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Team News

  • Royals boast strong tradition on the mats

    Aso Palani
    Aso Palani in red
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Top International competition up next for Royals athletesSteve Rose April 28, 2010 New Westminster

    Douglas College wrestlers Aso Palani and Arjun Gill will continue a strong Douglas tradition of representing Canada by competing at several high-profile international meets this summer. Palani placed 2nd at the Senior Nationals in Fredericton, New Brunswick in March, qualifying him to represent Canada at the Pan American Championships in Monterrey, Mexico on May 2nd, and to represent Douglas College and Canada at the FISU University World Championships in Torino, Italy in August. Gill won the Junior Nationals in Fredericton in March, qualifying him to represent Canada at the Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in July.

    Douglas College wrestlers owe much of their success to competition in a rigorous American-style collegiate season that runs from November until March, culminating in competition at the NCWA National Championships. The NCWA is a league with over 100 members from universities and colleges in the United States. Douglas is the only Canadian school in the league. During the collegiate season, Douglas wrestlers compete in meets throughout the United States, with competitors representing the NCAA (Division I and II), the NAIA and the NJCAA. Aso Palani won the NCWA National Championships for Douglas in 2009, while Arjun Gill was 8th at the Championships this season. Douglas wrestler Raj Rai was 6th at the same event, earning himself All-American honors. Sarah Morten won the Women’s event for Douglas, earning Outstanding Wrestler honors along the way.

    Following completion of the collegiate season, Douglas athletes switch to an International-style freestyle season, with efforts aimed at representing Canada at various high-profile international events. Douglas has had a great deal of success in following the model of completing a collegiate season followed by a freestyle season. Very few Canadian post secondary schools follow this model. As a result, Douglas athletes receive far more competitive opportunities than most other Canadian wrestlers.

    Some of Douglas’ most decorated wrestlers include Daniel Igali, who was Canada’s first wrestler to win both a World Championship and an Olympic Gold Medal, Lyndsay Belisle, who won a Silver Medal at the World Championships and who represented Canada at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Travis Cross, who represented Canada at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and John Pineda, who won Canada’s Olympic Trials in 2007 and who will also represent Canada this year at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia. Both Cross and Pineda are previous NCWA National Championships for Douglas College.

    The tradition of wrestling success at Douglas College cannot have taken place without the outstanding leadership of coaches. Dave McKay, the present national senior team Coach was at the helm of the program from 1991- 2004 when present coach Steve Rose took over. Steve represented Canada at the World championships at 2004 and was an NAIA All-American with SFU in 1995, 96 & 97. He presently coaches the Canadian National Junior Team. Palani and Gill hope to follow in the footsteps of the College’s most successful wrestlers. If Douglas College Wrestling’s history is an indicator, both are sure to continue to represent both Douglas and Canada proudly in years ahead.

  • Gill takes Gold at Jr. Nationals

    Arjun Gil atop the podium
    Arjun Gil atop the podium
    Freshman caps off collegegiate season in impressive fashionSteve Rose March 30, 2010 New Westminster

    Arjun Gill capped off his great freshman Collegiate season for Douglas by winning Gold at the Junior National Championship today in Fredericton, NB. With his outstanding performance, Gill has qualified to compete for Canada at the Junior World Championships this summer in Hungary.

    Douglas teammate, Pardeep Rekhi also had a strong tournament, finishing in 6th place. Gill and Rekhi helped contribute to the Championship title won by the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club.

    Arjun will be competing in the Senior men's competition March 27, 2010 along with Douglas teammate, Aso Palani. Aso is The defending Silver Medalist from last year's event.

  • NCWWA Champion and 2 All-Americans

    Sarah Morten
    Sarah Morten
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Morten captures gold while Gill and Rai get All-American nodSteve Rose March 15, 2010 New Westminster

    Raj Rai and Arjun Gill completed the third day of the NCWA Championships men's competition with individual losses resulting in 6th and 8th place finishes, respectively. Despite their closing losses, both athletes had strong tournaments and earned All-American status for their efforts. Gill will now shift his focus to freestyle as he, along with Pardeep Rekhi, will be competing at the Junior National Championships in Fredericton in two weeks.

