(Ottawa, ON) – Wrestling Canada Lutte is pleased to announce that 2016 Canadian Junior Champion at 60 kg and 2017 U SPORTS Champion at 57 kg, Josh Bodnarchuk of University of Saskatchewan has been selected as the recipient of the Bob McLeod Scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Josh, a native of Saskatoon who attends the University of Saskatchewan and trains with the Huskies club, strives for excellence in the classroom and on the mats. Josh just finished his varsity season with a third U SPORTS Championship title and now refocuses his attention to the upcoming Senior Canadian Championships.

We caught up with Josh and had him answer the following questions:

When did you start wrestling, where and who have been your coaches to this point?

I started wrestling when I was 5 years old with the Saskatoon Pups Wrestling program. I was introduced to the sport by my first wrestling coach, Dave Elder, who later coached me through my High school wrestling career at Holy Cross. After Dave left the pups program, I was coached by Terry Johnson for the remainder of my elementary years. Starting in grade nine, I joined the Jr. Huskies Wrestling program where Shane Bradley coached me. He has been a major part in bringing my wrestling career to the next level, and continues to work with me in my varsity years. I am currently wrestling for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, where Dan Olver and Shane Bradley are my head coaches. Dan has also become a major contributor to my success in both the wrestling room and classroom.

After just winning another U SPORTS National Title, what are your goals for the remainder of the year?

I will be competing at this year’s Senior National Championships, where I want to compete to my full potential. I am less focused on results and more focused on basing my success off of my performance at this point in my wrestling career. I want to continue learning and improving in the sport.

Is there a specific career area you are looking at now or will that be something you determine further into your studies?

Currently my career goal is to become an elementary school Physical Education teacher. I would also like to start an elementary school wrestling program where I can begin coaching and giving back to the sport.

What aspirations do you have for international success representing Canada?

Now that I am a senior I will be working towards making a senior national team, where I can r