OTTAWA— Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) is excited to announce the 11 wrestlers that will represent Canada at the 2022 Junior (U20) World Championships, Aug. 15-21 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The team will see seven women and four men compete against the world’s best.

“WCL has an excellent team heading to the World Junior (U20) Championships later this month in Sofia, Bulgaria,” said Chris Woodcroft, WCL High Performance Director.  “The team is composed of both internationally experienced wrestlers and some wrestlers where this will be their first exposure to the World Championships. The eleven wrestlers chosen to represent Canada have proven themselves at the Pan-American (Pan-Am) level and we look forward to watching them take on the best in the world.”

The wrestlers were selected based on their performance at the 2022 Canadian Wrestling Trials, May 26-29 in Edmonton, combined with results at the 2022 Pan-American Championships, July 8-10 in Oaxtepec, Mexico.

Leading the team will be recent Pan-Am gold medalist Vianne Rouleau. Rouleau, from Edmonton and the Edmonton WC, put forth a strong performance at the continental championships finishing 3-0 in her 76kg round robin competition. She will now look to take the next step in her career with a medal at the world level.

Joining Rouleau are two silver medalists from the Pan-Ams in St. Catharines, Ontario’s Mia Friesen and Ajax, Ontario’s Nyla Burgess. Friesen, from Brock WC, went 3-1 in her 59kg round robin at the Pan-Ams to earn silver, while Burgess, from Team Impact WC, went 2-1 at 72kg to earn hers.

Headlining the men’s side is Pan-Am silver medalist Roger Li. Li, from Windsor, Ontario and Brock WC, had a great showing at the competition, posting a 3-1 record in the 125kg round robin, with his only loss to the eventual gold medallist. Li will now look to translate that into success at the world level.

2022 Junior (U20) World Championship Team

Accompanying the team are the coaching staff and team officials. The group includes: Owen Dawkins, Heather Sweezey, Mark-Anthony Roache, Ken Burgess and Jessica Pawlik. Curtis Leung will also represent Canada as an official.

For complete tournament information, visit the tournament website at: https://uww.org/event/world-championships-60