Thunderbird Wrestler Sullivan Valdez Brings Home a OUA Medal from 2023 York Open

The Algoma Thunderbird wrestling program made their way to Toronto for the York Open over the November 18th and 19th weekend. As the team continues their success, we were eager to see what this weekend would be like for them!

Sullivan Valdez placed third at 57kg, bringing home his first medal of the season. “I’m pretty happy with my performance at York. I wish I did better against Brock, but overall I think I did well. I definitely need to work on my offense, but I like where my defensive wrestling was at,” says Valdez.

Wrestlers Grason Belton (61kg), Anthony Nighbor (76kg), and Rebecca Vann (53kg) placed fourth in their respective weight classes. Lilah Fraser placed fifth at 83kg.

Here are what some of our athletes had to say:

Grason: I started the tournament with a tough first round loss and had to battle all the way through the backside to get 4th. I moved my feet really well all day and was super elusive. I definitely need to work on defending laces. Overall I was definitely proud of my performance.

Anthony: Tough bracket with a lots of quality wrestlers. It was good seeing where I rank up against those wrestlers as well as what I need to do to beat those I lost to. Seeing how I can use my wrestling experience in the USA to my advantage here in Canada is really entertaining and I love that I can still do my style of wrestling even with a different type of wrestling. Main things to work on are just pushing all 6 minutes. The losses were close ones which mean that if I just push that little bit extra, I will. be able to take a step forward and continue beating quality competition.

Rebecca: I feel like I’m starting to move a bit better but I still am extending too much when I go to shoot. I’m strong enough to pull the leg to me 50 percent of the time but it takes strength I can’t always afford to waste. Set up to shot is what I’m going to work on.

The next action for our wrestling team will be December 2nd as they travel once again to Toronto to the U of T Open!

Source: Algoma Thunderbird Athletics

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