Four golden girls as Brock women take 10th U SPORTS Wrestling title

The Brock women's wrestling team won their ninth consecutive title at the 2020 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships in St. Catharines. It's their 10th title overall.

Julie Steffler and Hannah Taylor were rivals on the wrestling mat for years before becoming Brock Badgers teammates. Now, the two are national champions after winning gold in their respective weight classes at the 2020 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships Saturday.

The Brock Badgers won their seventh-straight U SPORTS Wrestling Championship in their home gymnasium with four women's gold medals and three men's. They pulled off the sweep on home soil, winning their 10th women's title and 20th men's title in the Bob Davis Gymnasium.

"We've been looking forward to this all year," said Head Coach Marty Calder. "To be able to win here in front of our home crowd is everything."

Julie Steffler and Hannah Taylor

Having Taylor and Steffler celebrating together Saturday was a big difference from a year ago, when Brock's Taylor beat Steffler — who was with Western at the time — to win her second-straight women's 59 kg title. After graduating with her undergrad degree, Steffler decided to switch to Brock to take a Master of Professional Kinesiology, and brought with her one more year of U SPORTS eligibility.

"It really feels like a big family at Brock," said Steffler. "We've had an ongoing rivalry, but we've always respected each other so it's been awesome to be her teammate."

Steffler's extra year of eligibility was the result of a significant knee injury that kept her from competing in her third-year at Western. That made her gold medal in the 59 kg division extra sweet, as did being named Outstanding Wrestler of the Year by U SPORTS at the awards banquet Saturday night.

"It has been a trip," Steffler said of her return from injury. "I had a lot of mental health issues and trying to fight that I had a lot of fellow athletes who kept an eye on me and helped me through it."

After watching Steffler win her gold medal bout, Taylor dominated the 63 kg final, beating Lakehead's Madison Clayton.

"It means a lot. I'm at a new weight class so I wanted to continue being dominant," she said. "It also feels great to have the home crowd and showcase what Brock is about and our abilities as athletes."

Taylor said she has enjoyed having her former rival now pushing her as a teammate.

"It's good that I have such a strong competitor as a teammate," she said. "I get pushed by her every single day, so it's a good relationship. I'm grateful to have her as my teammate."
Also winning gold medals for the Brock women were Shauna Kuebeck, who beat Saskatchewan's Maddison Haney in the 82 kg division and Skyler Grote, who handily beat Calgary's Ellise Daynes in the 67 kg division.

Skylar Grote

The title was was redemption for Grote, a New Jersey native who chose to wrestle at Brock over going the NCAA route. In her rookie year, she had to overcome adversity to win a bronze medal at the 2019 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships.

"I was the first seed going in last year and in the first match I lost by a point and had to battle back," she said. "That was in the back of my mind in this tournament. I just wanted to come back and prove that I am number one."

An American citizen, Grote is trying to make the U.S. Olympic team. To do so, she has to finish first or second at a final qualifying event in Pennsylvania at the end of March, and then make it through the Olympic trials five days later.

"I think this was a great opportunity to put pressure on myself because I am going to be under pressure in a month," she said. "There was an national championship on the line, so it mimics the situation I'll be in. I wanted to win this and get a little momentum."

In addition to the four gold medalists, Brock's Samantha Romano also took a silver medal in the 48 kg division.

Team Standings - Women

Rank	School	Points
1	Brock	55
2	Saskatchewan	42
3	Alberta	34
4	Calgary	34
5	Western	34
6	Concordia	31
7	Lakehead	22
8	Guelph	21
9	York	11
10	McMaster	10
11	Toronto	7
12	Fraser Valley	6
13	Algoma	2
14	Queen's	2
15	Ryerson	0
16	UNB	0

Women's Individual Medalists
48 kg
1. Alex Schell (Saskatchewan)
2. Samantha Romano (Brock)
3. Calista Espinosa (Fraser Valley)

51 kg
1. Madison Parks (Western)
2. Taylor McPherson (Alberta)
3. Bailey Agard (York)

55 kg
1. Jayd Davis (Concordia)
2. Hannah Little (Guelph)
3. Grace Chambers (Calgary)

59 kg
1. Julie Steffler (Brock)
2. Amy Bellavia (Calgary)
3. Laurence Beauregard (Concordia)

63 kg
1. Hannah Taylor (Brock)
2. Madison Clayton (Lakehead)
3. Katie Mulkay (Alberta)

67 kg
1. Skylar Grote (Brock)
2. Ellise Daynes (Calgary)
3. Amanda Savard (Concordia)

72 kg
1. Haley Heffel (Alberta)
2. Berit Johnson (Saskatchewan)
3. Jennifer Nwamadi (Western)

82 kg
1. Shauna Kuebeck (Brock)
2. Maddison Haney (Saskatchewan)
3. Tyanna Soucy (Western)

Women's Individual Honours
Outstanding Wrestler: Julie Steffler, Brock (59 kg)
Rookie of the Year: Jayd Davis, Concordia (55 kg)
Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Daniel Olver, Saskatchewan
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Jennifer Nwamadi, Western (72 kg)

Full Results

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Players Mentioned

Shauna Kuebeck: 5' 6"; Fourth Year

Samantha Romero: 5' 3"; Third Year

Julie Steffler: 5' 3"; Fourth Year

Hannah Taylor: 5' 2"; Fourth Year

Players Mentioned

Shauna Kuebeck
: 5' 6"; Fourth Year

Samantha Romero
: 5' 3"; Third Year

Julie Steffler
: 5' 3"; Fourth Year

Hannah Taylor
: 5' 2"; Fourth Year

Brock University Athletics

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned