THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Eight men and five women from the Western Mustangs wrestling team qualified for the CIS National Championships and travelled to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario this weekend to compete at the two-day event. Three medal placements by the men propelled them to a bronze medal finish, while Brianne Barry finished second in her class for the sole Mustang female medal and the women finished in 7th place (with 23 points) out of 13 schools. Concordia University won the men's division with 56 points in a close field and Brock University won the ladies event with 63 points.

On the men's side, Mustang Steven Takahashi was a favorite to win the 54kg weight class, and his experience prevailed throughout as he captured the title. Takahashi went 3-0 in his pool and scored 9 points to advance to the gold medal match. In the final, he faced Dustin Helwig of Lakehead University and again went undefeated 3-0 to capture the crown.

Teammate Ilya Abelev was also a favorite going into the national championships after winning the OUA provincial title in his 68kg weight class. He faced Andy Sanford of UNB, John Cottrill of Brock, and Curtis Luu of Alberta in his pool where he came out undefeated and proceeded to the final round. He dueled Gaelan Malloy of Regina for the gold and Abelev's endurance and training paid off in the match as he took the title at 5-0.

Kevin Ens also stood on the podium and captured the bronze medal in the 90kg event. Ens won 2 out of 3 duels in his pool but captured 10 points to move into the bronze medal match. He faced John Lendvoy of Regina and went undefeated 3-0 to secure the third place position. Sam Hanna also progressed to a bronze medal match, but narrowly missed the podium of the 72kg event - falling to Ryan Blake of McMaster University.

Other Mustang finishes were:
Rashav Ranjit (57kg) - 7th
Richard Belfour (61kg) - 5th
Josh Proctor (65kg) - 6th
Eric Jacobson (76kg) - 6th
Matt Hutchinson (82kg) - 5th

In the women's event, veteran Brianne Barry debuted at this year's national championship after missing last season due to injury. Her training and experience showed in these championships as she advanced to the 55kg final following an undeafeated (3-0) opening. She dueled Diana Ford of Brock University - a familiar opponent, most recently dueled at the OUA Championships - and this time fell short 1-3 and claimed the silver medal.

Teammate Larissa D'Alleva managed one win in her pool to start 1-2, but defeated her final opponent Jenny Pranger of Lakehead 5-0 to finsh in fifth place as the second-highest ranked Mustang.

In her first CIS championship, rookie Valerie Ouellette had a respectable event and finished sixth in the 48kg weight class. Andrea Wakelin followed up with a 7th place showing in teh 59kg division, and Arlene Williams dueled afterwards to finish 6th in the 67kg event.

The final Mustang competitor Monika Varello finished in 6th place in the 72kg weight class. Her performance rounded out a successful championship for the women's team who finished in 7th place overall.

This national event concluded the competitive wrestling season, which proved extremely successful for both the men's and women's teams. The athletes will regroup and continue to train in the off-season and are looking forward to next season's CIS Championship, which the Mustangs will host at Thames Hall Gym in a year's time.

For complete results, please see the CIS website here.

For pictures of the event, please click here.