    On the womens side, Sarh Morten won the NCWWA Championships women's competition, finishing her outstanding tournament with two more wins! Sarah completed her tournament with a flawless 7 wins and no losses. Way to go Sarah!

  • Fourth Place Finish for the Royals

    Arjan Gill
    Arjan Gil in red
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Gil and Rekhi take first placeSteve Rose March 1, 2010 New Westminster

    Douglas wrestlers competed at the West Coast NCWA Conference Championships in San Jose, California on Sunday. All four wrestlers competing for Douglas medaled at the event, resulting in a strong fourth place showing for the College. Freshman Arjun Gill and sophomore Pardeep Rekhi both won the event. Junior Sam Sepehripour was second, and senior Raj Rai was third. The team will close out it's collegiate season at the NCWA National Championships in Hampton, Virginia from March 11 to 13.

  • Old Spaghetti Factory Athlete of the Week

    Raj Rai
    Raj Rai in red
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Senior Raj Rai looks to build on last years successSteve Rose January 26, 2010 New Westminster

    Raj is a senior athlete on the squad who is a natural leader and a huge help to the freshmen on the team. Raj narrowly missed out on placing at last year’s NCWA National Championships. He is hoping to build on last year’s success at this year’s championships in Hampton, Virginia. Raj had a strong start to the season, placing third at the Mike Clock Open.

  • Old Spaghetti Factory Athlete of the Week

    Sarah Morten
    Sarah Morten in blue
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Freshman looks to finish season strongSteve Rose January 26, 2010 New Westminster

    Sarah is a freshman on the wrestling team who has a family history at Douglas College. Her mother, Shelley, was one of the first female wrestlers at the College and in Canada. Sarah has had a busy year of wrestling, winning a Silver Medal for BC at the Canada Games in PEI. Sarah will be competing at both the NCWA National Championships and the Junior National Championships in March. With a large number of matches in hand, Sarah should have a strong performance at both Championships.

  • Fourth place finish for Gill at Cougar Invitational

    Arjan Gill
    Arjan Gill in red
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Royals wrestlers continue to post resultsSteve Rose January 19, 2009 New Westminster

    Arjan Gill followed up his win last weekend with a fourth place finish at the Cougar Open in Clackamas, Oregon on Saturday. Also competing for Douglas were Sam Sepheri who had one win and two losses, and Pardeep Rekhi who lost two close matches, ending his tournent early.

    Aso Palani competed at the NCWA American Airlines All-Star Challenge in Grand Prairie, Texas on Saturday. The meet was between defending NCWA Champions and NAIA Champions. Aso took a large lead in the first period of the match, but made a costly error in the second period, giving up a fall and losing the match.

    Complete results of the Challenge can be found at www.ncwa.net. The wrestling team takes on Yakima College next Saturday in Yakima, Washington.

  • Arjan Gill wins University of Alberta Invitational

    Arjan Gill
    Arjan Gill in red
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Freshman wrestler goes 4-0 in tourney to take 84kg classSteve Rose January 12, 2009 New Westminster

    Douglas College Freshman wrestler Arjan Gill won the University of Alberta Varsity Invitational Tournament in Edmonton, Alberta on Friday. Arjan went 4¿0 in the tournament, beating Eric Fuenkenes from the University of New Brunswick in the final. Arjan will continue with his busy season, switching back to collegiate style wrestling next weekend, where he will compete in the Clackamas Open in Oregon along with Sophomore Pardeep Rekhi and Senior Raj Rai.

    Freshman Sarah Morten also competed at the event and placed fourth. Both athletes competed in the Golden Bear Invitational on the following day, where Sarah Morten again earned a fourth place finish.

  • East Valley Invitational Results

    Sarah Mortensen
    Sarah Morten in blue
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Sarah Morten wins first collegeiate tourneySteve Rose November 23, 2009 New Westminster

    Three Douglas wrestlers competed at the East Valley Invitational in Spokane this past weekend. Sarah Morten went 3 wins and 1 loss, to win her first ever collegiate tournament. Arjun Gill was 1 win and 2 losses, and Pardeep Rekhi had his strongest performance to date with 2 wins and 2 losses against a strong field from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. Aso Palani was scheduled to compete at the NYAC International this weekend, but was sidelined due to injury.

