By Larry Moko
For the first time in the history of Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School, two of its female student-athletes have won Canadian national wrestling championships.
Although males from BR have brought home gold medals from national age-group finals on 35 occasions since 1978, the girls' wrestling program at Bishop Ryan - it only started in about 2001 - until this year had never previously reached that same level of success.
The groundbreakers in Edmonton last weekend for the Celtics were Serena Di Benedetto and Ellise Daynes.
Competing at the U17 Cadet tournament, Di Benedetto took top honours in the 43kg weight class. And at the U19 Juvenile event, Daynes beat the field in the 65kg category.
Both Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic Athletic Association representatives also won all of their respective provincial-final matches earlier this year in Brampton.
"I was thrilled when it happened," Daynes said of the outcome in Alberta. "It was such a huge step for me. Then, to have that moment with Serena was great. Her and I very close. We tell people we're sisters sometimes."
This weekend, Grade 12 student Daynes and Di Benedetto (Grade 9) will also be in New York City, wrestling for Ontario at the annual Gotham City Open tournament.
"I was very happy when I won, but I wasn't expecting it because I've never been to nationals before," said Di Benedetto who became the youngest Bishop Ryan wrestler (male or female) to ever land a Canadian championship. "It made me feel pretty good about myself. It showed that all the training I've done worked."
Both girls practised regularly in the morning at Bishop Ryan under the guidance of Celtics head coach Sheldon Francis and again in the evening at McMaster University.
Di Benedetto won three matches en route to gold in Edmonton, topping Ayesha Mian of British Columbia 10-0 in the final. Daynes also had her arm raised in victory three times, including a 14-8 decision over Saskatchewan's Saige Evertman, a former Cadet Pan American Games gold medallist.
"I was very close to getting pinned," Daynes said with a smile. "I could feel my shoulders starting to touch. Something Coach Francis always says is in wrestling, the winner is often the one who hangs on the longest.' I knew I had to keep fighting and keep going.
"I've had a really successful season (including gold at OFSAA in Windsor). A lot of things have finally come into place. I wasn't 100 per cent sure I would win at nationals. I went there to get some good matches and wrestle as hard as I could."
With her win, Di Benedetto becomes a member of the U17 Canadian national team. And at the end of next month she'll be competing at the Pan American championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Di Benedetto's brother, Adriano, also competed at nationals in the 60kg division. He won two of four matches and placed 10th out of 27 in his first year against U19 competition.
Male wrestlers from Bishop Ryan who have won gold at previous Canadian national tournaments (some on more than one occasion) are Mike Marzucco, Chris Woodcroft, Greg Woodcroft, Paul Bellavia, Tony Bellavia, Dave Maniaci, Ed Di Pelino, Terry DiNatale, Dave Mair, Joe Mair, Roger Ruiu, Emidio Coccia, Fabio Coccia, Dave Grandoni, Sheldon Francis and James Garcia-Hennings.
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