OTTAWA – Wrestling Canada Lutte is pleased to award Ismail Ayyoub and Serena Di Benedetto with the men’s and women’s awards for Cadet Wrestler of the Year.

Ayyoub, 17, was named the Outstanding Wrestler and awarded the Golden Boot for freestyle Wrestle of the Tournament at the 2019 Cadet Pan-American Championships in Morelia, Mexico.

The Ottawa wrestler won the 80 kg weight class with a 10-3 win over Jack Darragh of USA.

At the 2019 Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, Ayyoub finished 14^th.

Di Benedetto, who represents the Jr. Marauders Wrestling Club, captured her second Cadet Pan-American Championship bronze medal. She added the medal to her collection after she finished third at the event in 2018 in Guatemala City.

The 17-year-old went on the finish fifth at the Cadet World Championships. She was one bout short of making the podium, but lost to Sitora Tolipbekova of Uzbekistan in the bronze medal match.

In the past, the Wrestler of the Year awards are presenting at the Canadian Championships the following year. Due to safety concerns surrounding the spread of the COVID-19 virus, both Canadian Championship events were cancelled.