National Capital Wrestling Club

Commonwealth Games, July 31st

On July 31st, 2014, Craig Miller competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. He wrestled for his home country of New Zealand, but lived in Ottawa and trained with the NCWC from October 2013 until he left for the Games. It took years of work for him to accomplish this goal, and the NCWC is proud to have been part of his journey. He went 1-1, defeating an opponent from Mauritius before losing to a Sri Lankan.

For the 31 days before he left for Glasgow, Craig made Facebook posts to thank the people who helped him reach his dream. The 17th day was the day of his going away party with the NCWC, when Craig posted some very kind words that we'd like to feature here:

So on a night where I said goodbye to a whole heap of faces who have become my Canadian family I will dedicate day 17 to them.

Now I've already mentioned the amazing and mystical Little Dean, and my raft of training Partners, but tonight I will call out the plethora of deputies at NC.

Sarah Stringer, Sarah Swan, Deborah Jehu, Dante Vecchio, Jeff Doyle, Evan Lavoie, and Mike Smith

So these guys, and guyesses, have a vast and varied lot of experience. And I love the little tweaks and moves I have picked up from these fine coaches over the last 9 months.

All of them have worked one on one with me at some point, and all of them have taught me something.

I have said that I have undoubtedly improved in Canada. I honestly don't know if I would of made the Games had I not taken this bold jaunt to the wintery north. I have thought about this a lot recently, and I tend to err on the side of not, I of course am thankful to this troupe of people I greatly admire. I am happy i made the move, and so glad we settled on O-town.

Coaching and leading is a very individual thing, there is no one best or most successful style. These guys have a mixture. Reserved and loud, soft and hard, methodical and erratic. They work well as a team, and have a mutual respect and understanding for each other. They all share a common purpose, and go about it with vigor.

I like these guys a lot.

These guys work hard to improve the club, and the level of wrestling that goes on within it.

A good coach invests into their charges, not only to impart knowledge and skills, but cares for them and seeks the best for them. One invests so much that she spends years holding grudges against opposing victorious wrestlers long after the athlete themself has forgotten the match.

I will miss this team.

I was never the best wrestler in the training room, I was never the one with the most potential, I was not the fastest, strongest or most technical. As I have said before, the best coaches offer something to all that train under them, not just the favoured one, or chosen few.

I will miss this team.

Again, I have enjoyed my time in Canada, and I have loved my time with the National Capital Wrestling Club.

I will miss this team.

So thank you NC, and thanks to the coaching staff who helped improve me enough to get to Glasgow. I will pay this forward.

The NCWC would like to thank Craig for all he's contributed during his time at the club. He's been an inspiration to have in the room, and though he'll be returning to New Zealand after the Games, he's formed lasting connections with many of the wrestlers in Ottawa.

The NCWC is also very proud of alumna Erica Wiebe, who competed at the Commonwealth Games on July 29th. She defeated opponents from Cameroon, England, Nigeria, and India, going 4-0 to win a gold medal for Canada. This further cements her spot in the FILA rankings, where she is currently ranked #1 in the world at the 75-kilogram weight class.

Summer tournaments

Over the summer, the NCWC sent wrestlers to several tournaments, including the Massachusetts State Championships in the USA, the Pan-American Championships in Toronto, and the Canada Cup in Guelph.

Massachusetts State Championships, June 22nd

Rhiannon Digweed: 3-0, gold

Peter Shannon: 1-3, bronze

Craig Miller: 0-4

Junior Pan American Championships, June 28th

Augusta Eve: 1-2, bronze

Senior Canada Cup, July 5th

Alex Brown: 3-1, bronze

Craig Miller: 1-2

Pre-Junior Canada Cup, July 6th

Rhiannon Digweed: 3-0, gold

Augusta Eve: 2-2, fourth

Mel Eve: 1-2, fourth

Reza Fakhraei: 1-2

International Updates and Canada East

Ontario Youth Wrestling Festival, April 26th

Canadian Cadet/Juvenile Championships, April 4th-5th

The NCWC sent nine wrestlers to Cadet/Juvenile nationals in Guelph, and had many excellent performances, including three Juveniles in the semi-finals.

Juvenile results

Quinlan Walker: 5-1, bronze

Wassim Ghadban: 4-2, fourth

Evan Takach: 2-3, sixth

Andrea Pretty: 1-2

Claire Lizotte: 1-2

Rhiannon Digweed: 0-2

Brad Wiesenfeld: 0-2

Cadet results

Jeff Williamson: 2-2

Mel Eve: 1-2

In other recent news, a couple of wrestlers from out of the country are currently training with the NCWC. On April 6th, American Tanner Lapiene won the Ogdensburg Folkstyle tournament in New York. On March 22nd, Craig Miller won the Oceania Championships in American Samoa, continuing his quest to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games. Congratulations to all NCWC wrestlers, Canadian and otherwise!

Canadian Junior/Senior Championships, March 21st-23rd

The NCWC sent three wrestlers to the 2014 Junior/Senior nationals in Edmonton, and saw two alumni compete as well. They all faced very tough competition, and gained valuable experience.

Junior results

Augusta Eve: 3-0, gold

Rhiannon Digweed: 0-2

Senior results

Joe Greer: 1-2 in freestyle, 2-1 for silver in Greco-Roman

Alumni Ben Christopher (University of Winnipeg) and Ilya Abelev (University of New Brunswick) also competed. Ilya finished 2-2 in the senior division, and Ben took sixth place in the junior division, finishing 2-3.

Mohawk Valley International Wrestling Festival, March 15th

The NCWC got some good matches in at this international tournament, using it to see new opponents and gear up for nationals.

Evan Takach: 3-1, gold

Sarah Swan: 2-0, gold

Rhiannon Digweed: 2-1, silver

Maly Muk: 2-2, fifth

Jensen MacDonald: 2-2, fifth

Marisa Becherel: 2-2

Manny Haiby: 0-4

OFSAA, March 5th-6th

The NCWC had a successful performance at OFSAA in Brampton this year, qualifying many wrestlers from different high schools, and producing two OFSAA champions.

Quinlan Walker: 5-0, gold

Augusta Eve: 4-0, gold

Josh Bwolo: 5-3, sixth

Mel Eve: 3-2

Rhiannon Digweed: 3-2

Evan Takach: 2-2

Claire Lizotte: 2-2

Khalid Mahmood: 2-2

Maly Muk: 1-2

Brad Wiesenfeld: 1-2

Andrea Pretty: 0-2