More gold for Mia
Mia Friesen took the first step Thursday towards winning her third provincial wrestling championship in 2020.
Competing at the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association in her home gym, the Grade 12 student at Governor Simcoe won gold in the 61-kilogram division and now advances to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships March 2 to 4 in Sault Ste. Marie.
Already this year, the 17-year-old has finished atop the podium at the junior (under-20) provincial championships and the juvenile provincials (under-19).
“My goal is to win OFSAA and that’s what I want to do,” she said. “That has been a goal for a year now ever since I lost in the semifinals last year.
“It is pretty important to me but at the same time I try to remember that is not only high school wrestling that I have to focus on. And it’s not the end of the world if I don’t win because I have bigger things to do.”
Friesen started wrestling in Grade 10 and placed sixth at OFSAA. In Grade 11, she joined the Brock Junior Badgers wrestling club and her career took off. She garnered a bronze medal at OFSAA, won the provincial juvenile championships and mined a silver medal at the national championships.
Her career’s upward trajectory coincided with her starting to train with the Brock Wrestling Club at the end of Grade 10 and she has taken that to a new level this season.
“This year is the first year I have gone consistently three or four times a week and I can see how much better I have gotten, but there’s still so much that I don’t know and so much that I can still be taught,” she said. “That is so exciting.”
She realizes how much she still needs to learn after sparring against the senior wrestlers at Brock.
“They kick my butt so badly,” she said, with a laugh. “I don’t think about it at the time but afterwards I start thinking about that I just practised with an Olympian or a world champion.”
Every day is a learning experience.
“It’s hard getting beat up but then I realize I am a baby in the room compared to everyone else and, of course, I am going to get beat up,” Friesen said. “That is helping to build my character and my motivation to get better. I want to be just like them.”
High school wrestling coach Heather Sweezey won’t be shocked if Friesen gets there one day.
“Mia is a phenomenal athlete,” she said. “She has put some more time into training for wrestling this year and we are seeing some big improvements. She is wrestling amazing right now.”
If Friesen fails to mine OFSAA gold this year, she will have one more chance because she is planning to return to Simcoe for a second year of Grade 12.
“I am back next year because I don’t know what sport I am going to pursue in post secondary and I am back to decide between wrestling and track.”
Track is more than just a Plan B for Friesen. The former OFSAA junior girls hurdles champion started training last June for the heptathlon and ended up winning provincials and placing third at nationals.
The tug of war between the two sports is ongoing.
“It’s tough. I want to be sure and I don’t want to regret my decision,” she said. “I have been thinking about it for so long and it’s really seasonal with me. In December, it’s all wrestling and in August it’s track.”
Training in the Brock wrestling room with world champions and Olympians certainly gives her a push towards wrestling.
“Watching them, training with them and practising against them is eye-opening about how good people are and how good you could be if you put your mind to it and focus on it.”
Whatever sports Friesen chooses, she will be successful at it.
“She loves to win and has a killer instinct,” Sweezey said. “She is very coachable and she listens.”
