Four members of the Concordia Stingers wrestling team excelled at the AUS/QSSF qualifying tournament hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton on Saturday.
The regional accomplishments earn each wrestler a berth at the Canadian university national championships which will be held March 2-3 at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
Hana Askren finished first in the women’s 48 kg. weight class. The PhD student is in her first year with the Concordia but is using her third year of university eligibility.
In the 61 kg. category, James Mancini finished first. The third-year student-athlete was a silver medallist at the 2006 university championships.
Serguei Guevorkian at 72 kilos finished second at the regional championship. The second-year Stinger will try to improve on his seventh-place finish at the 2006 nationals.
Finally, Patrick Okpalugo, a rookie heavyweight, finished first in his weight class. He will make his first appearance at the university nationals.
The wrestling team is coached by Victor Zilberman who has guided his athletes to more than 43 gold medals and six team titles at the nationals. Since 1980, Concordia has won 87 medals and six team titles at the CIAU/CIS wrestling championships. In addition five Concordia athletes have been named the outstanding wrestler at the CIAUs, and Zilberman has been named CIAU/CIS Coach of the Year on three occasions - in 2006, 1986 and in 1984.
