What: the 2023 BC Secondary Schools Wrestling Championship
Who: Wrestlers from all nine BC School Sports zones
Where: Pacific Coliseum on Renfrew Street, Vancouver
When: Friday & Saturday, February 24-25
Finals: Saturday, February 25, 2-5 p.m.
Tickets: reserve your entrance to the event via Ticket Leader through their website: (https://www.ticketleader.ca/events/detail/bc-school-sports-wrestling-provincial-championship); or at the box office entrance to the Pacific Coliseum.
Interesting Facts:
- 494 qualified athletes – 304 boys, 190 girls
- Wrestlers from furthest away: Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, Bella Coola, and Nelson
- Wrestlers closest to the venue: Notre Dame Secondary
- Regions with highest participation at their Zone Qualifier tournament: Vancouver Sea-to-Sky (220), Fraser North (169), Fraser South (111)
- School with the most qualified boys’ entries: Byrne Creek Secondary with 19
- School with the most qualified girls’ entries: Maple Ridge Secondary with 12
- Zones with most seeded wrestlers on the boys’ side of the draw in each weight class (top four): Sea-to-Sky (14-but mostly third and fourth seeds), Fraser South (10–mostly first and second seeds), East Valley (8-mostly first and second seeds)
- Zones with most seeded wrestlers on the girls’ side of the draw in each weight class (top four): Fraser North (7-mostly first and second seeds), Vancouver Island (5-mostly first and second seeds), Vancouver Sea-to-Sky (3-mostly third and fourth seeds)
- Schools with the most seeded wrestlers on the boys’ side of the draw: Tamanawis (5-mostly first and second seeds), W.J. Mouat (4-mostly first and second seeds), Carson Graham and Abby Senior (3 each, mostly third and fourth seeds)
- Schools with the most seeded wrestlers on the girls’ side of the draw: Maple Ridge (4-mostly first and second seeds), Guildford Park and Elphinstone (3 each, one top seed, the others are third and fourth seeds)
- Five boys to watch for: Micah Calipiz-54 kg (Notre Dame Secondary), Arad Ahangi-57 kg (Carson Graham Secondary), Sartaj Sanghara-74 kg (Khalsa Secondary), Rohit Bal-78 kg (Tamanawis Secondary), Tejvir Dhinsa-84 kg (W.J. Mouat Secondary)
- Five girls to watch for: Alice Clements-51kg (Elphinstone Secondary), Olivia Rhodes-54 kg (Ucluelet Secondary), Ella Finding-57 kg (Port Moody Secondary), Mera Batha-60 kg (John Oliver Secondary), Marley Jackson-64 kg (Burnaby Mountain Secondary)
- Schools most likely to compete for the Aggregate Award (combined Boys and Girls points): Maple Ridge Secondary, Elphinstone Secondary, Alberni District Secondary
*Canadian Olympians who emerged through the BC High School championship tournament, held for the first time in 1965:
Munich, 1972-Taras Hryb (Oak Bay)
Montreal, 1976-Jim Miller (Delbrook)
Los Angeles, 1984 and Seoul, 1988-Clark Davis (Mt. Douglas)
Los Angeles, 1984 and Seoul, 1988-Chris Rinke (Poco)
Seoul, 1988-Steve Marshall (Poco)
Seoul, 1988-Dan Payne (Poco)
Barcelona, 1992-Tom Petryshen (Guildford Park)
Barcelona, 1992-Greg Edgelow (Vernon)
Atlanta, 1996-Scott Bianco (Norkam)
Atlanta, 1996-Craig Roberts (Smithers)
Atlanta, 1996-Yogi Johl (Tupper)
Sydney, 2000-Cam Johnston (Smithers – represented Australia)
Athens, 2004-Lyndsay Belisle (Hazelton)
Beijing, 2008-Travis Cross (Alberni)
Beijing, 2008 and London, 2012-Carol Huyhn (Hazelton)
London, 2012-Arjun Bhullar (McRoberts)
Tokyo, 2020-Amar Dhesi (Burnaby Central)
**Olympic Wrestling referees who first emerged through officiating at the BC High School Championship tournament: Atlanta, 1996 and Sydney, 2000-Kjeld Brodsgaard; Beijing, 2008-Jim Mitchell.
(Submitted)