Big day for Billings and Survival School

After hours in Pierrefonds Community High School’s gymnasium - and countless more hours training on and off the mat - the joint Howard S. Billings/Kanien’kehá:ka Tehontatie:nas Mohawk Wrestling Club (MWC) girls’ team has the prize to show for it: their third straight Greater Montreal Athletic Association ‘(GMAA) championship banner.

The MWC girls’ team finished with 33 points (four first places, five second places, one third place, one fifth place).

That was 12 more than their nearest competitors, Lower Canada College and Pierrefonds, each with 21 points.

The boys, meanwhile, concluded the championships in the top half of the 15-team division, finishing seventh overall. They earned 23 points (two firsts, two fifths).

“I’m actually feeling rather proud of my team. They fought some of their hardest fought battles,” said MWC coach Otiohkwanoron Montour.

Montour pointed out the success on the day of newer wrestlers, like first-year wrestler Caitlin Negus, who finished second in the 132 lbs. class, and veterans like graduating senior Sidney Hoshowatiuk, finally winning the 220 lbs. men’s class, as proof of the success of the welcoming environment they have built since he and his father Peter instituted the team in 2019.

“They feel welcome at our practices. We have a good amount of fun, and everybody’s improving,” said Montour.

“Like I’ve been saying all year, there’s no losing, especially this year, considering we have such a young team. There’s winning, which is great, but there’s also learning. And that’s what I’ve been telling everybody all year, and it seems to be allowing people to not only accept hard losses, but also realize, ‘hey, this is where I need to improve.’”

That improvement has been drastic compared to the beginning of the year, which shows the work is paying off, he said.

The MWC’s growth and success in just a few short years stems not just from the athletes and the coaches, but also from community and parental support, said Montour, whether it be moral or financial support through fundraising.

“We can only get so far without their support,” said Montour.

Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) also had a good day on Thursday, even though they don’t have a banner to show for it.

The girls’ team finished fourth overall with 14 points (one first, one second, one sixth), while the boys finished with 24 points, a single point ahead of the MWC for sixth place (two seconds, one third, two fourths).

“The team did well. They had a bunch of good wins but also lost a few matches just because of small rookie mistakes,” said KSS wrestling coach Brandon Stalk.

“Most of them are first or second year, and there’s a lot they can improve on.”

Still, the improvements have been there since the beginning of the season, a year that started off with the team reeling in the aftermath of the death of one of their own, Ken’nikahrhà:sa Cross, in October.

KSS wrestlers have come a long way together, and their performances all throughout the season, at the Matmen Classic back in the fall as well as the off-island regionals a few weeks ago, shows that they have grown into a very good program and a very good team.

Carmen Stacey won KSS’s lone gold on the day in the 132 lbs. girls’ class. Teiewentsarihtha Rice took home second in the 138 lbs. girls’ class.

Aiden Jacobs finished second in the 138 lbs. boys’ class, Lennox Deere finished second in the 145 lbs. boys’ class, and Tharahwisere Stacey finished third in the 210 lbs. boys’ class.

Deere, notably, is in the eighth grade, while most of his opponents on the day are in their senior year.

Stalk also pointed to the performance of Slade Two-Rivers, who finished fourth in the 163 lbs. boys’ class while accumulating some solid wins. He was also the only wrestler on the day to score points against the class champion, Kemal Aliyev from Lower Canada College.

“Slade defended a few takedowns and even scored three points of his own during that match,” said Stalk.

The GMAAs are not the last stop of the wrestling season, with the all-stars meet and provincials, among others, still to come.

Provincials were supposed to take place February 21, but they have been delayed more than a month to March 31.

“I’m glad provincials are pushed back a month, because this young team will make a lot of improvements at practice in that time,” said Stalk.

Montour, for his part, said that the MWC wrestlers have been trained to keep in mind that the road to the end of the season is long, and the hard work needs to continue, even after a high like the GMAAs.

The all-stars meet will be at John Rennie High School on February 24. Full results for this year’s GMAA championships can be found at flowrestling.org by searching for “GMAA Championships 2026.”

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