Alberta women and Brock men crowned champions at 2026 WCL U SPORTS Invitational Championships
After two days of action, it was Alberta, on the women’s side, and Brock, on the men’s side, taking top honours as team champions of the 2026 WCL U SPORTS Invitational Wrestling Championships. The championships, held Feb. 27 – 28 at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, also handed out individual medals to the top three in each of the women’s and men’s 10 weight classes. The event concluded with a banquet that announced major award winners and All-Canadians.
Women’s results
The Alberta women had four competitors in the finals and came away with a pair of gold medals from Victoria Stefanov at 50kg and Vianne Rouleau at 83kg. The team title came down to the final match where Rouleau defeated Saskatchewan’s Myah Phillips. That gave Alberta just enough points to win the title with 74, one more than Calgary at 73.
Other gold medalists included: Serena Di Benedetto (McMaster) at 53kg; Gabriela Cross (Calgary) at 56kg; Macy Malysiak (McMaster) at 59kg; Annika Fines (Calgary) at 62kg; Jonelle Clarke (Western) at 65kg; Vanessa Keefe (Brock) at 68kg; Cassie Corbett (Brock) at 72kg; and Natalie Vecchio (McMaster) at 76kg.
Men’s results
The men’s side saw Brock cruise to the title with a total of 86 points, 22 better than second-placed McMaster. Seven Brock athletes made the finals with the trio of Javier Tonita-Charriez at 57kg, Mason Mastroianni at 65kg, and Yazdan Farokhizad at 90kg all winning gold.
The rest of the men’s gold medalists were: Blayne Helou (McMaster) at 61kg; Casey Harkley (Guelph) at 68kg; Tyler Barry (Guelph) at 72kg; Luken Lawson (McMaster) at 76kg; Lukas Geske (Western) at 82kg; Omogbai Asekohme (McMaster) at 100kg; and Chanjot Kang (McMaster) at 125kg.
For a complete list of all medalists and results click here.
Major Awards
Major award winners and All-Canadians were announced following the competition, at the closing ceremonies banquet.
|
Award |
Women’s Recipient |
Men’s Recipient |
|
Outstanding Wrestler of the Year |
Annika Fines (Calgary) |
Lukas Geske (Western) |
|
Rookie of the Year |
Victoria Stefanov (Alberta) |
Chanjot Kang (McMaster) |
|
Coach of the Year |
Owen Dawkins (Alberta) |
Marty Calder (Brock) |
|
Community Service Award |
Iman Zebian (Western) |
Donovan Neudorf (Saskatchewan) |
|
Fair Play Award |
Haley Florell (Lakehead) |
Samuel Awonuga (York) |
All Canadians
|
Weight Class |
First All-Canadian |
Second All-Canadian |
|
WW 50kg |
Victoria Stefanov (Alberta) |
Emma Chartres (Brock) |
|
WW 53kg |
Serena Di Benedetto (McMaster) |
Maya Johnston (Calgary) |
|
WW 56kg |
Gabriela Cross (Calgary) |
Francesca Lo Greco (Brock) |
|
WW 59kg |
Macy Malysiak (McMaster) |
Elizabeth Latulippe (Calgary) |
|
WW 62kg |
Annika Fines (Calgary) |
Mia Friesen (Brock) |
|
WW 65kg |
Jonelle Clarke (Western) |
Mackenzie Cayer (Calgary) |
|
WW 68kg |
Vanessa Keefe (Brock) |
Maria Sawiak (Alberta) |
|
WW 72kg |
Cassie Corbett (Brock) |
Aaliyah Hartfelder (Alberta) |
|
WW 76kg |
Natalie Vecchio (McMaster) |
Haley Florell (Lakehead) |
|
WW 83kg |
Vianne Rouleau (Alberta) |
Myah Phillips (Saskatchewan) |
|
FS 57kg |
Javier Tonita-Charriez (Brock) |
Brandon Carrillo (Algoma) |
|
FS 61kg |
Blayne Helou (McMaster) |
Aiden O’Neill (Brock) |
|
FS 65kg |
Mason Mastroianni (Brock) |
Donovan Neudorf (Saskatchewan) |
|
FS 68kg |
Casey Harkley (Guelph) |
Gabe Blanchette (Brock) |
|
FS 72kg |
Tyler Barry (Guelph) |
Chayton Valleau (Western) |
|
FS 76kg |
Luken Lawson (McMaster) |
Josiah Mayers-Noel (Toronto) |
|
FS 82kg |
Lukas Geske (Western) |
Aidan Stevenson (Alberta) |
|
FS 90kg |
Yazdan Farokhizad (Brock) |
Thomas Rousseau (Alberta) |
|
FS 100kg |
Omogbai Asekohme (McMaster) |
Callum Knox (Brock) |
|
FS 125kg |
Chanjot Kang (McMaster) |
Roger Li (Brock) |
For complete tournament information visit the tournament site: https://wrestling.ca/event/wcl-u-sports-invitational-championships/
WCL would like to thank the hosts Lakehead University, the officials, support staff, volunteers and everyone who made the championships possible.