The Olds High School Spartans wrestling team put a cap on a good season, claiming three medals at the Alberta Open in Ponoka on the weekend.
Amber Maschke claimed gold in the 56-kilogram juvenile class, while Austin Waldron claimed gold in the 72-kilogram cadet category and Lauren Roblee claimed bronze in the 52-kilogram cadet class. Other Spartans who attended the tournament included Maeghan Wild, who finished fourth in the 60-kilogram cadet class and D.J. Neustaeter, who finished fourth in the 66-kilogram cadet class.
Maschke, in Grade 11, said she won her first two matches on points while she pinned her opponent in the gold medal match.
“(The tournament) went really well. Last year wasn't so great but this year was a lot better,” she said.
Maschke said the season as a whole went extremely well, as she competed in several tournaments and only lost one match all year.
“I've had one loss and that was at the first tournament when I moved up one weight class to 61 kilos and I lost in the semi-final … and I got bronze in that one,” she said.
As for the team in general, coach George Grant said he was pleased with the results at the tournament, noting that everybody on the team showed good improvement over the year.
“They're kind of peaking at the right time. They've really obviously taken the stuff that we've worked on all season and were able to put it into practice and be able to calmly go into each match and wrestle their style. When you can do that, it doesn't matter what sport it is, if you can play your game, you have a better chance of coming out on top,” he said.
With about 10 members on the team and Maschke the only one with previous experience, Grant said all the others had a steep learning curve during practices this year.
“They had to learn things quickly because I wasn't going to split up practices and have an advanced group and a junior group because we only had the one advanced wrestler so we just put everybody at the advanced level and really challenged them to step up their game,” he said.
With a bit of experience under them, team members must now step it next year, Grant said, in order to develop even further.
“It's more of a mental aspect of just not wanting to … lose. If they can control that, then they should have another great season next year,” he said.
"They're kind of peaking at the right time. They've really obviously taken the stuff that we've worked on all season and were able to put it into practice and be able to calmly go into each match and wrestle their style."George Grant, coach, OHS wrestling team
