Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON THINGS – Head official Rob Langmaid peers in on a match between Watson Lake rivals Cian Hobbis and Nathaniel McMillan. Here, Hobbis pins McMillan to win the bout, held at the Canada Games Centre.

Watson Lake wrestling tradition remains strong

Cian Hobbis is following in the footsteps of former Watson Lake Secondary School wrestlers Brittanee Laverdure and – now cyclist – Zach Bell.

By Whitehorse Star on April 16, 2015

Cian Hobbis is following in the footsteps of former Watson Lake Secondary School wrestlers Brittanee Laverdure and – now cyclist – Zach Bell.

The 15-year-old Grade 9 student from the small Yukon community earned a gold medal at yesterday’s Yukon Schools’ Athletic Association (YSAA) wrestling tournament – then watched as his school took top honours amongst high school teams.

“You don’t really get many opportunities when you’re younger to have a sport that really tests your physical endurance,” said Hobbis, who has been wrestling for three years. “I find wrestling is a good challenge and a very ethical sport to be in. The sportsmanship is incredible.”

Hobbis was impressed that his school knocked off all three Whitehorse high schools for top honours.

“They say success can come from anywhere, and I truly believe that.”

Porter Creek Secondary was named runner-up in the high school division, followed by F.H. Collins Secondary.

Ten secondary school wrestlers competed in preparation for next year’s Arctic Winter Games, demonstrating the progression of the sport to the elementary wrestlers.

“For Watson Lake, the popularity (of wrestling) has always been there,” said coach Thomas Slager.

“This year is the first that (the tournament) extended it up. It’s good they did that to show that kids can continue wrestling and practise for the Arctic Winter Games.”

Slager said Watson Lake’s current wrestling program features three high school students and 19 elementary-aged students.

Meanwhile, the revival of high school wrestling excites Rob Langmaid, head coach for Wrestling Yukon.

“Wrestling is a sport that we in the Yukon can excel at because it’s an individual sport,” he said. “Every single kid competes on their own merit. Unlike a sport like hockey, where you need a full bench, here you can have a school come with one or two kids and still do extremely well.

“The fact that we have this at the groundroots level – what I think is the biggest elementary school tournament in the country – this is really exciting for us.”

Langmaid said wrestling gives youngsters a safe, controlled way to experience physical contact.

“Today was a really good step for us,” he added. “It’s the first time in several years that we’ve had a high school category as part of the tournament. We finally have wrestling back on the high school map in the Yukon, which is really good.”

Approximately 1,400 bouts took place on 18 mats at the Canada Games Centre yesterday. More than 560 students from schools across the territory competed in the YSAA wrestling event.

With a tournament-high 103 wrestlers, Christ the King Elementary was once again the elementary aggregate winner, followed by Holy Family Elementary and École Émilie-Tremblay.

And despite representation from only three wrestlers, the Ghùch Tlâ Community School in Carcross was named the best performing team, followed by the Yukon Montessori School and École Émilie-Tremblay.

“This tournament illustrates how Yukon schools provide excellent experiential learning opportunities to our students,” Yukon Minister of Education Doug Graham said. “Students challenge themselves in friendly competition while developing their strength, confidence and discipline.”

Elementary students wrestled peers of similar age and size.

With the first-time participation of St. Elias Community School, 16 schools were represented at this year’s event.

Be the first to comment

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.