The University of the Fraser Valley wrestling program wrapped up a strong showing at the U SPORTS national championships, securing four individual medals on Saturday.

Competing at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., Jason Bains and Karan Dhillon won silver medals, while Calista Espinosa and Ali Rahguzar earned bronze. The four-medal performance is remarkable considering UFV took just five athletes to the championships, and is one shy of the program record of five medals established last year. 

"Coming to the end of the season, we showcased what our talent is, and we brought some medals home that recognize all our hard work," coach Gurjot Kooner said. "We have something to show for it.

"We're happy we get to bring home some hardware, but we always focus on how we can improve."

CASCADES DAY 1 RECAP

Bains faced a huge challenge in the men's 100 kg final, taking on Clayton Pye of the host Brock Badgers. Pye, who won the Canadian Wrestling Trials in December, bloodied Bains's right ear early in the match, necessitating a lengthy stoppage. When action resumed, Bains was unable to connect on his patented leg shots, and Pye was able to finish off the match by tech fall. 

Dhillon, competing in the men's 90 kg class, faced his nemesis in the final – Hunter Lee of the Saskatchewan Huskies, who had beaten him for gold at the Canada West championships two weeks ago. Lee got the better of Dhillon once again on Saturday, prevailing via tech fall. Nevertheless, the third-year Cascade secured his first U SPORTS medal after finishing fifth and sixth in 2018 and 2019, respectively. 

Kooner acknowledged the quality of competition Bains and Dhillon faced in the finals, but felt they were capable of winning.

"I know they could pull those off, we just didn't wrestle our own matches," Kooner said. "They just need to wrestle their own match and get into that mindset."

Espinosa, a fourth-place finisher at nationals as a rookie, earned a spot on the podium in her second U SPORTS appearance by virtue of a 4-2 victory over Concordia's Kaleigh Prieur in the women's 48 kg bronze medal match. 

Rahguzar, competing in the men's 68 kg weight class, also secured his first career U SPORTS medal. Taking on Canada West champ Devan Larkin of the Alberta Golden Bears in the bronze medal match, the two battled to a 4-4 draw, with Rahguzar prevailing on tie-breaking criteria. He had a two-point takedown along with a pair of single points, whereas Larkin's points were all singles. Larkin had won both prior matches between the two this season.

Amarvir Atwal, the CW men's wrestler of the year, finished fifth in the men's 76 kg. He made short work of Guelph's Pierre Arabadjian in his fifth/sixth placing match Saturday, winning 10-0 by tech fall.

"Overall, everyone performed pretty well," Kooner summarized. "They all have something to be happy about, and something to work on."

TEAM STANDINGS
 
Men 
 

Rank	School	Points
1	Brock	76
2	Saskatchewan	54
3	Concordia	45
4	Alberta	40
5	Guelph	40
6	Calgary	39
7	McMaster	38
8	Fraser Valley	26
9	Lakehead	22
10	Western	20
11	Algoma	13
12	UNB	6
13	Ryerson	3
14	Queen's	2
15	Toronto	2
16	York	2

 
Women
 

Rank	School	Points
1	Brock	55
2	Saskatchewan	42
3	Alberta	34
4	Calgary	34
5	Western	34
6	Concordia	31
7	Lakehead	22
8	Guelph	21
9	York	11
10	McMaster	10
11	Toronto	7
12	Fraser Valley	6
13	Algoma	2
14	Queen's	2
15	Ryerson	0
16	UNB	0