After months of training and wrestling competitions, six students from North Battleford Comprehensive High School were ready to compete in the provincial wrestling championship in Saskatoon March 18 and 19.
The boys' team finished tied for fifth in the 3A overall standings and it was Brendon Elliot with the best finish of any NBCHS athlete. Elliott took fourth place in the 130 kg class.
Elliot had three wins and qualified for the cross over playoff matches before dropping to the bronze medal match and settling for fourth place.
"Brendon wrestled really well," said coach Stephen Neufeld, who explains he met up with perhaps the two best wrestlers in his division and dropped to the bronze medal match and was likely the third best wrestler in his class. Nonetheless the fourth place finish was a great accomplishment, said Neufeld.
Cole Omelchenko competed in the 90 kg division and placed fifth. Pita Tuiloma competed in the 82 kg division, but was left out of the top six at the provincial meet. In the 75 kg division, Schalk-Willem Engelbrecht also represented NBCHS.
Two girls represented NBCHS as well, as Taisley Isaac and Eric Landrie wrestled and finished outside the top six.
Neufeld explained his student athletes did a great job, but at the provincial level any minor mistake can be costly and that was the case in some of his students' matches.
Looking ahead to next season, the wrestling team will graduate three of the wrestlers who competed at provincials, but two will return as Grade 11 students and one will be a senior next season. There were also a few others who were close to advancing from regionals this year.
Along with the end of the high school wrestling season, the club elementary season also came to an end. Neufeld coached his son Samuel and Fredrick Engelbrecht, the brother of Schalk-Willem, at the last elementary meet of the season. Samuel earned silver in the peewee division while Fredrick captured the gold medal.
