Three wrestlers gave up weeks of their summer break to pursue wrestling glory. In the end, the Sunshine Coast took home every flavour of medal to make a boxed set!
These hardcore wrestlers trained on Coast and in Vancouver. They sweated like fiends, developed technique and worked hard to make weight. Dylan Drope and Ethan Sullivan won the right to represent Zone 5 (Vancouver Coastal) for the BC Summer Games. They travelled to Prince George with several thousand athletes from various sports.
Dylan wrestled tough and took bronze. Dylan has emerged as a leader and looks forward to steering his Elphinstone team to greatness next year. Ethan went undefeated at BC Summer Games, in both the team zone duels portion and individual competition, and was the only undefeated wrestler from Zone 5. He took his gold medal by being adaptable, changing his style and approach, to best counter each opponent. He defeated two provincial gold medalists and unveiled his new, “slide cancel” technique, which surprised and confused his opponents.
Matt Drope was selected to represent British Columbia at Canada Summer Games in Niagara Region in Ontario. Matt had only three weeks to prepare and had not wrestled seriously in over two years. He also had to juggle his training around working multiple jobs. He dusted off his shoes, competed and medalled on the grand stage of Canada Summer Games with only a handful of practices. Matt helped Team BC take silver in team duels and then went on to win silver in individual competition.
All three boys said the highlight of both games was the walkout at the opening ceremony. To come out as part of a team into a stadium with thousands of spectators cheering you on is a memory they will not soon forget.
Thank you to SD46 for allowing these athletes to train over the summer. Thank you to all those who supported these athletes in their quest to show the rest of the province and the country, how dominant the Sunshine Coast is. The wrestlers look forward to getting back on the mat in September to try and surpass this last amazing year.
