For the first time in two years, wrestling returned to high schools in Saskatchewan on Saturday with Regional Championship tournaments. There are three wrestling regions in the province, Saskatoon, Regina, and a third tournament for the rest of Saskatchewan that was held in Outlook this year.

Lloyd Tulp is the head coach of the wrestling team in Outlook, but he wore the hats of the head official and tournament organizer during the event, and with regional tournaments normally being held in bigger centres such as Swift Current and Prince Albert, Tulp is proud of both the wrestling community and the town of Outlook for getting the tournament put together in only 16 days to make sure that it ran as smooth as possible.

"It says something about our community and about our wrestling family in general. We have 16 communities roughly that would be coming to our centre and being such a small town when you take a look at the bigger centres, we put something together for the only time this has ever happened in all the years of regional wrestling and the town jumped in with both feet and supported us with advertising and financially and direction, and then we had I think for 14 different businesses that jumped on board to lend me a hand through products and finances and support, and then my staff, they stepped up Saturday to help out where they could."

As for the actual competition itself, the tournament was a huge success. While high school tournaments through the Sask. High School Athletic Association (SHSAA) haven't been going forward until this last weekend, teams have been practicing in that time and there have been a couple Saskatchewan Amateur Wrestling Association (SAWA) sanctioned tournaments in that time. Because of the dedication wrestlers have shown to their sport, Tulp was very impressed to see the level of competition brought to the mats after such a long time without competition.

"I can't pinpoint one specific wrestler, but I do have to give props to a few. Scott Huber and Kaidin McGinnis from Wilkie with coach Chris Kent, you take a look at that program, and Piper Kent, they dominated in their division and then you take a look at before Rosetown's Allie Gawryuik (from Rosetown) had been injured, she was dominating there as well. She's a reigning provincial champion, and I have to give props to my own daughter Tabyn Tulp in the 60kg. She had four matches and didn't have a point scored against her. You can pick any one of them out of the hat and stay there the rest of the tournament but to actually dissect their matches because everyone is different and their dominating factor can be so many different ways, there's no set criteria to figure out who's the number one wrestler of the tournament."

As for a specific highlight from the tournament, Tulp was on the mat as the referee in the final match of the tournament, and he said that turned out to be probably the best match of the entire tournament where Kaidin McGinnis from McLurg High School in Wilkie defeated Kayde Kell from A.E Peacock High School in Moose Jaw for the men's 62kg final in a high scoring two-round 21-12 final that had the entire gym on their feet.

"It was probably the most exciting match. It started out where Kardin was dominating, and then Kell comes back and he starts to score, and then Kaidin comes in and he scores a few more and Kell does some real good defensive moves and get some offensive stuff going in, and then Kaidin finished off really, really strong, but that that exemplifies the sport of wrestling. In general, it doesn't matter if you're down and at the bottom, you can always do something to counter, become offensive and have success, and the fact that it was a seesaw and the last match of the day going for gold showed showcased overall tenacity and grit of the wrestlers and the wrestling community rallied around both athletes."

Wilkie's Kaiden McGinnis finishes off a hip toss throw out of bounds in one of his earlier matches of the tournament.Wilkie's Kaiden McGinnis finishes off a hip toss throw out of bounds in one of his earlier matches of the tournament.

Listed below are the top four athletes in each division with competitors from West Central Saskatchewan wrestling teams highlighted in bold. The top four wrestlers in each weight class will compete in provincials March 18-19 in Saskatoon at Evan Hardy. Weight classes with just a single wrestler have not been included, but you can find those full results by clicking here.

Female 56kg

  1. Zara Meier (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  2. Aryha Thomas (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  3. Alex Painchaud (Swift Current)
  4. Gabrielle Robertson (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)

The two Wilkie wrestlers met up in the fourth round of the five-round robin bracket, and aside from Meier earning the win via pinfall in their matchup, neither Wilkie wrestler gave up a point for the entire tournament.

Female 60kg

  1. Tabyn Tulp (Outlook)
  2. Hillary Lacelle (Swift Current)
  3. Kayley Clarke (Carlton CHS, Prince Albert)
  4. Cassandra Bowles (A.E. Peacock, Moose Jaw)

Tulp finished all four of her matches in the first round with two 10-0 finishes, and both of her pinfall wins came in just 14 and 15 seconds.

Female 64kg

  1. Angel Besskkaystare (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  2. Sasha Ries  (Swift Current)
  3. Ruby Zummack  (Swift Current)
  4. Jovee Dansereau (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)

Female 68kg

  1. Mallory Flowerday (Carrot River)
  2. Fallon Head (Carrot River)
  3. Alexa Bradish (Central Collegiate, Moose Jaw)

Female 73kg

  1. Charleigh Barden (Carlton CHS, Prince Albert)
  2. Sydnee Christmann (A.E. Peacock, Moose Jaw)
  3. Taylor LaRocque (Swift Current)
  4. Allie Gawryuik (Rosetown)

Gawryuik was injured during her first match of the day and did not compete after that. She is a returning provincial champion, and if her injury heals in time she will have a chance to defend that title thanks to just four wrestlers in her weight class in the region.

