OTTAWA— Wrestling Canada Lutte is pleased to announce the 15 athletes, coaches and team staff that will represent Canada at the 2023 Cadet (U17) Pan-American Championships, June 22-24 in Mexico City, Mexico.

“Wrestling Canada Lutte is excited to witness our next generation of wrestlers hit the mat for their first big international tournament. The U17 Pan American Championships allows our young wrestlers an opportunity to test their skillset against the best the Pan American region has to offer,” said Chris Woodcroft, WCL High Performance Director. “For most of our athletes, this will be their first chance to represent their country on an international stage.  There has been a strong message from our coaching staff that they are looking at this competition as a steppingstone and for each wrestler to focus on their personal performance goals and let the outcomes take care of themselves. We wish our athletes and coaches all the best as they embark on this journey.”

The team was selected based on results at the 2023 Cadet Canadian Wrestling Championships, March 9-12 in Waterloo, Ontario. On the women’s side, all eight of the team members were victorious and named national champions in their weight class. As for the men, six of the seven competitors took home the gold in their division.

The team will be looking to impress and earn a spot at the 2023 Cadet (U17) World Championships, July 31- August 6 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Returning to the women’s side is Paige Veloso, from Calgary and Alberta Elite Woman’s Wrestling Club, who will compete in the 65kg weight class. Veloso was not only a national champion this year, but her win in 2023 was a successful defense of the weight class from 2022. Veloso had a good international debut at last year’s Pan-Ams finishing 5^th. She will look to improve on that in 2023 and find the podium.

As for the men, a name to watch will be Cruz Lewis, from Montreal and the Montreal-NTC. Lewis will be attending his first Pan-Am Championships after claiming the national title in 2023 at 60kg. In 2022, Lewis was also a gold medalist at the U17 Canadian Wrestling Championships and was named the event’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. Lewis also captured gold at the 2022 Canada Games. After much domestic success, he will hope to translate it to the international scene.

2023 Cadet Pan-American Championships Team

Accompanying the team are the coaching staff and team officials. The group includes: Dean Schmeichel, Gurjot Kooner, Chris Schrauwen, Dominique Choquette, Mark-Anthony Roache, Ken Burgess and Victoria Cleary. John Krahn and Riad Hassan will also represent Canada as officials.

For complete tournament information, visit the tournament website at: https://uww.org/event/pan-american-championships-16