2026 WCL U SPORTS Invitational Championships begin with pool matches
Nearly 200 of the country’s top university wrestlers made their way to Thunder Bay, Ontario for the 2026 WCL U SPORTS Invitational Championships, hosted by Lakehead University. Day one, February 27, saw pool matches take place in 20 weight classes (10 for women and 10 for men) to determine who would qualify for tomorrow’s medal rounds. The competitors were not only battling for individual honours but also to accumulate points towards the overall team title.
Each weight class featured two pools with up to five competitors in each pool for a maximum total of 10 competitors. All competitors in the pool faced each other to determine the final standings. Using those final standings, competitors will then cross over to face the equivalent seed in the other pool for gold, bronze, fifth, seventh and ninth place.
At the end of the pool competition, the finals matches shape up like this:
Gold Medal Matches
Women
50kg
Kicking off the gold medal matches for the women will be Alberta’s Victoria Stefanov against Brock’s Emma Chartres.
53kg
In the women’s 53kg final it will be Calgary’s Maya Johnston against McMaster’s Serena Di Benedetto.
56kg
At 56kg it will be Calgary’s Gabriela Cross facing off against Brock’s Francesca Lo Greco.
59kg
Calgary’s Elizabeth Latulippe will square off with McMaster’s Macy Malysiak for gold at 59kg.
62kg
The women’s 62kg gold will be decided between Calgary’s Annika Fines and Brock’s Mia Friesen.
65kg
In the women’s 65kg weight class the gold medal will be between Calgary’s Mackenzie Cayer and Jonelle Clarke of Western.
68kg
Alberta’s Maria Sawiak will take on Brock’s Vanessa Keefe in the 68kg final.
72kg
At 72kg it will be Brock’s Cassie Corbett against Aaliyah Hartfelder from Alberta.
76kg
In the 76kg final, it will be Lakehead’s Haley Florell against McMaster’s Natalie Vecchio for the gold.
83kg
Rounding out the women’s division will be Saskatchewan’s Myah Phillips taking on Alberta’s Vianne Rouleau for gold at 83kg.
Men
57kg
The first final on the men’s side will feature Brock’s Javier Tonita-Charriez versus Algoma’s Brandon Carrillo at 57kg.
61kg
The men’s 61kg will come down to Brock’s Aiden O’Neill and McMaster’s Blayne Helou for the gold.
65kg
At 65kg, Saskatchewan’s Donovan Neudorf will battle Brock’s Mason Mastroianni.
68kg
Guelph’s Casey Harkley will face Brock’s Gabe Blanchette for gold at 68kg.
72kg
At 72kg it will be Guelph’s Tyler Barry against Chayton Valleau from Western for the gold.
76kg
In the men’s 76kg weight class the gold medal will come down to McMaster’s Luken Lawson and Toronto’s Josiah Mayers-Noel.
82kg
Alberta’s Aidan Stevenson will face Western’s Lukas Geske for gold at 82kg.
90kg
At 90kg it will be Alberta’s Thomas Rousseau against Brock’s Yazdan Farokhizad.
100kg
In the men’s 100kg final it will be McMaster’s Omogbai Asekohme taking on Brock’s Callum Knox for the gold.
125kg
Finally, the men’s 125kg will come down to McMaster’s Chanjot Kang and Brock’s Roger Li.
For complete standings and results, photos and CBC streaming links for tomorrow’s matches, visit the tournament site at: https://wrestling.ca/event/wcl-u-sports-invitational-championships/
Final matches begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. with the fifth, seventh and ninth place contests. The bronze medal matches are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and gold medal matches at 3 p.m. Spectators are invited to attend and tickets are available at the door.