Another year, another gold medal for Ella Finding.
The Port Moody Secondary student went undefeated to win a second consecutive provincial title in her division at the 2023 B.C. wrestling championships, which took place Feb. 24 and 25 in Vancouver.
Finding, a Grade 12 student, was one of four Tri-Cities athletes that reached the top of the podium last weekend at Pacific Coliseum, and one of eight medallists from the region.
The Coast Wrestling Academy member and international champion defeated Muriel Kott of Maple Ridge Secondary in female 57 kg final.
As well, she completed a tournament shut out and didn't allow a single point scored against her.
In 2022, Finding won gold in the same weight class over Ashton Senko, also of Maple Ridge.
She also won the senior girls' Fraser North title prior to competing at the B.C. championships.
On the men's side, Nolan Stewart added a tournament honour to his young résumé.
In addition to winning gold in his provincials category, the Grade 12 Terry Fox Secondary student's performance, strategy and skill set helped him claim the most outstanding male wrestler award.
Stewart defeated Emmitt Giesbrecht of Nechako Valley Secondary (Vanderhoof) in the male 66 kg final.
That's also a two-spot improvement from his bronze-medal finish at the 2022 high school championships.
Meanwhile, William Shin won the second gold medal for the Port Moody Blues wrestling team in the male 38 kg weight class.
He beat Dominic Toop of Surrey's Queen Elizabeth Secondary in that final.
Coquitlam's Dr. Charles Best Secondary also found itself on top of a wrestling podium.
Liam Gorton claimed the male 60 kg title in a victory over Cole Nielson of Spectrum Community School (Saanich).
The remaining Tri-Cities medallists are as follows:
Silver
- Hannah Sherman
- Centennial Secondary
- Female 43 kg
- She captured gold at 2022 provincials
- Keagan Winterlik
- Terry Fox Secondary
- Male 41 kg
Bronze
- Tamia Gee
- Centennial Secondary
- Female 47 kg
- Max Chupryna
- Port Moody Secondary
- Male 66 kg
Terry Fox and Port Moody secondary schools also landed top-six placements in the overall team scoring competition. The Ravens' male team claimed fourth, while the Blues' female squad finished sixth.
Finding, Stewart and Gorton, as well as Alexandria Lieu of Heritage Woods, will soon head east to Waterloo, Ont., to compete at the 2023 Canadian Senior, Junior and Cadet Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 9 to 12.
