With nine wrestlers competing, Concordia University will send a strong group to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships at University of New Brunswick in Fredericton on Friday and Saturday.
On the men’s side, Concordia will have six wrestlers spread out over the 10 weight classes. It will be difficult to pick up enough points to challenge for the overall title, but there should be several strong individual performances.
Leading the way will be Jordan Steen of Tecumseh, Ont., the outstanding rookie at the 2013 nationals. He won a gold medal at 90 kilos.
Stephen De Layen is making his third appearance at nationals. He finished fifth in 2012 and won a bronze medal in 2011. He will wrestle at 65 kilos.
Rounding out the team are: Trevor Banks (54 kg), rookie Vince De Marinis (61 kg), Chris Kinsella (76 kg) and freshman Kenneth Kaczkowski (82 kg).
Concordia finished fourth in the men’s competition in 2013. The Stingers won the team championship in 2011 and 2012 bringing the total to eight titles for Concordia since 1984.
On the women’s side, Concordia will have three competitors this year. That’s up from just one participant a year ago.
Linda Morais (63 kg), who won a bronze medal in her rookie debut and followed up with a gold medal last year, will look to continue her success. She won all four of her university competitions this season.
After a one-year hiatus, Veronica Keefe (72 kg) is back with the Stingers. It will be her third appearance at nationals. She was a silver medallist in 2011 and won a bronze in 2012.
The final representative on the women’s side is Liz Sera (55 kg), a transfer student from Western University. She won a bronze medal with her former school in 2010.
The wrestling team is coached by Victor Zilberman who has run the Concordia program since 1977. He has guided his athletes to 63 gold medals and eight team titles at the nationals. Since 1980, Concordia has won 131 medals. In addition nine Concordia athletes have been named the outstanding wrestler at the CIS tournament, and Zilberman has been named Coach of the Year on five occasions - in 2012, 2011, 2006, 1986 and in 1984.
