Men’s & Women’s Wrestling History 2017-2018 OUA Championships: Men - bronze, Women – bronze U SPORTS Championships: Men – 4th, Women 7th In wrestling, mental strength is just as important as physical strength. Gryphons’ head coach Doug Cox wanted his athletes to approach their 2017-18 season as if tournaments were a reward for their hard work and not something to fear. Guelph’s experienced team, led by decorated stars like Elvir Uzunovic and Gracelynn Doogan, went into the OUA schedule confident and ready to perform. The Gryphons held their spot in the national rankings throughout the year and by the time they hosted the Guelph Open, the performances were ramping up. Uzunovic (61kg), and third-year athletes Alexander Chaves (70kg) and Chelsey Sicard (55kg), each won gold on their home mat. The medals continued to pile up at the OUA Championship in St. Catharines, as Guelph took four silvers, four bronzes and two impressive golds from Doogan (82kg) and two-sport athlete Job Reinhart (100kg). Reinhart, a star linebacker on the Gryphon football team, is still relatively new to wrestling but after defeating Brock’s Ignatius Pitt, he was crowed Most Outstanding Wrestler at the OUA Championship. The women’s and men’s teams each finished third in the overall standings. Guelph was unable to achieve the same level of success at the U SPORTS Wrestling Championship hosted by Algoma University, finishing fourth on the men’s side and seventh in the women’s standings, though only 10 wrestlers made the trip. Doogan and Chaves took silver medals, while Sicard and Uzunovic, wrestling in his final collegiate match, won in their finales for a pair of well-earned bronze medals. Ryan Berkin 1L Simon Chaves 1L Daniel Humphrey 4H Job Reinhart 3L Jobandeep Bhullar 1L Colin Dempsey 4H Jaber Husiny 2L Kyle Robinson -1L Jaivir Boal 3L Shane Devadason 1L Gabriel Laplante 4H Elvir Uzunovic 5L Alexander Chaves 3L Dimitri Djuric 2L Cole Norris 1L Racheal Cowey 3L Hannah Little 2L Chelsey Sicard 3L Rhiannon Digweed -3L Christine Nabati 1L Samantha Squires 1L Gracelynn Doogan 4H Natalie Rygielski 1L Andreanna Sullivan 1L Awards Summary OUA First Team All-Stars Job Reinhart Gracelynn Doogan OUA Second Team All-Stars Alexander Chaves Daniel Humphrey Elvir Uznovic Chelsey Sicard U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadians Alexander Chaves Gracelynn Doogan OUA Major Awards Job Reinhart- Men’s Wrestling Most Outstanding Wrestler Team Awards (M)MIP- Job Reinhart (M)MVP- Alexander Chaves (W)MIP- Samantha Squires (W)MVP- Gracelynn Doogan Coaching Staff Head Coach: Doug Cox Assistants: Cody Airdrie, Cierra Carere, Zoltan Hunyady, Pat Varamo Trainers: Neil Judge, Anna Radisic 2016-2017 OUA Championships: Women 2nd, Men 4th U SPORTS Championships: Women 2nd, Men 10th The Gryphons impressed at the 2017 OUA Wrestling Championships in Hamilton, taking home a combined total (men’s & women’s) of 10 medals (2 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze). On the women’s side, Gracelynn Doogan and Natassya Lu were both gold medalists, with Lu being named the Women’s Most Outstanding Wrestler at the OUA Championships. On the men’s side, Elvir Uzunovic (61kg) and Kyle Robinson (57kg) both earned silver medals, while two-sport athlete Job Reinhart reached the podium by winning bronze in men’s 100kg. For Reinhart, who was also named an OUA All-Star on the Gryphon football team, it marks his first wrestling medal in this his second year with the wrestling program. At nationals in Winnipeg, Gracelynn Doogan would earn the title of national champion in the women’s 72kg weight class. The third year wrestler, who had taken home silver the year prior, was the lone Gryphon to take home gold from the U SPORTS Championships with a total of six Gryphons reaching the podium over the course of the two day event (1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze). The Gryphons women’s wrestling team finished 2nd in the overall team standings, marking their best ever finish in the team standings at a national championship. Jaivir Boal 2L Oren Furmanov 4H Colin Moffat 2L Alexander Chaves 2L Daniel Humphrey 3L Job Reinhart 2L Colin Dempsey 4H James Hunter 1L Kyle Robinson 1L Shane Devadason 1L Jaber Husiny 1L Elvir Uzunovic 4H Dimitri Djuric 1L Gabriel Laplante 3L Geordon Watkins 3L Cierra Carere 5L Rhiannon Digweed 3L Natassya Lu 4H Alison Carrow 4H Gracelynn Doogan 3L Laurelle Policarpio 2L Racheal Cowey 2L Hannah Little 1L Chelsey Sicard 2L Head Coach: Doug Cox Gryphon medalists at OUA Championships GOLD Gracelynn Doogan (women’s 72kg) Natassya Lu (women’s 48kg) SILVER Elvir Uzunovic (men’s 61kg) Cierra Carere (women’s 59kg) Kyle Robinson (men’s 57kg) BRONZE Job Reinhart (men’s 100kg) Dan Humphrey (men’s 76kg) Alexander Chaves (men’s 68kg) Rhiannon Digweed (women’s 63kg) Chelsey Sicard (women’s 55kg) Gryphon medalists at U SPORTS Championships GOLD Gracelynn Doogan (women’s 72kg) SILVER Elvir Uzunovic (men’s 61kg) Cierra Carere (women’s 59kg) BRONZE Kyle Robinson (men’s 57kg) Dan Humphrey (men’s 76kg) Natassya Lu (women’s 48kg) Team Awards Men’s MIP – Kyle Robinson Men’s MVP – Elvir Uzunovic Women’s MIP – Chelsey Sicard Women’s MVP – Gracelynn Doogan University of Guelph Awards Cierra Carere – W.F. Mitchell Sportswoman 2015-16 OUA Championship Result: Women 2nd; Men 3rd CIS Championship Result: Women 3rd; Men 4th The Gryphons men’s team returned to the podium at the OUA Championships after a one year absence by finishing 3rd in the team standings at the one- day championship event. A total of 8 medals were won by Gryphons on the men’s side at the OUA Championships which was hosted by Algoma University of Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Leading the way for U of G was a pair of gold medalists in Oren Furmanov (54kg) and Tyson Frost (120kg). Two weeks later at the CIS Championships in St. Catharines, Furmanov and Frost would strike gold once again while helping the Gryphons finish 4th in the overall team standings. A total of eight wrestlers from the Gryphons men’s team competed at the CIS Championships, with Geordie Watkins narrowly missing out on the podium after being defeated by Memorial's Dennis Sutton in the Men's 100kg bronze medal match. The women’s wrestling team proved to be a threat in the conference and beyond during the 2015-16 season finishing with a team OUA silver and CIS bronze. At OU’s the Gryphons were unable to secure an individual title but their second-place team finish was earned on the backs of several strong showings. The team came close to the summit in a few weight classes and in the end, finished with four silvers. Those medals went to Natassya Lu (48kg), Jade Papke (51kg), Alison Carrow (67kg) and Gracelynn Doogan (72kg). The CIS Championships were a huge success as they earned three individual medals powering them to a third place team finish. Third-year Alison Carrow capped off a terrific season, successfully defending her national title in the 67kg weight class and was named a CIS First-Team All-Canadian. Jade Papke (51kg) and Gracelynn Doogan (72kg) rounded out the team’s medalists as they took home silvers and were named Second Team All-Canadians. Jaivir Boal 1L Michael Flosman 2L Daniel Humphrey 2L Joseph Sample 1L Benjamin Bradford 4H Tyson Frost 2L Gabriel Laplante 2L Elvir Uzunovic 3L Alexander Chaves 1L Oren Furmanov 3L Erich Milne 1L Geordon Watkins 2L Brock Corbett 1L Wassim Ghadban 1L Colin Moffat 1L Navrit Wirach 4H Matthew Cummins 3L Thomas Hiebert 4H Job Reinhart 1L Zane Zondervan 4H Colin Dempsey 3L Maddison Braga 1L Rhiannon Digweed 2L Mikhaila Irving 1L Jade Papke 5L Cierra Carere 4H Gracelynn Doogan 2L Abigayle Labas 1L Laurelle Policarpio 1L Alison Carrow 3L Nikki Fraser 4H Natassya Lu 3L Chelsey Sicard 1L Racheal Cowey 1L Samantha Gow 1L Samantha Meehan 1L April Wright 1L Coach: Doug Cox Manager: Ashleigh Otto Assistants: Zoltan Hunyady, Danny Brown, Jamie Cox, Trainer: Caitlin Fegan Dave Garvin, Pat Varamo 2014-15 OUA Championships: Women 3rd, Men 4th CIS Championships: Women 4th, Men 11th For a second straight year, the Gryphons women’s wrestling team reached the podium at the OUA Championships. Kelsey Gsell and Alison Carrow both took home gold medals while rookie Gracelynn Doogan as well as Natassya Lu and Cierra Carere also took home medals. The Gryphons men’s team entered the one-day OUA Championship tournament (held at Laurentian University) as defending champions, but just missed the podium, finishing in 4th in the overall team standings. Leading the way for the men was Ben Bradford who earned silver in the 76kg weight class. Alison Carrow and Kelsey Gsell earned OUA First Team All-Star status while Ben Bradford and Gracelynn Doogan grabbed Second team honours. In total, eight Gryphon athletes qualified for the CIS Wrestling Championships which were hosted by the University of Alberta. On the women’s side, second year athlete Alison Carrow capped off a terrific season by winning a gold medal in her 67kg weight class and earning CIS First Team All-Canadian. Carrow finished the season having suffered just one loss the entire season, that coming in the Guelph Open against a former Olympian. Kelsey Gsell, the defending CIS gold medalist in the 82kg weight class, was forced to settle for silver this year after suffering a hamstring injury in her final match and grabbed CIS Second Team All-Canadian. First year athlete Gracelynn Doogan earned a silver medal in the women’s 72kg, CIS Second Team All-Canadian and helped lead the Gryphons women’s team to a 4th place finish in the overall team standings at nationals.