Female 80kg

  1. Carissa May Bull (Lloydminster)
  2. Chloe Lefrancois (Martensville)

Female 90kg

  1. Piper Kent (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  2. Kaidence Paul (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  3. Jasmine Little (Carrot River)

With just two matches, Kent had to battle through the first 40 seconds of the match to try and earn a takedown but neither wrestler gave up much. Then Kent managed a big 4-point takedown directly into a pin, and the match was over. In her second match to secure gold, Kent also earned a pinfall victory after a takedown and a turn towards the mat before finishing the pin.

Female 105kg

  1. Landry Abbott (Swift Current)
  2. Abigail Prutton (Carrot River)

Male 50kg

  1. Denys Kuzmych (Rosetown)
  2. Issac Fluery (Carpenter HS, Meadow Lake)

In their lone match of the weight class, Kuzmych earned four points off of a takedown and for turning his opponent's back past the 90 degree angle towards the mat before earning a pinfall just 37 seconds in.

Male 56kg

  1. Nathan Kowal (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  2. Logan Moskul (Warman HS)
  3. Scott Fillian (Carpenter HS, Meadow Lake)
  4. Emmit Wiebe (Swift Current)

Male 59kg

  1. Damion McKay (Churchil School, La Ronge)
  2. Aiden Munroe (Carpenter HS, Meadow Lake)

Male 62kg

  1. Kaiden McGinnis (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  2. Kayde Kell (A.E. Peacock, Moose Jaw)
  3. Bryn Cooper (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  4. Connor Hammer (Swift Current)

Due to being one of the most populated weight classes of the tournament, the men's 62kg was a double elimination bracket rather than round robin. McGinnis, a silver medalist at nationals, was given a bye in the first round before winning his next two matches with a 10-0 finish in the first round and a pinfall 1:01 into his second. In his third match which also happened to be the last match of the tournament for gold, McGinnis went down 3-0 early before landing a 4-point takedown from the feet straight to Kell's back and using it to take a 11-3 lead, two points shy of a technical victory. Kell came back with four points at the end of the round, leaving things sit at 11-7 heading into the second, and Kell quickly tied it before another big 4-point takedown from McGinnis took the lead back. With 1:14 left in the match, McGinnis landed another 4-point throw right into a pinfall victory, one point shy of a tech victory at 21-12 in what was the match of the tournament.

Male 65kg

  1. Scott Huber (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  2. David Ndaruhutse (Carlton CHS, Prince Albert)
  3. Cale Mohan (Weyburn)
  4. Brent Belderol (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)

Looking to improve on his last two bronze medals in provincials, Scott Huber had one of the most dominant performances of the tournament with two matches won by pinfall in less than a minute, while the other two he won through technical finishes in the first round, and he never gave up a point through all four matches. In his second match, Huber had two huge double leg takedowns where he picked up his opponent off their feet before finishing the throw, along with a big 4-point hip toss.

Male 69kg

  1. Andy Gallernault (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  2. Wyatt Ratzlaff (Swift Current)
  3. Kaelan LeBlanc (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  4. Adrian Martin (Central Collegiate, Moose Jaw)

Gallernault had five matches during the day in a tough division, and although he never earned a pinfall he was still dominant through the entire tournament. He finished all of his matches in the first round, including his last two matches with 10-0 technical victories.

Male 73kg

  1. Darren Toothill (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  2. Zarek Sand (Central Collegiate, Moose Jaw)
  3. Kingston Usher (A.E. Peacock, Moose Jaw)
  4. Dom Bonogofski (Swift Current)

Also in a double elimination bracket and looking to improve on his silver medal from the last provincial competition, Toothill landed three 4-point takedowns directly to his opponent's back and earned both pinfalls in 20 and 19 seconds. In his third match for gold, Toothill put up a dominant 11-0 win before the end of the first round.

Male 77kg

  1. Logan Campbell (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  2. Brady Ross (A.E. Peacock, Moose Jaw)
  3. Jaskirat Bola (Warman)
  4. Joe Hunter (Lloydminster)

Male 82kg

  1. Jared Steinley (Swift Current)
  2. Jay Hunter (Lloydminster)
  3. Steyn Hoogstad (Unity)
  4. Mickey Perltiz (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)

In his first match, Hoogstad gave up an early 5-0 disadvantage but came back near the end with a takedown that secured a pinfall win from behind 11-9 with 15 seconds left in the first round. He lost his second match in the first round in a tough match, but came back with a pinfall win after a 4-point takedown directly to the back just 47 seconds in. In his last match, he was held pointless against the weight class' champion.

Male 90kg

  1. Landon Madjar (Carlton CHS, Prince Albert)
  2. Cody Blier (McLurg HS, Wilkie)
  3. Nolan Fillion (Swift Current)
  4. Delvin Gamble (Carlton CHS, Prince Albert)

Blier finished his first match on the very first takedown just 21 seconds in, a 4-point takedown that his opponent couldn't recover from, and he started his second match off with the same as he went on to a 10-0 victory. In his third, he lost to the first place Mudjar, but then in the third he used two takedowns before finishing with a pin with 20 seconds left, and in his final match against the man in third place, and he finished things off by getting out to an 8-0 lead before earning the pin.

Male 100kg

  1. Corban Taylor (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  2. Shawn Dyck (Unity)

With just two wrestlers in the weight class in the competition, Dyck was taken down to his stomach before defending any turns or pinfall attempts.

Male 130kg

  1. Owen Ferchuk (St. Mary's, Prince Albert)
  2. Seth Unger (Swift Current)