Sun Peaks female wrestler wins gold at the Western Canada Summer Games

Sun Peaks resident and wrestler Alize Perriard-Abdoh won gold in the 46 kg weight division in women’s wrestling at the Western Canada Summer Games.

“It was a surprise,” said Perriard-Abdoh, adding that her family was “pretty excited” with her winning the gold. “I was nervous because I didn’t know any of the girls. . .I didn’t know what to expect.”

Despite the initial nervousness, she wrestled her way to the top to the delight of her coaches and teammates cheering her on at every match.

“It’s nice to have the team because they’re all very supportive. They kept yelling at me from the sidelines, which made it more exciting.”

The wrestling matches were held over three days at the McArthur Island Sports Centre with the medal ceremonies held Aug. 8 and 9.

The B.C. Wrestling Team won a total of 10 gold, six silver, and three bronze medals.

Perriard is one of B.C.’s four gold medal winners in the women’s category. The other female gold medallists were North Vancouver’s Chloe Horn (56 kg), Campbell River’s Ashley Osachuck (60 kg) and Duncan’s Maegan Kuruvita (65 kg).

Kamloops wrestler Tamara Gehrin also made the host city proud by bringing home one of the three silver medals won by Team B.C.’s female wrestlers.

The B.C. male wrestlers also made a significant contribution with six gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

Gold medallists were Michael Herman of Campbell River (46 kg), Matthew Dignan of Abbotsford (54 kg), Jaskarn Ranu of Surrey (69 kg), Jobanjit Phulka of Abbotsford (76 kg), Rajan Gill of Abbotsford (85 kg) and Amar Dhesi of Surrey (115 kg).

There are two more days left to the Western Canada Summer Games. The closing ceremonies will be held on Aug. 14 at 3 p.m. at the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops. Tickets for the closing ceremonies are available at the door.