  • Busy Weekend for Royals Wrestlers

    Arjun Gil wrestles against a Korean Jr. National Team Member
    Arjan Gill
    photo Jerald Walliser
    Douglas Wrestlers perform well at International levelSteve Rose November 17, 2009 New Westminster

    The Douglas wrestlers had a busy weekend, competing in three tournaments. Athletes competed in the Domestic Hargobind Open Competition on Friday followed by the International Hargobind Open on Saturday. Athletes then traveled to Forest Grove, Oregon to compete in the Mike Clock Open on Sunday.

    Aso Palani placed second in domestic competition in the Hargobind Open, then followed this up with a 6th place finish in the very tough Hargobind International. Aso was injured in the Hargobind Open, so was unable to compete in the Mike Clock Open. Raj Rai was fifth in the domestic Hargobind competition, but did not place in International. Raj followed up the Hargobind Open with a breakthrough third-place performance at the Mike Clock Open. This was a great result for Raj, as he had to switch gears to Folkstyle wrestling for the Mike Clock. First year athlete Arjun Gill did not place in the domestic Hargobind, but had an outstanding 6th place performance in the International Event. He followed this up with a strong Folkstyle debut at the Mike Clock Open, going 2-2 and finishing just out of placing. Pardeep Rekhi wrestled well all weekend, but did not place. Josh Cullen also wrestled well, but did not place. Sam Sheripour was 5th in the domestic Hargobind. Emily Weekes and Sarah Morten represented the womens' side well at the Hargobind, but did not place.

     

  • International Dual meet a success

    Fans enjoy afternoon wrestling at Douglas College
    Fans enjoy some afternoon entertainment
    Douglas wrestlers & Alumni draw even vs. the Korean Jr. National TeamSteve Rose November 5, 2009 New Westminster

    Thanks to everyone who came out to support the Douglas wrestlers in their dual against a strong Korean Junior National Team on Tuesday afternoon. It was great for the team to have the opportunity to wrestle in their home gym. It was an exciting dual with both teams exchanging wins throughout the afternoon. In the end, the dual ended up even, with both Douglas and Korea receiving four wins each.

    Aso Palani started things off for Douglas with an exciting come-from-behind victory after trailing with just 16 seconds left in his match. Raj Virdi, a Douglas alumnus, followed this up with a similar third round victory. Douglas senior, Raj Rai, lost a close match that he was leading in the second period. Freshman Jag Basra wrestled a solid match, but, unfortunately, lost. Alumnus Dean Dehamel put Douglas back on a winning streak with a decisive victory. Former Douglas wrestler, Manjot Sandhu had an exciting high-scoring match that he, unfortunately, lost in the end. Freshman Arjun Gill followed up with an exciting, yet, controversial victory. SFU athlete and New Westminster local Alec Tuura closed the dual with a close loss, leaving the dual all square.

    Douglas' women followed up the dual with two exhibition matches against SFU wrestlers. Both Sarah Morten and Emily Weekes lost their matches, but wrestled well in defeat.

    The team looks forward to hosting matches at New West in the future.

  • Wrestlers fair well at the Dino Cup

    wresling fairs well at the Dino Cup
    Raj Rai
    photo by Jerald Walliser
    Second place finish for Royals wrestler Arjun GillSteve Rose October 27, 2009 Calgary, AB

    The Douglas wrestling team completed their first tournament of the season this weekend at the U of C Dino Open in Calgary. This was a great opportunity for wrestlers to get much needed matches in preparation for the Hargobind Open in two weeks in Surrey. Douglas' top placer was first year wrestler Arjen Gill, who finished a strong second in the tournament. Other placers included Sam Sephiripour and Raj Rai, who were both 4th, and Pardeep Rekhi and Josh Cullen, who placed 5th and 6th, respectively. First year wrestlers Sarah Morten and Wyatt Ariss also competed well, but fell short of placing. Emily Weekes was injured in exhibition matches on Friday night, so was unable to compete in the tourament on Saturday.