Galaise and Keefe medal at U17/19 Nationals
Members of the P.E.I. Canada Games Wrestling Team competed in the U-17 and U-19 Canadian Wrestling Championships this past weekend. The six person team travelled to Calgary, Alberta for the competition. The group had high expectations through their hard work and the technical training from Head coaches Bradshaw Campbell and Matt MacGrath. The team was lead by the performances of Beatrice Galaise and Vanessa Keefe.
Galaise fighting in the U-17 division at 69 kg., turned in a strong performance in her round robin draw to win a silver medal in her weight class. She turned in a gutsy come from behind victory against her Quebec opponent by pinning her with 2 seconds left in the match to secure the silver finish.
In her U-19, 69 kg. draw, Keefe bounced back from an opening round loss to overpower her second opponent, winning on points before pinning her in the first round. She followed this performance by securing a technical superiority victory, using a well developed ground attack, in the bronze medal match.
R.J. Hetherington fighting at 65 kg. went in as one of the favorites in his division. Hetherington started out, in a similar fashion to his bronze medal finish at the Junior Nationals, with a 2-0 record. Unfortunately, injuries sustained in the first match lead to him stopping the competition for medical reasons. Hetherington had defeated the eventual winner of the 65 kg. class two weeks earlier by a score of 10-0.
Mikey Perry made his debut in competition, after recovering from significant injuries, to fight in the 60 kg. weight class. Perry, started the competition 2-0 while pinning both his opponents. He showed his trademark quickness in securing the victories. Perry’s semi final fight saw a back and forth match against his Saskatchewan opponent before taking the loss and sustaining an injury causing him to be taken out of the competition.
The team also saw solid performances from Lydia Enman and Emery Doherty. Enman at 57 kg., who is a judo convert, has been showing strong technical progress while working her way up to a higher level of fighting. Doherty, fighting at 92 kg. finished with a 1-2 record using solid technical skills to defeat his second round opponent from Nova Scotia.
The team will have a short break before they gear up again to be a part of the Canada Cup Weekend with a U-20 competition on July 3rd in Summerside. This tournament will follow the International competition.