Francis Carter, the 2018 U SPORTS Male Wrestler of Year, will lead a team of 13 Concordia Stinger student-athletes to the university national championships that get under way Friday at University of Calgary.
Carter won his first gold medal and the national award for his performance in the 68-kilo weight class last year. He won three preliminary bouts advancing to the gold medal match, where he defeated defending champion Matt Jagas of the powerhouse Brock Badgers in a hard-fought 3-2 decision.
Also, leading the way will be veteran Jordan Steen who was the outstanding rookie at the 2013 national championship. He won gold medals at 90 kilos in 2013 and 2016. Last year he also won a gold medal, but he competed at 100 kilos.
Alex Moore (90 kg) has a ton of experience and a long, impressive résumé for a second-year competitor. There will be high expectations for the 2018 bronze medallist.
Watch for Frédérick Choquette (120 kg) who earned bronze medals in 2017 and 2018. Samuel Barmish (82 kg) was also a bronze medallist in 2018.
Rounding out the team are second-year wrestler Aaron Orszak (76 kg) who had a fifth-place finish in 2018, and rookie Dajinder Singh (65 kg).
On the men’s side, Concordia will have a total of seven wrestlers at nationals, including five 2018 medallists, spread out over the 11 weight classes.
At the 2018 tournament Concordia’s men’s team finished in second place. The Stingers won team championships in 2011 and 2012 bringing the total to eight titles since 1984.
On the women’s side, Concordia will have six competitors this year, including three bronze medallists from 2018. Jade Dufour (51 kg) won a silver medal in 2017 to go with her bronze last year. Laurence Beauregard (59 kg) and Amanda Savard (67 kg) were also on the podium.
Veteran Geneviève Lamarche (72 kg) will return for her third nationals. She finished fifth in 2018.
Making her second championship appearance is Kaya Dubé Snow (55 kg). She finished in seventh place last year.
Finally, rookie Kaleigh Prieur (48 kg) will make her U SPORTS championship debut.
In 2018, Concordia finished in fourth place out of 14 teams.
The wrestling team is coached by Victor Zilberman who has run the Concordia program since 1977. He has guided his athletes to 67 gold medals and eight team titles at the nationals. Since 1980, Concordia has won 143 medals. In addition, 10 Concordia athletes have been named the outstanding wrestler at the tournament, and Zilberman has been named Coach of the Year on five occasions - in 2012, 2011, 2006, 1986 and in 1984.
