St. Catharines – 2015 Senior Freestyle Champions have been crowned at the ASICS Junior / Senior Canadian Wrestling Championships, at Brock University in St. Catharines, after athletes fought hard to earn the opportunity to represent Canada internationally as national team members and in Toronto at this summer’s Pan American Games.

“Wrestling Canada Lutte is proud to be a sport on the 2015 Pan Am Games program, an event highlighted within the Government of Canada’s Year of Sport,” says Wrestling Canada Lutte Executive Director Tamara Medwidsky. “The 2015 Championships saw Canada’s senior champions crowned in eight men’s and eight women’s weight-classes, with great competition supported by an appreciative Brock University crowd.”

In addition to the 2015 Pan American Games, on the line was 2015 Senior World Championship representation and the Canadian Wrestling Team Trials in December in Strathcona. The Team Trial winners will be nominated to represent Canada through the qualification process for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Wrestling Canada Lutte will be confirming final senior team members and the 2015 Pan Am team in the coming weeks.

A complete list of results from senior preliminaries and finals can be found at the following link:  http://myzonedev.com/wrestling-canada/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2015_Jr_Sr_Results.pdf.

In addition to medal presentations for all senior weight-classes, Wrestling Canada Lutte also presented the senior awards for 2015. Based on the previous season’s international results, the Senior Female Athlete of the Year was presented to Jillian Gallays of the Saskatoon Wrestling Club. Gallays won a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships as well as a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. For the men, Cleo Ncube was presented with the Senior Male Athlete of the Year Award, after a solid 2014 seeing the Montreal Wrestling Club wrestler place fifth at the 2014 Senior World Championships.

Based on ballots submitted during the competition, the Outstanding Senior Women’s and Men’s Awards were presented to: Genevieve Morrison of the Dinos Wrestling Club and Brock University’s Jevon Balfour.

Other awards presented included:

• Club Team Award Senior Women: Dinos Wrestling Club
• Club Team Award Senior Men’s Freestyle: Team Impact Wrestling Club
  
• Provincial Team Award Senior Women: Team Alberta
• Provincial Team Award Senior Men’s Freestyle: Team Ontario

As per tradition, Wrestling Canada Lutte featured the Hall of Fame inductions as part of the Saturday presentations. Inducted were Nicholas Ugoalah into the Hall of Fame athlete category and Clive Llewellyn as a builder. For more information and bios, please visit: http://wrestling.ca/wrestling-canada-lutte-set-2015-hall-fame-inductions/2710

Wrestling Canada Lutte thanks Brock University, the Brock Badgers Wrestling Club and the organizing committee for hosting a well-run and well-attended Championships.

Greco-Roman competition begins on Sunday.