OTTAWA — Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) is pleased to announce the 18 athletes, along with coaches and officials, that will represent Canada at the 2021 U23 World Wrestling Championships, Nov. 1-7, in Belgrade, Serbia.

The team is comprised of a combination of winners from the Canadian Trials, Sept. 4 in Saskatoon, and athletes that have met other qualification criteria.

“We are very excited to see this group of athletes compete. We have a nice mix of athletes with World Championship experience and first-timers,” said Carol Huynh, WCL NextGen coach. “We also have many athletes that have represented Canada at continental championships and all over the world. All of the athletes are looking to make their mark on the international scene and we are looking forward to supporting them and their personal coaches in this endeavour.”

Even though training and competitions have been limited because of the pandemic, the 2021 team has many accomplished athletes that will be looking to bring home hardware.

The women’s side includes Cornwall, P.E.I.’s Hannah Taylor (Brock WC) who won gold at the 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships. Taylor, who will compete at 57kg, also captured a pair of silver medals from both the 2020 and 2019 senior Pan-American Championships.

Joining Taylor is another decorated international competitor in Windsor’s Virginie Kaze-Gascon. Kaze-Gascon (Montreal WC) is coming off a silver at the 2021 Senior Pan-American Championships. She owns a bronze from the 2019 Junior Pan-American Championships and won gold at the 2019 Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial. Kaze-Gascon will compete at 55kg.

Surrey, B.C.’s Ana Godinez will also be competing at the event in the 62kg weight class. Godinez (Burnaby Mountain WC) recently competed at the 2021 Senior World Championships in Norway and won silver at the Poland Open earlier in the year.

Rounding out the women’s team are: Welland, Ontario’s Samantha Romano (Brock WC) at 50kg; Calgary’s Taylor McPherson (Edmonton WC) at 53kg; Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, Quebec’s Erin Rainville (Montreal WC) at 59kg; Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Miki Rowbottom (Dinos WC) at 65kg; Hamilton’s Ellise Daynes (Dinos WC) at 68kg; and Montreal’s Alexia Sherland (Concordia University) at 72kg.

The men’s side also sports many accomplished athletes including Ajax, Ontario’s Trystan Kato (Hamilton WC) who won gold at the 2017 Cadet Pan-American Championships. Kato will compete at 70kg.

Flin Flon, Manitoba’s Hunter Lee (Saskatoon WC) will also be looking for a medal at 86kg. Lee has previously won a bronze at the 2019 Junior World Championships and silver at the 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships.

The 125kg weight class will see Longueuil, Quebec’s Aly Barghout (Concordia University) compete. Barghout has won silver at the 2021 Senior Pan-American Championships, 2018 Junior World Championships and 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships, so he will no doubt be looking to add a gold to his medal collection.

Also representing Canada on the men’s side are: Calgary’s Logan Sloan (Saskatoon WC) at 57kg; Montreal’s Jason Luneau, (Crazy Dogs Wrestling) at 61kg; Mississauga, Ontario’s Jacob Torres (Burnaby Mountain WC); Ottawa’s Devan Larkin (Bears WC) at 74 kg; St. Paul d’Abbotsford, Quebec’s Julien Choquette (Concordia University) at 92kg; and Niagara Falls’ Richard Deschatelets (Brock WC) at 97kg.

Accompanying the athletes are the coaching staff including: Huynh, WCL Next Gen coach Kimin Kim, Victor Zilberman, Dave McKay, Dave Collie, Dan Olver, Richard Deschatelets Sr. and Raj Virdi. Surinder Budwal will serve as the team’s medical. Officials Curtis Leung, Demetra Koutsopodiotis, Mike Drought and Joe Yee will also be attending the event.

For more information on the World Championships or to follow Canada’s athletes during the event, including live streams of matches, visit: https://uww.org/event/world-championships-57

WCL 2021 U23 World Championship Team