| Last updated at 12:38 AM on 29/05/09 |
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Lorena Ellis of Kingston, P.E.I., has a good grip on her opponent during the recent 2009 Canada East Youth Wrestling Festival in Orillia, Ont. (Submitted photo) |
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All gold on the mat 
P.E.I.’s Lorena Ellis has been enjoying a big year so far in wrestling
CHARLES REID
The Guardian
It’s been a good year for Islander Lorena Ellis.
After all, since January the 13-year-old wrestler from Kingston has won gold medals in the bantam girls division at the Nova Scotia Open championships, the Atlantic Open championships held in Charlottetown and the recent Canada East Youth Wrestling Festival held in Ontario.
Three medals, three events.
There’s a pattern here somewhere and that pattern is winning — kickstarted by her early days on the beach.
“The season was so good because I was doing beach training every second morning. And weightlifting before school.”
Ellis, a product of the Rikidokan judo club in Charlottetown, has been wining since she started wrestling five years ago.
She is a four-time wrestling gold-medal winner at the Eastern Canadians in various divisions and the 2008 Atlantic judo champion in the cadet girls’ under-54 kilogram division.
Next up are the national championships in Calgary later this summer, the last event of the season.
But, travel costs could keep her in P.E.I.
She is too young for the 2009 Canada Summer Games in August in P.E.I., although she’s on target for the 2011 Winter Canada Games in Halifax in judo and the 2013 Summer Games in wrestling.
From there, she is not sure where wrestling will take her.
University, preferably in Texas, is an option, but that’s five years away.
“I kind of want to train at a university. I don’t know how far I can get in it. I want to go as far as I can.”
And why Texas?
“I have no clue. I just like Texas.”
Lorena is the daughter of Teresa and Gary Ellis and is a Grade 8 student at East Wiltshire Intermediate School.
(creid@theguardian.pe.ca)
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