Cougar rookie grapplers doing just fine
Dec. 2, 2008 - Regina Leader-Post
By Tim Switzer
Ali Bernard and Alex McStay may not be around, but the University of Regina Cougars men's and women's wrestling teams are faring just fine.
Bernard, a four-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport champion, decided to take some time off after competing in the Beijing Olympics in August. McStay, a three-time CIS medallist and veteran leader on the men's team, was ineligible to return this season. Both have one year of CIS eligibility remaining and could return as early as January.
But with rosters full of rookie talent (six of the 13 members of the women's team are rookies and 10 of 18 on the men's team are in their first year), the Cougars are more than surviving. Each took first place at the Huskie Open in Saskatoon on Saturday.
"We have a strong program with a tremendous nucleus of young, homegrown talent so we'll always be that way," said Cougars head coach Leo McGee. "The men's team is loaded with freshmen but those are good kids. The first year I won the national championship (1997), I started six freshmen out of 10 weight divisions. We've got strong high school coaches here and strong clubs."
The women's team is much the same. Three of the women's team's seven medal winners on the weekend were rookies.
Relying on rookies could be a detriment for some teams, but the Cougars aren't looking at it that way.
"A lot of the younger people are leaders anyway," said Andrea Nillson, a first-year grappler who won gold at 82 kilograms Saturday. "On high school teams they were all captains and that kind of thing so everybody has that mentality and everybody really wants to succeed. We're just people that want to work hard and do just as well as the older people."
Meghan King, a fourth-year member of the Cougars who won the 59 kg class in Saskatoon, said it can still be a little surprising to see so many rookies around the wrestling room, but doesn't believe it will ever be a problem.
"There's so many young kids," said King. "There's really only me and Hajar (Ashtiani) that have been around for quite a while. I like being that leader and mentoring them."
When those first-year competitors are ones like Nillson, mentoring becomes easy.
"My very first match (in Saskatoon) was the one I was worried about because it was (national medallist) Beth Thompson and she's big and strong and older than me and has won a bunch of stuff before," said Nillson, who won the match in which Thompson was injured. "I thought, 'Oh, I'll be out first round.' After that, I wasn't really worried about my other matches.
"If you wrestle enough you stop being intimidated by anyone."
The Cougars group of first-year phenoms also includes former age-group national champions Kirk Ackerman, Connor Malloy, Gilbert Musonza and Jade Parsons. Most of the Regina talent on the team has come through the Cattown Wrestling Club, which is also run by McGee.
McGee doesn't doubt that the Cougars teams are a contenders right now, but he also finds himself thinking two and three years down the road.
"Every morning I open my eyes, it's burning inside," said a chuckling McGee. "Absolutely that's what we're after. We won a number of national championships with the Cattown club. Now we want to keep it going.
"I love this group. I wouldn't trade that group for love nor money."