International competition for D’Alleva, Otto and Takahashi

Brazil Cup & Henri Deglane (November 29, 2014)

The Western Wrestling team was well-represented at the international level with Steven Takahashi and Larissa D’Alleva representing Team Canada at the Brazil Cup in Rio De Janiero — and teammate Riley Otto competing in the Henri Deglane international in Nice, France.

Takahashi won the bronze medal with 3 wins and 1 loss in the 57 KG weight class while former Mustang D’Alleva(63 KG) did not advance after losing to JPN and Canadian teammate, B. Papadopolous .  Otto lost his opening match vs. FRA and was eliminated at Henri Deglane.  Mustang assistant, Dave Spinney attended as coach with the National Coaching staff.

“These international matches are important for further development at higher levels,” said coach Ray Takahashi.  “And, when you’re representing your country against another in each match, it’s a special honour.”

Takahashi defeated competition from Russia, Brazil, and Chile, and only losing against his opponent from the United States, who went on to place first. In the preliminary round, Takahashi handily defeated Brazil’s Carlos Murta in a 10-0 match and Russia’s Aryian Tuitrin in a close 14-10. Moving onto the semi-final, Takahashi faced a disappointing 8-0 lost against USA’s Andrew Hochstrasser, who went on to defeat Russia’s Khasankhuseyn Badrudinov to win gold. Takahashi defeated Chile’s Andres Quispe in a 13-2 match to win the bronze medal.

The Russian and American freestyle teams each took four weight classes, with Russia capturing the overall team title.

The next time the Mustangs will be in action is on December 6, when they’ll travel to Toronto to take part in the York Open. Competition kicks off at 9:30 a.m.