CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Nolan O’Rourke and Savannah MacLachlan made their trip to Edmonton a memorable one, returning home with medals from the Canadian wrestling championships.
O’Rourke, attending his first nationals, won gold in the 60-kilogram, under-17 division while MacLachlan finished second in the 69-kilogram, under-19 division of the Greco-Roman wrestling.
O’Rourke of the Island Wrestling Academy defeated Owen Spencer of Alberni W.C. 12-3 to capture gold and cap off a perfect 5-0 championship on Friday.
“Afterwards, it didn’t really feel like I won nationals,” the 14-year-old Stanhope native said. “The whole tournament I was just more focused on winning each match. Now that it’s been a couple of days, it’s really starting to set in.”
O’Rourke admitted to being nervous heading into his first match on Friday as there were many new names from western Canada in the field of 25 that he hadn’t competed against before.
“After that I felt pretty good, though. I got more in my groove and more comfortable,” he said, noting the importance of staying in the moment and not getting too far ahead of himself. “If your mind wonders, you might end up losing your quarter-final. . . You have to take it one match at a time.”
After winning his first four matches, O’Rourke got to compete for the gold medal in the final match on the evening’s program. All the wrestlers competing for gold were introduced and shook hands before going to the warmup area. Because O’Rourke was the last match, he said he had to wait about an hour.
“I was really nervous at first because the mat is on a stage and everyone is watching,” he said.
It didn’t seem to take him long to settle in as he won the match handily.
MacLachlan competed in both freestyle and Greco while representing the Island Wrestling Academy. The 17-year-old Bonshaw native lost her first two matches in freestyle and was eliminated from the double-knockout competition.
She then competed in Greco, which she explained uses more upper-body strength and throws than freestyle, for the first time on Sunday.
“The Nova Scotia coaches came to me in the morning, told me a little bit . . . about (it) and then I went and I stepped on the mat,” she said.
She lost her first match before winning the next two to secure silver.
“I was really shocked,” she said. “I wasn't sure I was even going to medal at all . . .
“It was a little emotional to be up on the podium.”
She said the experience will help her improve her skills for freestyle next year.
MacLachlan is attending UNB in Fredericton, N.B., in the fall and plans to compete for the Black Bears club team and the UNB varsity squad.
O’Rourke trained in Montreal for the past month before heading to Edmonton. He plans to move to Montreal fulltime next year and train with the Montreal Wrestling Club.
While pleased with Friday’s success, O’Rourke, who only had points scored against him in the final, isn’t satisfied.
“I still have a lot to work on though, but I was happy with how I competed,” he said.
