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Langley wrestlers strike at nationals

Langley Secondary's Kamil Golowko and D.W. Poppy's Pritpaul Johal return with silver, bronze medals
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Kamil Golowko won the silver medal last week in Calgary at the Canadian wresting championships. He was one of two Langley wrestlers to find the podium as Pritpaul Johal took third in his class.

A pair of wrestlers from the Langley United Wrestling Club have returned from nationals with a silver and bronze medal, respectively, for their efforts.

Kamil Golowko picked up the silver medal in his weight class while Pritpaul Johal earned the bronze.

The pair, as well as Trevor Weltzin who finished fifth in his category, were competing last Friday (April 15) at the 2016 cadet/juvenile Canadian wrestling championships in Calgary.

The meet was held at the University of Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gymnasium.

“I wish I could have done better, I wish I could have won gold, but I am happy with silver,” Golowko said.

“I just couldn’t get the job done, I couldn’t win it.”

And for the second time in as many months, it was the same wrestler who denied the 17-year-old Golowko the gold medal.

Abbotsford’s Pawandeep Khinda also beat Golowko in the gold-medal match last month at the B.C. high school wrestling championships.

The pair are in the heavyweight 130-kg plus weight class.

The silver medal at provincials was one step higher than the bronze Golowko won the previous year.

“My goal was to make it to the finals at provincials,” he said.

“And to go to nationals, and whatever happened at nationals, happens.”

Golowko wrestled in four matches at nationals, going 3-1.

This wrapped up a great overall year for Golowko, who graduates from Langley Secondary in June and hopes to wrestle at the University of the Fraser Valley next year.

“He started (the season) slow but he trained his butt off,” said Chris Rinke, who coaches the wrestlers alongside Mike Munsie with the Langley United Wrestling Club.

Golowko also won gold at a Port Alberni tournament while finishing second at the B.C. age class championships.

“He has had a very good year and has a great attitude,” Rinke said.

For Johal, medalling at nationals — as well as the gold he won at provincials — allowed him to have his most successful season yet.

“It felt good,” said the 15-year-old Grade 10 student at D.W. Poppy Secondary.

“It felt like I accomplished something this year.”

Last year, Johal didn’t place at provincials and finished fifth at nationals.

“Those losses motivated me,” Johal said, adding he trained even harder leading up to this season.

He wrestled in the 50-kg weight class and at nationals, went 4-1.

And in that lone loss — which came in the semifinal round — Johal gave up two points in the final 10 seconds to lose.

With two more years of high school eligibility, Johal has already set his sights on winning both provincials and nationals in 2017.

For Weltzin, a Grade 12 student at Brookswood Secondary who wrestled in the 70-kg weight class, he had entered nationals with a 25-0 mark before suffering his first defeat.

submitted photo

D.W. Poppy's Pritpaul Johal won the bronze medal in his weight class at the Canadian championships in Calgary.