Two gold medals & three major awards highlight the Mustangs Wrestling team at 2020 OUA Championship

“The women’s team performed really well. Going into the tournament we knew we had a good opportunity to do well and it was nice that on the day the team was able to perform” said Mustangs Head Coach Scott Proctor “the Men’s team fought hard all day. We had a few unfortunate injuries that hindered our overall finish. Our 57 kg wrestler Chris Nikolaou injured his knee and was unable to finish the competition. Chris had been wrestling really well and we feel had a legitimate chance to win”.

The Mustangs picked up seven individual medals including two gold, two silver & three bronze medals.Jennifer Nwamadi picked up one of the Mustangs gold medals competing in the women’s 72 kg division.

“Jennifer, in only her second year of wrestling, wrestled really tough and smart all day and it was great to see her win.” said Proctor “Jennifer is a great example of the all-around Student-Athlete, she trains and competes hard on the mats, is an academic all-Canadian in the classroom and gives back to the community by volunteering”

Madison Parks also won a gold medal in the women’s 51 kg division.

“Madi performed like we knew she could and had no trouble claiming the gold”. said Proctor “It was nice to see her rewarded with the outstanding wrestler award. We are excited to see her compete at the U Sports Championships in a few weeks’ time”.

Hassan Al-Hayawi (Men’s 65 kg) & Paige Baynham (Women’s 67 kg) won silver medals.

Hannah VanderSlagt (Women’s 48 kg), Brayden Ambo (Men’s 82 kg), & Anthony Parker (Men’s 120 kg) picked up bronze medals.

The Mustangs were well represented in the major awards at the end of the annual championships including Park being named Outstanding Female Wrestler, Women’s Coach of the Year was awarded to Scott Proctor & Jennifer Nwamadi was won the Female Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

“I am honoured to accept the OUA Women’s Coach of the Year Award. This award represents the hard work put in by the women’s team.” said Proctor “It also represents the dedication of the full coaching staff; The assistant coaches, Steven Takahashi, David Spinney and Ray Takahashi are also deserving of this award. Our room will keep working hard and use this momentum to continue to improve”

Western will now prepare for the U SPORTS national championships, coming up February 21^st & 22^nd at Brock University in St. Catharines.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
Women’s Team Standings:

1. Brock Badgers (63 points)
2. Western Mustangs (51 points)
3. Lakehead Thunderwolves (43 points)
4. Guelph Gryphons (38 points)
5. McMaster Marauders (21 points)
6. York Lions (19 points)
7. Toronto Varsity Blues (12 points)
8. Queen’s Gaels (11 points)
9. Algoma Thunderbirds (9 points)
10. Ryerson Rams (0 points)

Men’s Team Standings:

1. Brock Badgers (95 points)
2. McMaster Marauders (66 points)
3. Guelph Gryphons (63 points)
4. Lakehead Thunderwolves (58 points)
5. Western Mustangs (41 points)
6. Algoma Thunderbirds (29 points)
7. Ryerson Rams (20 points)
8. York Lions (18 points)
9. Toronto Varsity Blues (17 points)
10. Queen’s Gaels (15 points)

Major Award Winners – 2020 OUA Wrestling Championships

Outstanding Male Wrestler: Ben Zahra (McMaster)
Outstanding Female Wrestler: Madison Parks (Western)
Men’s Rookie of the Year: Mike Zale (Lakehead)
Women’s Rookie of the Year: Brea Rogers (York)
Men’s Coach of the Year:  Ahmed Shamiya (McMaster)
Women’s Coach of the Year:  Scott Proctor (Western)
Male Student-Athlete Community Service Award:  Harrish Satheswaran (York Lions)
Female Student-Athlete Community Service Award:  Jennifer Nwamadi (Western Mustangs)