Wrestling returns to the mats

   The Penner sisters led the Parkide Stampeders at their annual meet

   featuring 10 schools including the Central Elgin Titans

  December 13, 2021

By Rob. J. Ross 

ST. THOMAS - The Penner sisters led a return to the mats for the Parkside Stampeders.

Lillie and Mandy were among six Parkside wrestlers to win gold at the Jay Cooke Memorial meet, Saturday at Parkside CI.

Lillie Penner won the female 62.5-kilogram (kg) division with a 4-0 record, but had to defeat teammate Zoey Astley-Duncan in the final.

"I always hate going against my teammates because it's so intense and it's a different vibe than it is at practice," Lillie Penner said. "It was a good match. I'm really happy with the turnout and it was a great start to the season. It was super fun."

Mandy Penner finished with 3-0 record, in the female 48.8-kg class, by defeating Medway Cowboys' Julia Mason. Mandy had fun at her first ever high school meet and enjoyed getting a single leg takedown.

Other Parkside gold medalists were Owen Dale, winning the boys' 67.5-kg class, defeating Faran Hernandez Lin, of London Beal, in the final; Cadence Hardwick, female 58-kg; Melody Wilton, female 104.9-kg and Kira Buck, female 80-kg.

Other PCI results:

Gavin Hutton, silver, male 120-kg; Sophia Paurys, silver, female 104.9-kg; Hannah Armstrong, silver, 60.9-kg; James St. Clair, third, male, 58-kg; Ayat Master, fourth, 60.9-kg; Alexia Coombs, fourth, female 67.4-kg; Ethan James, fourth, male 62.1-kg; Alexandria Broderick, fifth, female 80-kg.
 

The Central Elgin Titans were led by Iman Zebian, who won all three matches in the female 67.4-kg class.

"Coming back after two years of not wrestling was very nerve-racking but I'm very happy with the outcome," Zebian said. "It feels great to be back. I missed competing and really enjoyed the day."

Zebian advanced all the way to OFSAA in 2020, after winning gold at both the WOSSAA and TVRA conference championships.

Titan Isaac Cromwell took home the silver medal in the male 74.1-kg class, dropping the final to Montcalm's Andrew Lee. Also taking silver were Alex Vandernaalt, in the female 58-kg class and Daniel Luteng, male 56-kg and Hailey Basacco, female 80-kg.

Wrestlers from 10 schools competed at the first meet of not only the season, but since OFSAA 2020.

Other division winners:

Andrew Mrkobada, London Lucas, male 58-kg; Justin Kowell, London Montcalm, 83-kg; Bekah Cyr; Woodstock Huron Park, female 65.6-kg; Andrew Lee, Montcalm, male 74.1-kg class; Maggie McKenzie, Medway, female 60.9-kg; Aden Schafeer, Woodstock CASS, male 60.5-kg; Sebastion Dragut, Medway, male 50.4-kg; Safai Eswaran, Montcalm, male 45-kg; Sam Girablen, Gabriel-Dumont, male 95-kg; Dalton Cassidy, Glendale, boys' 62.1-kg; Nathan Kettle, Montcalm, male 56-kg; Dominic Dutton, CASS, male 120-kg.