The depth of the St. Thomas More Knights wrestling program was evident at the recent Alberni Invitational meet.
The STM cadet girls' and boys' teams finished first and second, respectively, in the cadet division at the high school wrestling meet in Port Alberni last week. The Knights' schoolgirl squad also reaped a high aggregate score.
Tessa Patterson at 43 kilograms, Nicole Depa at 54 kg and Anna Benevoli at 64 kg all won their respective weight classes in the cadet age group, while Ivana Baker was also a finalist at 57 kg.
In the cadet boys' division, Eric Bauer was a winner at 67 kg and Kevin Marshall topped the 78-kg class, while Jordan McKenzie was a runner-up at 74 kg.
Darthe Capellan and Zakkaery Moebes were both third-place finalists at 57 and 63 kg, respectively.
In the Grade 8 category, Alana Bates, Izabella Molnar and Natalie Nelson were all finalists in their weight classes.
Bates was second at 46 kg, while teammate Vanessa Lloyd placed third in the division.
Molnar made the 57-kg final and Nelson was second at 60 kg. Ciara Corbett was third at 49 kg.
In the juvenile age class, Clarisse Dos Santos won the girls' 47-kg final.
Jean-Luc Candolfi and Matthew Evans were the highest finishing senior boys, placing second at 54 kg and 130 kg, respectively.
Niko Repole was fourth at 90 kg.
Burnaby Central and Abbotsford Traditional shared top spot in the schoolboy team standings. Central also won the juvenile boys' team aggregate.
New Westminster Secondary's Julian Ramirez won the cadet boys' 74-kg division.
Emily McLaughlin of New Westminster was third in the cadet girls' 54-kg class.
Burnaby/New Westminster schools will compete at the Lower Fraser Valley wrestling championships in Coquitlam today (Friday).
The top five finishers at each weight qualify for the upcoming B.C. championships to be held in Penticton on Feb. 24 and 25.
