A third straight B.C. wrestling title wasn’t in the cards, but the New Westminster Hyacks made an impressive showing all the same last week in Port Alberni.
Despite a smaller team than in past years, the Hyacks finished second among the boys teams, with four medallists.
Leading the way was senior Sammy Sidhu, who repeated as champion in the 84-kilogram division. Sidhu won by a technical fall over Maple Ridge’s Lucas Kolobara. Sidhu didn’t concede a point all weekend.
In the 130kg class, Isaiah James improved on last year’s bronze with a silver, having dominated every match until the final.
Scoring bronze were Yanni Angelopolous, who ran up against a motivated rival that he had bested a year earlier in the 110kg division, Daniel Dordevic in 130kg, and Hossein Shidfar, in the 78kg category.
Dordevic claimed bronze by stopping William Merry of Alberni 10-0, while Shidfar bested McNair’s Jovan Dhaliwal in a 14-4 technical fall.
Also putting in strong performances just shy of the medals were Anthony Dilman, who placed fourth in 110kg in a loss to teammate Angelopolous, and Alec Lacusta, fourth in 66kg.
“Overall, we are happy with the results as we had seven make it to the top four,” remarked Hyacks coach Gord Sturrock.
