The Westlock Wrestling Club is celebrating victory after a trio of girls returned home with gold medals after a tournament in Edmonton last week.
Three girls from the club, Chyna Rempel, Samantha Grove and Haley Heffel, attended the All Girls Junior High Tournament at Archbishop J. NcNeil school in Edmonton on Thursday, Jan. 19, each taking top spot in their division.
“I’m really happy about our outcome,” said coach Jessie Norton. “I didn’t expect it at all.”
There were roughly 110 athletes competing overall in a handful of divisions.
Rempel and Grove, both 15 years old, are first-year wrestlers.
“This is the second tournament that they’ve been to and I’m happy. They listened and did everything right,” Norton said.
She said there is always room for improvement, but the pair did what they needed to take home gold.
“They made some mistakes and had to correct themselves, but they listened to me and did what they had to do,” she said.
Rempel beat out three other girls in her category while Grove beat two to take the gold in her category.
Experienced wrestler Heffel, 15, had to beat three other girls and Norton said this win came easy.
“She is our elite wrestler and unfortunately, she has to wrestle in junior high because of her age,” she said. “I’d love to put her up and challenge her.”
The Westlock Wrestling Club’s next tournament is Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Butterdome in Edmonton. Junior high students will compete in the Paperweight Invitational while senior high students will compete in the University of Alberta High School Invitational.
