An Okotoks wrestler is doing things on the mat that is taking even his coach by surprise.

However, one thing that didn’t surprise coach Doug Watkins was Jordan Wallace coming home with a medal from one of the biggest high school meets of the year Saturday in Edmonton.

Wallace won the silver medal at 46kg at the Golden Bear High School meet.

“I don’t give Jordan enough credit,” Watkins said. “He does things on the wrestling mat that I don’t see in practice. He has a lot of skills.”

Wallace, a Grade 10 student at Holy Trinity Academy, went 4-1 at the Edmonton meet. His lone loss was to a Saskatoon wrestler in the final.

Meanwhile, Reid Watkins lost his first high school match of his career when Hugh Tunney of Edmonton narrowly beat him in the semifinal match in the 76kg weight division.

Tunney narrowly beat Watkins in the best-of-three rounds match. The two wrestlers were tied at one round each after the first two rounds. The final round ended tied at 1-1, but Tunney was declared the winner of the round because he had scored the last point.

Reid won the bronze medal match when he beat Dominic Olver. Watkins and Olver share more than a passion for wrestling — they both come from families with 10 children.

Watkins went 6-1 at the tournament and there were 61 were wrestlers entered in the 76kg division.

The Okotoks Wrestling Club sent two other high school wrestlers to the meet. Brock Deburger finished fifth at 63kg and Miranda Lee Redpath was fifth in the high school girls 45kg division. There were 38 and 58 wrestlers in Redpath’s and DeBurger’s weight divisions respectively.

Junior high wrestlers

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Although there is a new batch of wrestlers moving up the ranks, it’s a familiar name that won gold for the Okotoks Wrestling Club in Edmonton.

Abi Watkins dominated the Junior High girls 42kg division by pinning all of her opponents en route to winning the gold medal.

Cody Thompson was fifth at 63kg. Doug Watkins said Thompson’s performance in Edmonton bodes well for him in the Alberta Winter Games this weekend in Cold Lake. Thompson will wrestle at 60kg at the Games.

Billy Wear and Thomas Kurth both finished with 1-2 records in Edmonton at 67kg while Jamie Irving and Jazzy Singh lost both their matches in Edmonton.

There were more than 1,300 matches at the high school level and 500 at the junior high level.

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