Rayside Wrestling Club coaches Paul Berthiaume and Andy
Lalonde put their charges through gruelling training in order
to prepare them for competing and beating the best in Canada.
Their dedication to earning wins the old-fashioned way has
recently resulted in two wrestlers from the club achieving
tremendous success at the national level.
The wrestlers don't mind the grind from their coaches
because it's helping them realize their dreams.
Jenna Howard won the gold medal in the 38-kilograms division
at the Canadian national wrestling championships in Edmonton,
Alta.
Howard then won the FILA Team Canada trials for her weight
category and qualified for Team Canada.
Dylan Byrnes won bronze in the 100-kg division.
Howard was quiet on her actual national win, as it came very
easily, but was really proud of making Team Canada.
"For nationals, my competition didn't show up, so I weighed
in and won," said the 16-year-old. "I wrestled a lot all year
long and people said I earned it. I redeemed myself at the FILA
trials though. Winning something, that is considered so elite,
really feels good."
Howard stomped all over the competition at the FILA challenge to win.
Howard, who typically wrestles heavier opponents all year in
training and at events, had no problems with her challenger in
the final.
"It wasn't hard at all considering my opponent was my size,"
said the Chelmsford Valley District Composite School student.
"It was actually easy. For training and tournaments, I always
wrestled heavier opponents. At one tournament, I went up to
47.5-kg to compete. Having somebody my own size was a nice
change."
By making Team Canada, Howard has left the door to her own
opportunities wide open.
She can now either do one of two things: stay with Team
Canada for the Canada Cup in Guelph, followed by a training
camp in Jasper, Alta., or join Team Ontario for the
Commonwealth championships and travel to Scotland for two
tournaments and two training camps.
Howard is leaning towards finding out what it's like to wear
a kilt.
"I'm thinking of going with Team Ontario to Scotland because
I get to experience more and do more," said Howard. "Being on
Team Canada will just be an amazing experience for me overall.
I will learn from the best of the best in the country."
Byrnes was thrilled with his results (bronze at nationals),
especially after a difficult first year in wrestling last
season.
"Last year, I just wasn't a good wrestler," said the
16-year-old. "I worked hard over the summer. My goal at
nationals was to make the Top 3, and I did. It means a lot to
me. I worked hard for this all year and it shows hard work pays
off in the end. It will give me a big confidence boost for next
year as I go into a different age group."
Byrnes lost in the semifinals to the reigning champion, but
won all his matches on the consolation side to take bronze.
Going tooth-and-nail with Canada's best wasn't the hardest
part of his victory, it was the training.
"The training was the toughest part," said the Chelmsford
Valley District School student. "It was always intense, but it
got me ready for nationals."
Howard echoed Brynes' thoughts on the training.
"If we didn't have Paul or Andy pushing us, there's no way
we would even get to these tournaments," said Howard. "They're
with us all the time, working us hard."
Overall, Sudbury had good results, including Rayside club
members Diana Ford (52-kg) taking fourth and Spencer Burton
(63-kg) earning sixth. James Williams from the Sudbury Golden
Eagles Wrestling Club took silver in the 130-kg division.
Rayside coach Berthiaume was impressed with his team's
performance at nationals, especially since they were young.
"It was a young, inexperienced team beating more experienced
wrestlers," said Berthiaume. "For a rebuilding year, the region
of Sudbury did better than expected and looks forward to more
medals next season."
One wrestler, Burton, who finished sixth in the 63-kg class,
really made an impression on Berthiaume for his gutsy
competitiveness.
"He placed sixth, in the biggest category, after breaking his wrist going into the bronze medal match and he's only in Grade 8, wrestling Grade 9 and 10 wrestlers. We look forward to having him on the high school team (in Chelmsford) next season."
