PHOTO COURTESY OF DARREN KLEIN
Will Kozakewich, a Hat High wrestler and Grade 9 student at Irvine, stands alongside Hat High wrestling coach Darren Klein after winning gold in the U17 Men's freestyle 110kg at the Canadian Wrestling Championships this weekend.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Will Kozakewich has three more years to win another national wrestling title and he plans to achieve that.
The Grade 9 Irvine student, who wrestles for the Hat High Hawks, won gold in the U17 Men’s freestyle 110kg at the Canadian Wrestling Championships this weekend in Tsuut’ina Nation, Alta.
He said it was a fun experience and there wasn’t a lot of pressure because he knows he has a chance to be back on that stage.
“It wasn’t a lot of pressure because I knew this wouldn’t be my last nationals,” Kozakewich said. “I was down at the very start and then I came back and won gold.”
The Hat product beat Uttam Virk from the Rustom Wrestling Club out of Surrey, B.C. to take first place. He said the atmosphere at nationals was stressful until he got his bearings and it was smooth sailing after that.
“Once I started to get the gist of it, then it was just fun,” Kozakewich said. “This year I focused on just having as much fun as I could because I knew it wouldn’t be my last, but happy with the outcome.”
Kozakewich’s coach Darren Klein said he was proud of his wrestlers who were able to stay engaged with a season that was extended. The national tournament was supposed to happen in April but was pushed until June due to COVID-19. He said with wrestler numbers down in the province they didn’t have a lot of chances to compete against others, which sparked some trips to Lethbridge.
“A couple of our athletes were travelling to Lethbridge once or twice a week, getting in some extra practice, mainly just to have someone different to wrestle,” Klein said. “The Lethbridge coach mentioned that it was good for his guys too, because they were in the same boat. It was great to have the tournament, it was great to be there and represent Medicine Hat.”
The Hawks had two other wrestlers at Nationals, with Kade Linford competing in the U15 men’s freestyle 52kg and Kimberly Maine wrestling in the U17 women’s freestyle 61 kg division. Linford and Maine both finished fifth in their respective divisions.
Klein said he was proud to see how focused Kozakewich was throughout the tournament and is excited for his wrestling future.
“While we’re at the tournament, I really appreciated seeing his focus,” Klein said. “He knew what to do, he knew the routine he had to do. He was diligent while he was there, dialled in. For a young guy, that was pretty exciting to see.”
Kozakewich, who also plays football in the non-wrestling season, said he enjoys the adrenaline rush wrestling brings because it’s a quicker sport than football.
He is heading to Hat High for Grade 10 and is already looking toward future success in his three years of high school.
“Maybe win a couple more nationals and just keep doing what I’m doing here,” Kozakewich said. “Just playing football in the summer and then in the winter, wrestle.”
