For the Huskies wrestling program, this year’s championship was 30 years in the making. For the first time since 1986, the Huskies men’s wrestling team took home the Canada West championship banner on Feb. 13.

In a total team effort, the men’s team put up 53 points — four more than the second place University of Alberta Golden Bears, ending their three-year run as conference champions. With eight different Huskies finishing on the podium, it was a complete team effort that allowed the underdog Huskies to walk away with the title.

Richard Cux (54-kg), Josh Bodnarchuk (57-kg) and Andrew Johnson (82-kg) all took home gold medals at the CanWest tournament and will now turn their attention to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships, which will take place on Feb. 26 and 27 in St. Catharines, Ont. Nathan Galan (61-kg), Malcolm Meekins (72-kg) and Noah Bertholet (90-kg) finished up with a silver medal, while Liam Graham (100-kg) and Jacob Phillips (120-kg) earned a bronze. All wrestlers earning medals will travel to nationals.

Fourth-year Andrew Johnson is the senior member on the men’s team and has experienced plenty of ups and downs within the program. After taking home silver in the 2015 CanWest championships, he was thrilled to finally get over the hump. 

“It’s a really big feeling of accomplishment … It was a major goal in my career. When I came here my first year, that was always the goal — to get a CanWest title. My dad was actually on the last team to win, so it was a big family accomplishment,” said Johnson. “It’s a big moment in my career, to finally see the completion of that goal feels really good.”

The Huskies women wrestlers took home five medals, giving them 35 team points — and a heartbreaking second place finish. Annie Monteith (48-kg) made it three-straight golds and Katie Dutchak (51-kg) won her first CanWest gold after claiming silver the past two years. Georgina Nelthorpe (72-kg) and Kiera Prior (82-kg) each earned a silver medal, while Alyx Paulson (59-kg) took home bronze. All five athletes qualified for the CIS championships.

Not done yet: four Huskies were also recognized with major awards at the meet. Bodnarchuk was named Outstanding Male Wrestler of the Year, while Dutchak took home Female Wrestler of the Year. Silke Svenkeson was given the Community Service Award and third-year head coach, Daniel Olver, was named Coach of the Year. All things considered, it was a tremendous weekend for the wrestling program.

Olver was extremely happy with the way his athletes performed. He was thrilled with the men’s conference title, but also saddened by the runner-up finish for the women’s team.

“It’s what I expected from them. We talked about it all year, someone has to step up and win that big match. Every single person stepped up and did what they needed to do for the team and in the end, we came away with more points than anyone else,“ Olver said. “I wanted to win the women’s title too, so I felt great about what we did with the guys, but then I look over at the girls and we were so close.”

Dutchak is the second-straight Huskie to win FWOTY, following in the footsteps of her teammate Monteith. After two consecutive and disappointing silver medals, she was pumped to finally be able finish on a high note.

“People say ‘You win first and you win third, but you lose second.’ So being able to come back and win gold was a really big accomplishment for me. Winning gold and then taking home the award really meant a lot,“ Dutchak said.

Being a Huskie wrestler himself and winning CanWest gold in all of his five seasons, Olver told his team what it takes to be champions. He couldn’t be more proud of how his teams performed and how far the Huskies program has come in recent years.

“What gets you there is the little things. What I always say is, ‘You have to be part of the process to be able to perform’ — it’s a nice reminder for me and the athletes,” Olver said. “We’ve been chasing this title for so long and we’ve had better teams not win the title. For this team to come out and do that was the most satisfying part for me. I’m more than excited for them — I bleed green and white and I’m a Huskie to the core. I was incredibly proud as a coach and an alumni.”

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Photos: Caitlin Taylor / Photo Editor