NEWS PHOTO
Twin brothers Janvier Bukuru and Bahati Butoyi, Grade 12 students from the Congo, have wrestled at Medicine Hat High for the Hawks for the past two school years.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat High Hawks wrestling team made a lot of friends at matches throughout the season, thanks in part to their twin forces.
Janvier Bukuru and Bahati Butoyi, twin brothers from the Congo, finished up their second season of wrestling for the Hawks at the provincial meet March 14-15 in Calgary. Bukuru picked up a third-place finish and Butoyi finished fourth, narrowly missing out on bronze in a match with a friend he had made on the circuit.
Neither of them wrestled before moving to Medicine Hat and joining the Hawks team, doing so on advice from a teacher who has since moved on from the school. Bukuru says it’s been a fun two years, learning a lot about the sport while also growing as a person.
“It means a lot for me, because when I went there, I just had the idea of getting a few splits, never thought of winning anything,” Bukuru said.
Butoyi has shared the same enjoyment, seeing growth in his own ability in the two years wrestling. He finished sixth at provincials last year, making the jump to fourth this year.
“It shows I’m getting more improved because last year I gave sixth place and that was my first year at provincials,” Butoyi said.
Butoyi says his family back home is happy to hear about their success while wrestling and he says they are happy both have been involved in the sport.
As much as they’ve found success on the mat, the pair have made countless friends throughout Western Canada during their two years of wrestling. Hat High wrestling coach Darren Klein has been amazed the last two years at how quickly they make friends.
“These two boys have friends at every tournament, they end up with a new group of friends,” Klein said. “It’s just just a natural thing that seems to happen for them.”
At their last tournament before provincials, Bukuru says he met a wrestler who was nervous before her match and was sharing how she knew she would lose. He told her to have fun and not count herself out.
“She wrestled and she won then she came and give me a hug,” Bukuru said. “I told her not to be nervous, just go for it and have some fun. That’s how we make new friends.”
Butoyi had his own story, a friend he made from Strathmore, who was declared a winner in a match they had that was called wrong with clock issues.
“He came to me and told me that they made a mistake and so he can be my friend, we keep wrestling and have fun,” Butoyi said.
Klein says the pair settled into the wrestling culture quick, giving himself and the rest of the wrestling team an opportunity to learn about a different culture while sharing the same sport.
“One of the things I really love about a lot of the different cultures that I end up interacting with as a coach, is learning and appreciating how few opportunities other countries have for their young people and how much we do have as Canadians,” Klein said. “It’s pretty cool and in their case, when they’re thankful to go to the mall after the tournament, or whatever it is. I do unique things with the group, so I try to help expose them once I’ve got to know them. It’s been some spectacular conversations we’ve had.”
“I’m not saying I’d like to go to the Congo one day, but if I ever had the opportunity to go with them, I’d love for them to show me the country.”
