor lost the 57-kilogram gold medal match to Giullia Rodrigues Penalber De Oliveira of Brazil to claim silver. On the way to the final, Taylor defeated American Kelsey Campbell and Lissette Alexandra Antes Castillo of Ecuador.
“There were a lot of ups and downs today,” the 21-year-old wrestler told the Wrestling Canada website. “I lost my first match to the eventual winner and again in the finals. I got a win today against Ecuador who I lost to at the (Lima 2019) Pan Am Games.”
Taylor feels she needs to be more open to wrestling different styles.
“I could have been successful wrestling in the finals if I didn’t tie up and worked more from the outside,” she said. “I typically like to throw upper body, but she was way better at throws than me so I need to be more open with different styles of wrestling.”
Jade Parsons won a silver medal in the 53-kilogram division, thanks to a 10-0 win over American Haley Augello in her final match of the round robin.
“I think I wrestled pretty well,” Parsons told the Wrestling Canada website. “I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself so I just had a lot of fun with it today. I didn’t wrestle my best off the start, but I tried to pick it up throughout the day. My goal was to have fun and cherish being a part of Team Canada again.”
Clayton Pye defeated Argentina’s Ricardo Adrian Baez to win bronze in the 86-kilogram division.
“I think I definitely could have wrestled smarter,” he told the Wrestling Canada website. “In my second match, I was controlling the first round but made some mistakes when I had a leg attack that ran him out of bounds instead of taking him down.”
Shauna Kuebeck captured bronze in the 72-kilogram division, thanks to a win over Brenda Aguiar Dos Santos of Brazil.
“I felt really good about my first match. I wrestled hard and persisted past some issues I had in the match,” she told the Wrestling Canada website. “My last two matches I was there strength-wise, but maybe not at their technical level yet. This is my first senior international tournament so I’m still working my way up.
“I’m so fortunate to have this experience and be here representing my country in Ottawa.”
Cruiz Manning was third in the 70 kilogram division, finishing behind American Anthony Ashnault and Mexican Brandon Disair Diaz Ramirez.
Jessica Brouillette defeated Nathaly Josefina Griman Herrera of Venezuela with a 5-4 comeback victory to claim bronze in the 62-kilogram division.
Olivia Di Bacco beat Mexican Ambar Michell Garnica Flores 11-4 in the 68-kilogram bronze medal match.
MERIDIAN PARTNERS WITH SUMMER GAMES
The Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games Host Society is excited to announce its partnership with Meridian Credit Union. In a move that further demonstrates its longstanding tradition of investing in the Niagara Region, the agreement will see Meridian become an official sponsor of Niagara 2021’s Volunteer Program — where they will play an important role in supporting the experience of more than 4,000 volunteers who will be essential to the success of the Games.
“Bringing in an iconic, community-minded organization from Niagara like Meridian as a sponsor of our volunteer program couldn’t be more fitting,” said Doug Hamilton, Board Chair of the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games Host Society. “Meridian has a long history of creating partnerships within the region, and we are honoured to have their support in helping deliver the best possible Games’ experience to our volunteers and participants.”
“The Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games will be the single most transformative event ever to happen in Niagara, and as an organization we naturally felt compelled to be a part of it. We encourage the business community to join us,” said Wade Stayzer, Meridian Chief People and Culture Officer, SVP Business Banking. “As we move to recruit thousands of volunteers from across Niagara, we are proud to not only play a part in unifying the Niagara Region, but ultimately helping to inspire the community to participate and give back.”
An estimated 4,000 volunteers will be needed to support and service all operational areas of Niagara 2021. Since the first Canada Games took place in Québec City back in 1967, over 100,000 volunteers from across the country have played a role in delivering this biennial competition.
“When we approached Meridian with the idea of having rights to the Volunteer platform, it quickly became apparent that they were the ideal partner with which to recruit and galvanize volunteers from across Niagara, given their commitment to grassroots engagement and leadership in the community,” said Steve Katzman, the Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer of the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games Host Society.
WELLAND TIGERS HOCKEY
Midgets advance to OMHA finals
The 10th-ranked Welland Tigers minor midget A hockey team advanced to the Ontario Minor Hockey Association finals with a 3-0 semifinal sweep over the ninth-ranked Hespeler Shamrocks.
In a 5-2 win in Game 1, Jacob Tessier scored twice and Jacob Passmore, Dylan Coers and Mason Teather added single goals. The winning goaltender was Ben Stea.
In a 4-1 victory in Game 2, Tessier again netted a pair of goals and Passmore and Kolby Sumbler contributed singles. The winning goaltender was Jacob Salmon.
Welland swept the series with a 4-3 victory. Tyler Isherwood, Brayden Flint, Nathan Lambrechts and Passmore scored and the winning goaltender was Stea.
Welland now meets the fourth-ranked Orillia Terriers in the OMHA finals. The Tigers went 23-1 in league play, were undefeated in the Niagara District round-robin qualifying tournament and then beat St. Catharines 2-0 in the finals to advance to the OMHA quarter-finals. They beat St. Thomas 3-2 in that series. The squad’s overall playoff record was 13-2. Welland also won the Richard Bell Memorial Tournament in Oakville during the Christmas Break.
Minor peewees win pair of playoff games
The Welland 91.7 Giant FM/Country 89 Tigers hockey team netted a 5-0 shutout victory over the Dunnville Mudcats in Niagara District minor peewee A playoff action.
Colby Franchetti netted a hat trick and Tyler Laszlo and Julian Belcastro added single tallies as Welland improved to 4-0 in round-robin play. Riley Caron recorded his eighth whitewash of the season, tying him with teammate Braxton Fleguel and Dunnville’s Tim Dolan for a share of the league lead.
Tanner Cutler and Laszlo scored twice each and Chace Buti recorded the other marker as the Welland defeated the Garden City Falcons 5-3 earlier in the week. Connor Shields and Alex Thai with power-play goals, and Owen Crabbe at even-strength, replied for the Falcons.
Welland is 37-0-4 against Niagara-based teams this season and 43-7-10 overall.
