Big wins for local wrestling

With the Greater Montreal Athletic Association (GMAA) wrestling championships in less than one week, Tuesday’s South Shore Regional Wrestling Championships was the last chance for wrestlers to test their mettle before the big day.

Doubly so because of the fact that the top four performers of each weight class at regionals qualified for next Thursday’s GMAA championships.

Both Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) and the joint Howard S. Billings/Kanien’kehá:ka Tehontatie:nas Mohawk Wrestling Club (MWC) showed why both teams should be contenders at the GMAAs, with KSS amassing 15 podium finishes and the MWC getting 17.

“I’m really proud of all the kids today, and I think all the coaches are very proud as well,” said KSS wrestling coach Brandon Stalk towards the end of the day’s activities at the Mohawk Super Bingo, which hosted the regionals.

“It was a tough competition. It’s a tournament that’s going to make everybody better, and we’re looking forward to next week for sure.”

Slade Two Rivers finished first in the boys’ 163 lbs. division for KSS, and his perception of having had a dominant day matched the eye test, achieving multiple pinfalls.

In his second year on the wrestling team, Two Rivers feels he has grown a lot as an athlete.

“I feel a lot more technical, a lot more comfortable in the sport, and I just feel overall more confident in my ability,” he said.

Kane Clute finished third for KSS in the 189 lbs. division, losing just once to his own teammate, Leland Lahache.

“That was a very good round. It was a test of our own strength. And no matter what, KSS won that round,” said Clute.

He said that facing off against his teammates in this kind of setting means that no matter what, KSS will win, and that’s the important part.

“I just go with the flow. I try, I don’t just like slug off and do whatever, I try. But in the end, I was thinking that KSS wins no matter what.”

Stalk said that when teammates are facing off, he lets them do their thing, giving them pointers between rounds but not coaching them much otherwise. He takes that from his own time as a wrestler, where he found that helped him a lot in these kinds of situations.

Clute too has found that he has grown tremendously, with a summer growth spurt between grade eight and nine helping him become a much stronger wrestler. Now in grade 10, he is even stronger.

“My own body is starting to transform into a wrestler’s body, and it’s paid off,” said Clute.

Tharahkwisere Stacey also achieved a pinfall on Tuesday, finishing second in the 210 lbs. category, taking advantage of a mistake in positioning by his opponent.

He was very happy with how his teammates did and what they achieved Tuesday.

“My teammates did really well, I’m proud of them,” he said.

The MWC can also be proud of their performance, which puts them on track to have a strong outing next Thursday.

“A lot of our kids turned it on to a new level today, and I’m actually really happy with how the majority of them performed,” said MWC coach Otiohkwanoron Montour.

“There was no losing, there was winning and learning. And if we didn’t win, we definitely did a whole lot of learning today.”

The MWC girls dominated the standings, achieving nine first place finishes.

That being said, many of the girls from the team faced off vs. their teammates, as had been the case in other competitions. Montour said that keeping in mind the stakes is important when facing teammates.

“Something we always talk about is mental focus and being able to separate friends and competition,” said Montour.

“What happens on the mat, stays on the mat. You’re still going to be teammates after you get off the mat.”

Montour is pleased with the amount of growth the wrestlers have had in the last few weeks of competition, and with GMAAs coming soon, they’ll need it.

“I feel like we’re on the right track not only as coaches, but as a team,” said Montour.

Full results can be found at flowrestling.org by searching for “GMAA Regionals - OFF ISLAND 2026.”

Big win at Ed Meagher

The MWC team placed first in the wrestling portion of the Ed Meagher Sports Tournament at Loyola High School, something Montour did not see coming at all.

“It was a bit of a surprise to me,” said Montour.

“I knew we have a strong girls’ team, but I knew our guys’ team was a little bit on the lower side. I knew it wasn’t impossible to win the tournament, I was just surprised when we actually did.”

The girls placed first overall, with nine first place finishes, one second, and one third. The boys finished an excellent second overall, tied on points with Selwyn House but getting the tiebreaker by number of first places (four for MWC, two for Selwyn House). They also had two second place and one third place finish.

“Don’t get me wrong, it did feel special,” said Montour. That’s because the last time he was part of a team that had won was in 2011, when he was still a wrestler and his father Peter coached him.

KSS did not participate in the tournament, after having not been invited despite finishing third last year. Loyola High School director of communications Chiara Folini-Buma confirmed to The Eastern Door this week that this was an oversight on the part of the school due to miscommunication.

“We look forward to welcoming KSS back to next year’s Ed Meagher Sports Tournament,” she said.

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