Stingers Wrestling Brings Home Medals

Five Stingers Wrestlers Medal at University World Championships

SportsVictor Depois — Published October 2, 2018

“We had three flights so our whole travel took 24 hours,” said Laurence Beauregard, a second-year exercise science student.

Beauregard brought back gold from the tournament after winning her single match of the week against Brazil. She had only one opponent in the 59 kg weight-class.

“I was only wrestling on Friday so it was a long week to be stressed through,” said Beauregard.

Beauregard nevertheless managed to dominate her opponent by winning in the first round, by pin.

She fondly recalled the atmosphere at Goiânia’s Rio Vermelho Gymnasium.

“There were a lot of Brazilian students that came to watch,” she said. “They seemed to like the [Canadians], so everytime we would go against Japan or any other country they would cheer us on.”

“Before the match against Poland, it was hard to stay relaxed because European countries are usually a little tougher than we are in Canada,” she said.

“My second match against Japan was against a world medalist, so it’s always hard to stay calm and go over that psychological fear.”

Her Mexican opponent beat her just a few months ago, at the Pan American Games. “It was nice to come back and win that match. It was a nice little [bit of] revenge,” she said.

How did she manage to overcome this psychological barrier? She simply trusted her coaches.

“They said the things to help me stay calm and be mentally prepared,” she said. “They have so much experience in their back pocket. I trusted their teachings, and went up there and did my best.”

Even though winning gold was memorable for Dufour, her favorite moment of the trip was going out to eat Brazilian barbecue with her teammates, and getting to know them better.

“We got really close,” she said. “I got to learn even more about my already close teammates. They’re my family so I love spending time with them.”

Linda Morais, a graduate of Concordia also represented Canada in Brazil, and brought back her second consecutive gold medal from the university championships in the 62 kg weight class.

Concordia’s male wrestlers came home with plenty of success as well.

Alex Moore, a second-year economics major, brought back a bronze medal. For him, the tournament lasted two days. The first one was complicated, but he still managed to win crucial matches to finish third.

“My best takeaway from the tournament was the way I was able to bring myself together and pull off a great performance in the last day,” he said.

“I was with good people, so it was a good trip,” he said.

In November, Moore will have the opportunity to build on his experience in Brazil at U23 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania.

Francis Carter, fourth-year student and last year’s U Sports most outstanding wrestler competed in the 70 kg weight class, but failed to place.

Vince De Marinis, a Concordia graduate, also took part in the Championships, bringing back a bronze medal in the 65 kg weight class.

He had some tough matches against Japan and Turkey, but managed to beat Poland 11-0 in his match for the bronze medal.

“My toughest match was against the Japanese,” he said. “It was really an eye opener to how much I’ve got to improve to be at that world stage. I had a really close match against the Turk who ended up being the silver medal. That match was really winnable. Those mistakes will take me to the next level I think.”

He also enjoyed the atmosphere, and travelling with his teammates. “You’re traveling for the World Championships with some of your best friends that you’ve known for so long,” he said. “It was like we were going to a local tournament with all these Concordia wrestlers.”

The moment he enjoyed the most was sharing the podium with his teammates. “It’s just so relieving, and it takes the weight off your shoulders,” he said. “It’s an indescribable moment. You have to experience it yourself.”