PHOTO COURTESY BILL BAIN
Medicine Hat High Hawks Grade 12 wrestler William Kozakewich wrestles Atlas Bures of John G Diefenbaker school in the 108kg provincial finals held in Calgary held March 14-15.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
William Kozakewich ended his wrestling career in high fashion.
The Medicine Hat High Hawks wrestler is hanging up his singlet on a golden note, capturing a provincial gold to cap off an undefeated season.
That alone would have been a spectacular way to head into graduation, but on top of going undefeated in his 12th season as a wrestler, Kozakewich did not surrender a point in any of his matches.
He credits those around him for making the successful season possible.
“I had the most amount of support I think I’ve ever had, especially for my senior year, I had so many coaches helping me for every aspect of it,” Kozakewich said. “From getting me there, helping me physically get there, mentally get there. It felt like a lot, but I had a lot of help.”
Kozakewich won the men’s 108kg finals, beating Atlas Bures of John G Diefenbaker school in the provincial final held March 14-15 in Calgary. He had nerves going into the final match, having never faced off against his opponent. But it was the outside support that helped get him through the weekend.
“It was great to see him so dominant,” Hat High wrestling coach Darren Klein said. “Not to make a comparison with an Olympian, but he fought like them and dominated his matches this weekend, so that was spectacular.
“It was definitely a real highlight match for the tournament, for every weight class. But he fought it so smart and got his points where he needed and got his points the right way technically.”
Kozakewich was a 2022 national champion in the U17 110kg boys division, adding the provincial title to his accolades.
“It’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember but it was a good feeling to end on this provincial title,” Kozakewich said.
“I’ve loved every second of it.”
But now, the Medicine Hat product is shifting his focus full time into another sport he dominates, in football.
The Grade 12 student will represent Medicine Hat at the USports level this fall, suiting up at defensive end for the University of Regina Cougars football team.
He recommends wrestling for anyone interested in the sport and says he learned a lot about himself from it.
“It’s a tough sport but it has its positives that make it all worth it,” Kozakewich said. “You have so much support.”
Klein says it will be a long time before they have a wrestler like Kozakewich come through the program, someone dedicated to the sport for over a decade while also growing and finding success. He too hopes they can attract future wrestlers to help bring wrestling back to the numbers they had before 2020.
“I’m glad the boys have so much success but they also have a whole pile of fun,” Klein said. “They joke around, have a good time and build all these friendships across the province, but then they’re still able to find some success, too.”
