LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs wrestling team had a very successful day at the Harry Geris Memorial Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall with the teams split into two squads: Purple and White. The Purple team finished first in both the men's and women's division, while the White team finished second in the women's tournament. Many of the Western wrestlers were also awarded individual medals for their achievements.

The Purple men's team came out strong in their qualifying round as they secured the top ranking in their pool. Led by veteran Steven Takahashi, Purple defeated Lakehead 31-14 to advance to the gold medal match against Guelph where the squad came out victorious with a narrow 24-21 victory. Takahashi was perfect with a 4-0 record in the tournament, earning an individual gold in the 57 kg category.

"I love playing at Western," said Takahashi. "I haven't had a chance to perform at home since last year's CIS tournament, which was my favorite tournament of the year. Playing in front of the crowd at Western is amazing, so coming back for the Duals feels great."

Takahashi was also recently honoured with the CIS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian award for his success both in the classroom as well as on the mat.

"It was really an honor," Takahashi said about the award. "My two top priorities are school and wrestling, so it was great to be recognized for that."

Along with Takahashi, the men's team picked up a total of four individual gold, four individual silver and three individual bronze medals. Josh Proctor (68 kg), Caleb Rutner (72 kg) and Alec Bauer (76 kg) were the other gold medal recipients; David Llewellyn (65 kg), Malcolm Lau (68 kg), Alex McIntyre (76 kg) and Sam Hanna (82 kg) won silver, and Brandon Vallee Ross (54 kg), Kyle Bonk (90 kg) and Riley Otto (120 kg) took home bronze.

"We had some really good matches today," said head coach Ray Takahashi after the tournament. "There were some close matches too, and it's always good to win the close ones. The Duals format is really good, it gives us a chance to watch each other. There's more team unity that way."

On the women's side, both the Purple and White Western squads moved on to the gold medal round against each other. Purple had a dominant win over their teammates on the White team with a 37-1 victory.

The women's teams took home medals in every weight category, for a total of six gold, five silver and two bronze. The gold medal winners were Siobhan Smith (48 kg), Madi Parks (51 kg), Brianna Barry (55 kg), Larissa D'Alleva (63 kg), Arllene Williams (67 kg) and Christine Schmidt (72 kg). Alyssa Medeiros (51 kg), Brenna Llewellyn (59 kg), Alexa Momy (63 kg), Rebecca Masterson (72 kg) and Michelle Szilagyi (82 kg) were the individual silver medalists, with Anna McKee (55 kg) and Emma Tedball (82 kg) each taking bronze.

The next event on the schedule for the men's and women's wrestling teams is the Ontario Senior Open, taking place in Sudbury on Saturday, Nov. 23.