Marauder wrestling season looks promising

Aurora Coltman
Silhouette Intern

McMaster’s wrestling team has found themselves sitting in the OUA top ten after scoring well in several challenging matches this season.

Following an excellent match at the Brock Invitational where McMaster players won six medals, they once again played a tough tournament on Jan. 18 at the Guelph Invitational.

The Ontario Amateur Wrestling Association attracts wrestlers internationally, and with a number of powerful competitors, the wrestling team left the Guelph Invitational with two solid wins.

The two notable winners were Jason Buckle and Nicole Roach.

Buckle won gold in the 61kg weight class, his second uninterrupted win in two weeks, following his first win at the Brock Invitational.

Jason was a fierce competitor at this week’s Invitational as he won against the Alberta Golden Bears’ Dylan Williams by a score of 12-1, and followed that with an intense win of 14-11 in his gold-medal match against Mike Asselstine where Buckle twice tilted experienced Asselstine in the final 20 seconds.

Nick Cipriano, the wrestling team’s Head Coach, spoke of Buckle and said, “A common characteristic of a champion is that they find a way to win, and certainly Jason is becoming a champion.

Jason pushed himself to the very last second and scored a most convincing win against last year’s CIS Champion and a current member of Canada’s U24 team.”

This speaks to one of Buckles most valuable strengths. “Jason is more technically skilled, but Asselstine is a couple of years older and more experienced. Many, with the exception of our coaching staff and Jason, were surprised by his victory over such an accomplished wrestler.”

Cipriano also mentioned Buckle’s major strengths, his “fierce fighting spirit and work ethic to match. [Buckle] loves to compete.”

Roach won against Lorraine Yeung 8-0 of York before losing to Brock’s Michelle Fazzare and Celeste Rodrigues, of the Sudbury Wrestling Club. This claimed her bronze in the 60 kg weight class.

“Nicole is a very methodical wrestler and approaches every match with a game plan,” Cipriano said, “She is meticulous in studying her opponents and developing a winning game plan against them.”

The two other notable players of the day were Kevin Barret and Erica D’Angelo.

Barret, also an experienced player, was advanced due to a forfeit in his first match, and managed to win against Saskatchewan’s Calvin Daum in the second round before he lost to Ryan Cochrane from Brock in the 86kg weight class. Barret placed fifth.

D’Angelo, recently returned from a serious injury, placed fourth in the 55kg weight class at the tournament. “Erica is coming off a serious injury and is starting to see herself as a challenger,” Cipriano said. “As her training continues, her confidence will grow and her expectations [of herself] will be greater.” It seems true, as D’Angelo opened her tournament with a 10-0 defeat over Regina’s Cassandra Schhmidt in the consolation bracket, before being beaten by Anna McKee of the Londonwest Wrestling Club in the bronze-medal match.

The wrestling team will continue to participate in tournaments including the Kingston Invitational and the Queens Invitational. Buckle will be traveling to Colorado Springs for an international tournament, and will be at the OUA Championships on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16. Barett shall be taking the week off, and D’Angelo will be appearing at Queens to continue to gain confidence on the mat.

“Roach will be competing at the Provincial Junior Championship (under 20 years of age) this weekend and we expect her to be a challenger for the gold medal,” Cipriano added.

Many of the other members will be participating in a number of tournaments, and great things can be expected from all of them.