Wrestling Canada Lutte is pleased to announce that 2013 Canadian Juvenile Women’s Champion at 65 kg, Lorena Ellis of St. Thomas University has been selected as the recipient of the Bob McLeod Scholarship for the 2013/2014 academic year.

The native of Kingston, PEI who is now in her first year at St. Thomas University and training with the Black Bears Wrestling Club, strives for excellence both in the classroom and on the mats. She achieved a 94% average in her final year of high school and under her coaches, Lorena has developed into a competitive athlete at her age-group.

We caught up with Lorena recently and had her 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 8 in Charlottetown, PEI, and I’ve had a lot of wrestling coaches since then because of coaches leaving/moving or myself changing training locations. In approximate order there was Lauchlin McLure, Danny McGee, John Wilbert, Bradshaw Campbell, Tim Tremere, Steven Banks, Shanna Lockie, Colin MacDonald and now I’m coached by both Don Ryan and Clint Kingsbury.

As this CIS season moves towards Conference and National Championships what are your goals and your team’s goals?

Although I wrestle with The Black Bears and train out of UNB, I go to school at St. Thomas and therefore I unfortunately don’t have the opportunity to compete at CIS.

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

My career will be something I determine throughout my studies. Right now I am aiming towards a career in Social Work to work with seniors with mental illness. If I decide I don’t want to pursue that anymore I want to transfer to UNB for a Business degree in Accounting.

What aspirations do you have for international success representing Canada?

As I’ve only qualified for the Pan American Games before, I hope to qualify for the World Championships and to someday be a medallist there.

The Bob McLeod Scholarship is awarded annually to an age group national champion who has combined their wrestling pursuits with a solid academic performance entering or at the post-secondary level. It is named after the long-serving member of the national association’s Executive Committee who passed away in 1985 and is supported by his family and their generous donations.