Canadian team set for U23 World Wrestling Championships

October 16, 2025

OTTAWA— Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) is proud to announce the athletes and team staff that will represent Canada at the 2025 U23 World Wrestling Championships, October 20-27, in Novi Sad, Serbia. The team will see 19 athletes battle the best in the world as they look to bring home world medals.

“We’re incredibly excited about the team representing Canada at the 2025 U23 World Championships,” said Chris Woodcroft, High Performance Director for Wrestling Canada Lutte. “To see so many athletes earning spots on both the U23 and senior national teams speaks volumes about the depth and talent we’re developing across the country. Having returning U23 silver medalists like Serena Di Benedetto and Vianne Rouleau in the lineup brings invaluable experience and leadership to the squad. The future of Canadian wrestling is bright, and this team is a clear reflection of that promise.”

Di Benedetto and Rouleau will be some of the names to watch on the women’s side. Di Benedetto, from Stony Creek, Ontario and Hamilton Wrestling Club, has been very busy in 2025. She earned a silver medal at the U23 Pan-American (Pan-Am) Championships, a fifth place at the Senior Pan Am Championships, and represented Canada at the Junior Pan-Am Games and Senior World Championships. Now, she will look to cap off her international season with another medal at the U23 Worlds when she competes at 53kg.

As for Rouleau, from Edmonton and Edmonton Wrestling Club, she also medalled at the 2025 U23 Pan-Ams, winnign a bronze. In addition, she represented Canada at the Senior Pan-Ams, finishing eighth and earned a top 10 at the Hungary Ranking Series event. She will compete at 72kg.

On the men’s side, a pair of 2025 U23 Pan-Am medalists will be in action. Guelph, Ontario’s Cole Coghill, Brock Wrestling Club, earned a silver medal at the Pan-Ams and will compete at 70kg. Joining him will be Pickering, Ontario’s Blayne Helou. Helou, from Hamilton Wrestling Club, earned bronze at the Pan-Ams and will look to build on that at the Worlds in the 61kg weight class.

2025 U23 World Championships Team

Weight Class	Name	Hometown	Club
WW 50kg	MACKENZIE, Madison	Chestermere, AB	Burnaby Mountain WC
WW 53kg	DI BENEDETTO, Serena	Stoney Creek, ON	Hamilton WC
WW 55kg	BECHARD, Sophia	Montreal, QC	Montreal WC
WW 57kg	FRIESEN, Mia	St. Catharines, ON	Brock WC
WW 59kg	LICHTI, Olivia	Hamilton, ON	Hamiton WC
WW 62kg	FINES, Annika	Calgary, AB	Dinos WC
WW 65kg	SAWIAK, Maria	Sherwood Park, AB	Edmonton WC
WW 68kg	ELLIS-TODDINGTON, Angelina	Lethbridge, AB	Dinos WC
WW 72kg	ROULEAU, Vianne	Edmonton, AB	Edmonton WC
WW 76kg	BURGESS, Nyla	Ajax, ON	Team Impact WC

FS 61kg	HELOU, Blayne	Pickering, ON	Hamilton WC
FS 65kg	DAHCHA, Ryan	Mississauga, ON	London-Western WC
FS 70kg	COGHILL, Cole	Guelph, ON	Brock WC
FS 74kg	SIDHU, Sehajpal	Surrey, BC	Burnaby Mountain WC
FS 79kg	CHURCH, Connor	Winnipeg, MB	Montreal, QC
FS 86kg	STEVENSON, Aidan	Edmonton, AB	Edmonton WC
FS 92kg	ARTHURS. Judah	Saskatoon, SK	Saskatoon WC
FS 97kg	PEREIRA, Sam	Winnipeg, MB	London-Western WC
FS 125kg	DHINSA, Jorawar	Abbotsford, BC	Burnaby Mountain WC

Joining the athletes will be the coaches and support staff. The group includes event coaches Owen Dawkins and Raj Virdi, personal coaches Ken Burgess, Jason Chen, Paul Ragusa and Shane Bradley, team leader Kale Whitton and physiotherapist Tim Nanassy. Ed Zinger, Joe Yee and Jason Flinders will represent Canada as officials.

For live updates, schedules, and results, visit the official tournament page at: https://uww.org/event/u23-world-championships-1/news . The event will be streamed on UWW+.