A Falcon is flying solo when he steps on to the wrestling mat.

Although Cole Chapman has the full support of his teammates in the Okotoks Wrestling Club, the Grade 10 student is the lone member of the Foothills Composite High School wrestling competitively so far this season.

Cole Chapman, in white, practices a move at an Okotoks Wrestling Club practice Thursday at Foothills Composite High School. Chapman is the lone Foothills Falcon registered for high school wrestling so far in the 2009-10 season.

“I still have everybody cheering me on, even though they aren’t going to the same school,” said Chapman. “I tried to get a couple of kids from our school to come out for wrestling, but they quit because they said it was too hard.

“The first couple of practices are hard but it gets easier and easier.”

Chapman has been wrestling with the Okotoks club for the past two years. He had his first high school tournament on Saturday when he wrestled in the Tiger Classic in Wetaskiwin.

“This will be the first time I have ever wrestled for a school and I’m excited, but I’m also nervous because I haven’t wrestled at this level yet,” Chapman said during an Okotoks Wrestling Club practice Thursday night. “But even though this is my first year of high school, I still might have more experience than some of the other guys because I have wrestled for two years with this club.”

Chapman, who wrestles in the 63 kg weight class, finished sixth in the Novice division at Wetaskiwin. He was sixth in the elite division.

He said wrestling is the ideal sport for athletes like himself who are not the biggest guys in the world.

“I’m a bit smaller than most kids but this sport doesn’t discriminate against that because I am wrestling against kids my own size,” Chapman said. “And everybody thinks wrestling is about brute strength, but it takes skill and ability.”

Wrestling is like any sport, you get better when you take your lumps now and then. In wrestling that can mean looking straight up at the ceiling, and arching your back in a bridge to prevent a pin.

Something that has happened to Chapman a few times in his young career.

“It doesn’t feel good, but it pushes you to do better so you wrestle better so you won’t get pinned the next time,” he said. “Or maybe if you wrestle the guy again you will pin him, rather than the guy who will pin you.

“I like how whether you do good or bad is totally up to me.”

He said his goal for his initial high school wrestling season is to win a medal at a tournament and to qualify for the provincials.

Okotoks club coach Mark Barnert said Chapman has the ability and attitude to advance to provincials by finishing in the top five at rural provincials.

“He has come a long ways in the last year,” Barnert said. “He’s a very well-mannered kid. He comes to practice and usually has set up the mats before I get here.”

Barnert, a community coach, said it is difficult to recruit wrestlers from the Comp when there isn’t a coach at the site.

“I wish I could have more input on getting kids out, but it’s hard when you are not in the school every day — we just don’t get the exposure,” Barnert said. “But it’s not like we aren’t trying.”

There are several posters promoting the Okotoks Wrestling Club in the hallways at Foothills Composite High School.

While the Comp is an army of one on the wrestling mat for now, the future looks bright for Falcons doing a chicken wing in the future.

There are 10 students in the club from Okotoks Junior High School, the usual feeding school to the Comp, wrestling for the club this season.

“We’re building from the bottom,” Barnert said.

At present there are three wrestlers from Holy Trinity Academy with the Okotoks club.

The Okotoks Wrestling Club practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. at the small gymnasium at Foothills Composite. Anyone wishing to join the club can call coach Doug Watkins at 403-938-2676.

Wetaskiwin Classic

There appears to be another Watkins on the horizon in high school wrestling.

Reid Watkins won a gold medal in his first official match at the high school level when he beat Matt Izyk from Highwood School in the 76kg final at the Wetaskiwin Classic in Wetaskiwin Saturday.

Reid, a Grade 10 student is following in the footsteps of brothers, Zach, Lloyd and Spencer who had impressive high school wrestling careers.
However, Reid will have a tough nemesis this season in Izyk in the Blackie area.

“Matt is a big strong kid, who wrestles hard,” said Okotoks Wrestling Club coach Doug Watkins. “They will be battling each other all year.”

Izyk won the silver medal at 68kg last season at the high school provincials.

Jordan Wallace, a Grade 10 student at HTA proved he might have a bright career regardless of what class he wrestles in. Wallace was supposed to wrestle at 45kg but was bumped to 50 because there were no wrestlers at the lower weight.

Wallace won the silver in the Novice competition and then took home the bronze in the elite category.

Melissa Redpath from DeWinton, won the silver medal in the 49kg girls elite division.

Brock DuBerger, a High River wrestler competing for the Okotoks club, won gold in the Novice division at 63 kg.

Josh Craig from Edison School won silver in the novice division and was fourth in elite.

Junior high

Following are the results for junior high wrestlers in Wetaskiwin.

Kevin Barrett, 80kg — Novice, third

Cody Thompson, 63 kg — Novice, first; Elite, third

Jamie Hansen, 90kg — Elite, silver, Novice, gold

Abby Watkins, 50kg — Elite, second

Cassidy Barnert, 56kg — Elite, third

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