NOTL wrestlers heading to U17 Pan Am Games in June

Following their success at both the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) and the Canadian National Wrestling Team Trials in March, both Charlotte Bowslaugh and Ezekiel Ivri have qualified for the U17 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 

Representing the Junior Brock Badgers at the Nationals, Bowslaugh captured the gold medal by beating Aniah Zedan of Toronto’s Team Xtreme. That followed a sixth-place finish for the Grade 11 student representing Eden High School at OFSAA in Grimsby.

Bowslaugh won all three of her matches in the 73 kg weight class on the first day of OFSAA but felt anxious going into day two. 

“I finished two of those matches on day one, one in 26 seconds and another in about a minute,” says Bowslaugh. “But I did horribly on day two. I got pinned by a girl (Elora Bains of Nantyr Shores Secondary School in Innisfil, Ontario) who I beat five times this season. I lost all three of my matches that day. That’s never happened to me before.”

Bowslaugh suffered a hand injury in December that limited her practice time this year. That’s in stark contrast to last year, when the healthy wrestler was able to train much more regularly on her way to a silver medal in her class at the massive high school tournament.

The 16-year-old says picking herself up from the OFSAA disappointment before heading to the Nationals just a week later was a difficult hurdle to jump. 

“I just had to put that behind me,” she says. “I think it helped that I had never wrestled her (Zedan) before. I won 16-5. Because the two other girls I had wrestled before dropped to 69 kg, I only had to wrestle her to win the gold.”

One of Bowslaugh’s coaches with the Brock Junior team, Ryan Weicker, says she is probably the most physically gifted wrestler in her class in the entire country. 

“I love watching her wrestle,” Weicker enthuses. “She can come into her matches and just dust people off their feet with her power, strength and athleticism. Right now we’re working on her mental strength, helping her push through the little things that go through her mind before she wrestles.”

Weicker acknowledges that Bowslaugh’s performance in her last three OFSAA matches is a step in the right direction. Although she lost them all, the fact that she kept on going impressed the current Thorold firefighter and former national team wrestler. 

“Instead of packing it in and going home, she was able to keep wrestling,” he says. “I know she was disappointed with coming in sixth, but she was able to show herself that she can still get on the mat even when she doesn’t feel like it.”

Ivri fared better at OFSAA but faced some adversity of his own. He went into opening day on March 4 with much confidence, having put in extra work between training with the Brock Juniors and the university’s varsity team as well as weekly sessions with Team Discipline in Hamilton. 

“I was undefeated the first day,” says the 16-year-old. “But in my last match that day I tweaked my shoulder and couldn’t really lift it. My parents didn’t want me to continue, but I felt like I had to do it and that if I did, I would have a good chance to end up on the podium.”

Like Bowslaugh, Ivri lost his first match of the second day in his 53 kg category to Oscar Chin of Toronto’s Norman Bethune Collegiate. A pep talk from his coaches, including fellow NOTL resident and Eden grad Zubin Gatta, put him back into gear for his fifth and sixth matches, both wins and enough to capture the bronze medal.  

“I am sure he would have made the final if he hadn’t been hurt,” Weicker says. “He overcame the injury and battled back to get third. That’s good progress for him as an athlete, to know he can wrestle through some pain and injuries. We were really proud of him.”

Wrestling at 51 kg at the Nationals, Ivri faced the OFSAA gold medalist, Aaharen Piranavan of Pickering, Ontario’s Team Impact in his first match. It was a close contest for the first minute. 

“I had a game plan to stall him out and get him out of his comfort zone,” the Grade 11 A.N. Myer Secondary School student says. “I feel like I did that at the start of the match. I feel like I made it closer than he thought it would have been, so I feel I accomplished that.”

“Aaharen is a super talented wrestler,” says Weicker. “He’s kind of the next level, which Zeke is aspiring to get to. He showed that he could wrestle with this guy. That’s something to build on.”

Ivri ended up on the other side of the bracket in the three-wrestler field. He ended up settling for the bronze medal after losing a close one to Coast Wrestling’s Clarence Jay Brion of British Columbia.  

Bowslaugh and Ivri have set their goals on winning OFSAA next year, and Weicker feels they are both on the right path. 

“They’re both willing to put in the work,” says their coach. “As long as they continue that, they’re going to be fit enough, and as long as everything lines up for them, they’ll both be first place next year.”

Before then, though, both wrestlers have their first chance to compete internationally at the U17 Pan American Games from June 27 to 30. Bowslaugh will be representing Canada while Ivri will wear the colours of Jamaica. 

Ivri, who gained Jamaican citizenship last year, says he was approached by Ken Burgess, a member of the country’s coaching staff. 

“It happened before Nationals,” says Ivri. “I’m in the process right now to get my passport so I can represent them in the Dominican Republic. Ken knows who I am. I’ve been wrestling since I was five years old and he’s seen me at a few tournaments.”

Ivri will be Jamaica’s first-ever representative in wrestling for the U17 level at the Pan Am Games. Because he is part of Jamaica’s team by invitation, he did not have to win the gold medal in Ottawa last month.

While wrestling for the country where his grandparents lived, he knows he may face at least one familiar face on the mat.

“I know the representative for Canada at my weight class,” says Ivri, referring to Piranava, “so I’d feel confident that I will be able to compete. I think I can come up with a game plan to stop him,”

Bowslaugh will be wearing the maple leaf in the 73 kg women’s category, and she says it doesn’t feel real to her yet, as she just started wrestling last year.

Both Weicker and his wife Diana, who also helps out with the Junior Badgers, have wrestled at the national level. That’s not lost on Bowslaugh. 

“They told me it’s a really big opportunity,” Bowslaugh says. “It feels cool that I get to do what they did, not on the same level of course, but it’s a great first step. It helps to have them as coaches, with their experience. I’m hoping that Diana can make the trip there with me, I am pretty sure she has qualifications.”

Neither Ivri nor Bowslaugh are sure when they will leave for Santo Domingo. They also have not found out yet whether or not they will need to raise funds for their trip there. 

What is certain is that both of them plan to put in the work they need to be ready for the international stage.