The Canadian Wrestling Championships (CWC) are underway in Waterloo and Barrie has a couple top-flight grapplers representing the city.
The CWC is a key event in determining which athletes will move on to represent Canada at the upcoming Pan Am Games and World Wrestling Championships. The event will also help determine the top Canadian wrestlers in each weight category.
Sixteen-year-old Aleena Dhanji and 18-year-old Caius Harbridge are hitting the mats as representatives of the Kempenfelt Bay (KBay) Athletic Club.
Dhanji spoke to BarrieToday after having her first match on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the win, but I’ll take what I learned from it and apply it to my next matches,” she said.
The Bear Creek Secondary School student was also in Ottawa on Tuesday and Wednesday for OFSAA and placed fourth out of 27 competitors in her weight class (61 kilograms) before making the trip to Waterloo for this current event.
“It was great placing so well at OFSAA, but this is my first tournament of this size. It has wrestlers from all over Canada," Dhanji said. "I haven't been part of anything of this level and I’m really focused on it as a whole learning experience."
Dhanji, who has been wrestling for a year and half, said it was on the advice of a coach in another sport that led her to grappling.
“The coach on my high school flag football team told me I should give wrestling a try," she said. "I did and I picked up the sport pretty quick,” she said. “He then told me to try KBay, where he is also a coach, and I’ve loved it ever since.
"I love all the dedication the team puts in and I love how it makes me feel to compete," Dhanji added. "The adrenalin I get from going out there and wrestling is unlike anything else.”
Dhanji trains Mondays and Wednesdays with her Bear Creek high school team and then Tuesdays and Thursdays with KBay, with each practice being around two hours long. Her goal is to expand her experiences to face the best.
“I would like to get down to the U.S. for some tournaments. I want to take everything I’ve learned from this season and face the best there is,” she said. “It really is the only way to get better, to face those who push you to your limit.”
To follow along with results at the Canadian Wrestling Championships, click here.
