The nation's top under-23 wrestlers battled for national supremacy at Canada Games Park.
Cassie Corbett captured a gold medal, leading the Brock Wrestling Club's women's wrestlers to a team title at the 2026 Canadian U23 Wrestling Championships on Friday, June 26.
In the 72-kilogram division, Corbett went undefeated en route to finishing 3-0. Her run included a win by criteria after a 10-10 bout over Marthe Laplante Brady of the Kingston Wrestling Club.
"Winning U23 nationals for the first time was a huge goal and dream of mine and doing it in my home gym made it even more special," Corbett said. "I'm excited to represent Canada at the U23 World Championships and will keep working hard with the support of my Brock team and coaches."
Corbett is set to compete at the international competition, which runs Oct. 12-18 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Brock saw strong results from other women's wrestlers as Francesca Lo Greco (55kg), Olivia Mathezer (57 kg) and Vanessa Keefe (68 kg) all took home silver medals.
Lo Greco dropped a tight 4-2 decision to Madisyn Grof of Coast RTC in the first-place match, while Keefe finished 2-1 in the competition, dropping a close 13-9 decision to Lene-Marie McCrackin of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club. In her lone match, Mathezer came up short in the final against Gabi Cross of the Calgary Dinos, a three-time U SPORTS gold medallist.
Rounding out the Badgers' results were Emma Chartres who placed third in the 53kg division and fifth-place results from Elyssa Oystrick (50kg) and Aleena Dhanji (59kg).
"We're incredibly grateful to once again host the U23 championships and showcase the best young talent in the country," said Brock associate coach Dave Collie. "We're equally proud of our women's team for capturing the team title in such a deep competitive field."
On the men's side, incoming Badger Zaur Arsagov bested all challengers in the 97kg event to claim a gold medal. It was a dominant showing for Arsagov, who won all of his matches by technical fall and will join Corbett representing Canada at the U23 World Championships.
Zaur Arsagov poses with his gold medal after winning the 97kg competition at the 2026 Canadian U23 Wrestling Championships at Canada Games Park. (Photo by Stephen Leithwood)
Zakir Ibrahimkheil (57kg) and Aiden O'Neill (61kg) both placed second in their respective divisions. Ibrahimkheil dropped his lone match to Treye Trotman of the London-Western Wrestling Club, while O'Neill won a hard-fought 12-11 decision victory over Brayden McInroy of Raw North WC before falling to Blayne Helou of the London-Western Wrestling Club by technical fall in the de facto final.
One more notable result was a gold medal for Brock alumna Garette Saunders (BRLS '25), who earned a spot on the Canadian Senior Wrestling Team after a 2-0 performance in the 61kg event at the Non-Olympic Weight Class Trials on Sunday, June 27.
Saunders will travel to Astana, Kazakhstan, from Oct. 24-Nov. 1 to compete at the 2026 World Championships.
Garette Saunders celebrates a victory at the 2026 Non-Olympic Weight Class Trials at Canada Games Park on Sunday, June 28. (Photo by Stephen Leithwood)
