The sport of wrestling was on full display at St. Mary High School on Thursday night as the Marauders hosted their 2023 Wrestling Dual, the first event of its kind.
The event saw wrestlers from St. Mary face off against Carlton, Carrot River and Birch Hills.
Marauder coach Tate McDougall, who put in many hours organizing the event, says he is happy with the turnout they received.
“I felt it went fantastic. We were just so excited to have like many communities here to build PA and surrounding area community. Just the ability to host something like this was a huge step in the right direction for us, especially for just wrestling and being set on a bigger stage. We really enjoyed the company of the fans.”
The event featured team based scoring which saw the Marauders defeat the combination of Carlton, Birch Hills and Carrot River by a final of 40-16.
McDougall says the event provided an opportunity for spectators to learn more about the sport, rather than the WWE variant that is more well known.
“A lot about tonight was education, too. You heard me numerous times on the mic explaining things and just trying to push forward the Olympic style point wrestling. That’s something we’re all really passionate about, just what an athletic sport it is, how it’s super athletic and it’s awesome, but everyone can participate and do it. All body types, all people, all sizes. It’s really a good, inclusive sport that we want to bring to a larger stage just for how great it is and how much we love it.”
The highlight for many was the final bout of the evening held between two Ukrainian wrestlers, Tym Kvashulko of St. Mary and Kyrylo Kiran from Carrot River.
Before the beginning of the bout, two St. Mary athletes held the Ukrainian flag over the rafter and the national anthem of Ukraine was played.
McDougall says he was excited to be able to showcase the talents of the athletes, who have recently moved to Canada.
“Just the impact I’ve thought from my perspective, my point of view, when I heard that we were able to set this match up because it came up as kind of a semi last minute thing. I was so excited to be able to host this just in terms of being able to provide an outlet in sport for people coming to Canada and especially everything going on there. I’m just so glad we could showcase some of the great athletes, Ukrainian athletes that are coming here and just their inclusion with sports and their inclusion in the community and how much it means to us that they’re here with us.”
sports@paherald.sk.ca
