SDSS wrestling team has strong showing at first tournament

Thomas Dam competes in one of his bouts during the Stratford District Secondary School (SDSS) wrestling team’s tournament at St. Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School on Nov. 29. Dam captured the gold medal in his weight class to lead a strong, overall showing for the SDSS squad in their first tournament of the year.

The Stratford District Secondary School (SDSS) wrestling team enjoyed a positive overall result at their first tournament on Nov. 29 hosted at St. Benedict’s Catholic School in Cambridge.

Thomas Dam earned a gold medal in his weight class, followed by Maddox Ollivier with 10 team points and a bronze medal. Alex Stewart and Cameron Tannahill each earned team points for their fourth-place finishes.

Head coach Tracy Weston told the Times the team’s cohesive nature allowed them to enjoy each other’s victories throughout the tournament.

“Our wrestlers continue to improve as a group with their overall endurance and dedication to growing on and off the mat,” said Weston. “They support each other and they are a terrific group to work with. They truly have a special camaraderie where they are as content with others' success as they are concerned with their own, which is always extremely rewarding to watch.”

Dam, along with Elliot Barton, Nate Spahiu and Cameron and Dean Tannahill, were cited by Weston as veteran leaders on the team.

“I am incredibly impressed by the returning wrestlers who competed at this tournament,” Weston said. “Not only did they all give solid efforts on the mat, but they each have been instrumental in their combined leadership skills at practice. Overall, this a successful tournament and a sign of good things to come for our SDSS wrestlers.”

Weston also praised the numerous new members of the wrestling team who turned in strong showings, including Olivier, Stewart, Maddox Anderson, Reid Douglas, Hunter Gilbert, Dan Gropp, Malakai Magassoubi, Madilyn Mander, Kasen Ryan, Ellis Schnerr and Luke Steele.

“Each of the newer wrestlers worked extremely hard to follow through on the new moves they have worked on in practice. They will only continue to improve as the season progresses. Statistically, the team was tied for fifth against 13 other schools in most tech falls in the least time. That means they were able to accumulate their points prior to the set time being reached, which is evidence they are starting to understand all the different methods to gain points within a bout.”

Weston also offered a special thanks to team manager Huxley Wendling and assistant coach Bryan Flikkema for their assistance this season.