Emily McLean likes to be aggressive on the wrestling mat.
But it may have been that aggressiveness which cost her the gold medal at the B.C. high school provincial wrestling championships.
They were held over the weekend in Prince George.
“I was kind of sad (with silver) because I could have won,” said McLean, a Grade 12 student at Langley Secondary.
“I just made a mistake.”
Her ‘mistake’ was that when she attempted to throw her opponent, she got caught in the throw and pinned.
McLean was wrestling in the girls’ 110-kg division and this was the second straight year she returned from provincials with the silver medal.
“This year was a lot harder because I didn’t know any of the girls I was wrestling,” McLean said. “So I didn’t know their strengths or weaknesses, I just had to go in there and try.”
With her top-three finish, McLean has qualified for the national championships this spring in Ontario.
McLean has wrestled for six years. She wrestles with the Langley United Wrestling Club — the club encompasses LSS, D.W. Poppy, Brookswood and H.D. Stafford — and was one of four to compete at provincials.
Pritpaul Johal, a Grade 8 student from D.W. Poppy, finished fourth in the men’s 45-kg division. He had won his first two matches but lost to the defending national champion — and was the only one able to get him down on the mat — in the semifinals. At provincials, their is just one age group, meaning a Grade 8 can go up against a Grade 12 if they are in the same weight class.
Kamil Golowko, a Grade 10 student from LSS, was sixth in the men’s 130-kg division. And Trevor Weltzin (Brookswood, Grade 10), was sixth in the men’s 66-kg division.
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The club trains out of Langley Secondary and is coached by Mike Munsie, Chris Rinke and Nick Chabara.
The club will also be hosting a weekly wrestling camp for kids starting on April 8 and through to June 24 at LSS.
The practices will incorporate various games, activities and wrestling to introduce the sport to boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 13.
Registration is limited. For more information, click here.