Two Hapnot Collegiate wrestlers had strong showings in recent regional and provincial Saskatchewan tournaments.
At this year’s regional meet, both Maguire Lee and Kyle Gurniak, Hapnot’s current best and brightest grapplers, went into the Saskatchewan provincial ranks. Heading to Ecole St-Mary in Prince Albert Feb. 29, both the Kings meant business from the get-go.
At regionals, Lee ran roughshod over his 82-kilogram competition. He won bouts against Cory McKenzie of Churchill School, Martensville’s Brody Nelson and Elijah Harden from Swift Current to earn a conference title. Lee earned a total of 35 points in his three matchups, only conceding four.
In the 77-kilogram class, Gurniak got a bye into the second round, but faced stiff competition in the form of Swift Current’s Luke Nelson. Nelson earned a 10-0 win over Gurniak en route to a flawless title win, not conceding a point.
Gurniak, now pushed into the repechage, faced McLurg High School’s Logan Wilkinson in his next bout. Gurniak won by fall barely a minute and a half into the bout, then won again against St. Mary’s Mickey Perlitz via a fall 48 seconds in.
With a podium finish on the line, Gurniak would wrestle Swift Current’s Shane Friesen, but Friesen proved too much for the Hapnot athlete, beating Gurniak 10-0 and giving him a fourth-place finish.
Both wrestlers finished high enough in their regional tournaments to qualify for provincials, taking place at Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon.
Provincials
Going to Saskatoon March 6-7, the two Hapnot wrestlers sought to bring another banner, possibly two, to hang in their home school’s gym.
Lee received a bye through the first round of provincials, wrestling in the 82-kilogram class. His first bout paired him up with Desmond Larocque, an entrant from Bedford Road Collegiate in Regina. Lee won the bout 12-0, going through to the next round where he’d face Tommy Douglas Collegiate’s Daynton Bergeron.
Bergeron won that match by fall 2:12, denying Lee a flawless record but still getting him into the top four. Another match for Lee, involving Christian Espinosa from Saskatoon’s E.D. Feehan Catholic High, ended with another fall after two minutes, but this time Lee won, getting back into the final round.
Lee would face another tough entrant, Bethlehem Catholic High School’s Obadiah Arthurs from Saskatoon. Arthurs beat Lee, sending him to the third place bout with Elijah Harden. Lee defeated Harden in regionals and did it again at provincials, getting the win over Harden by fall only 1:10 into the bout. Arthurs and Bergeron, the only wrestlers to beat Lee, would face off in the finals, with Arthurs getting the gold.
Gurniak participated in the 77-kilogram class, beating Jordan Anderson from Regina’s LeBoldus High via fall but losing after another fall to Tommy Douglas’ William Yanko.
That sent Gurniak into the repechage, where he’d face Asher Herrod of Centennial Collegiate in Saskatoon. Herrod would snag a 10-0 win over Gurniak, knocking him out of provincial contention. Gurniak finished seventh.
