EDMONTON (U SPORTS) - The host Alberta Pandas and defending champion Brock University Badger men took firm control on Day 1 of the 2023 Friends of the World Cup of Wrestling Society U SPORTS Wrestling Championship, presented by the Westin Edmonton.
 

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In front of a boisterous home crowd, the Alberta women jumped ahead of the women's standings, as they finished Friday with a guaranteed 57 points, 14 points clear of both the Brock Badgers and Calgary Dinos.
 
The Pandas, who are looking for their first national title since 2011, will see five student-athletes compete in gold medal matches tomorrow. Brock will have just three Badgers compete for individual gold, with Calgary advancing only two.
 
Alberta's strength was the middle-to-heavy weight classes, with each the 63-, 67-, 72-, and 76-kilogram finals featuring one Panda.
 
Looking for an eighth-straight U SPORTS banner, the Brock Badger men have all but locked up another championship trophy. The Badgers finished Day 1 with 59 guaranteed points, 12 clear of their only challenger, the McMaster Marauders (47).
 
The host Golden Bears sit in distant third with 42 guaranteed points, followed closely by Saskatchewan Huskies with 41.
 
Half of the men's 10 weight classes will feature at least one Badger in tomorrow's gold medal match, with the defending champions depth and talent clearly evident in Edmonton.
 
The host Golden Bears will see three athletes in gold medal matches tomorrow, all of which in the three lightest weight classes (57, 61, 65kg). McMaster, looking to pull off the probably upset and end the Brock dynasty, will also see three Marauders in gold medal matches.
 
Day 2 of the 2023 U SPORTS Wrestling Championship will get underway at 11:00 a.m. MT with the 5th and 7th place matches, followed by the bronze medal matches at 1:00 p.m., and the championship finals at 3:00 p.m. MT.
 
TEAM STANDINGS
Men

1	Brock	59
2	McMaster	47
3	Alberta	42
4	Saskatchewan	41
5	Western	34
6	Calgary	32
7	Concordia	31
8	Lakehead	23
9	TMU	8
10	Guelph	7
11	Algoma	5
12	UNB	5
13	York	4
14	Queens	1
15	Toronto	1

 
Women

1	Alberta	57
2	Brock	43
3	Calgary	43
4	McMaster	42
5	Saskatchewan	38
6	Concordia	29
7	Guelph	17
8	Western	15
9	Lakehead	7
10	UNB	5
11	Queens	5
12	Algoma	3

 
MEDAL MATCHUPS

Men's Finals
57 kg – Talon Hird (Alberta) vs Treye Trotman (Western)
61 kg – Alec Montoya (Alberta) vs Drake Buechler (Saskatchewan)
65 kg – Daniel Hernandez-Mendoza (Alberta) vs Hassan Al-Hayawi (Western)
68 kg – Cole Sanderson (Saskatchewan) vs Carlos Vargas (Brock)
72 kg – Brantly Saar (Calgary) vs Bobby Narwal (Brock)
76 kg – Connor Church (Concordia) vs Max Budgey (Brock)
82 kg – Jordan Wylie (Brock) vs Lukas Geske (Western)
90 kg – Alex Moore (Concordia) vs Howard Moffat (McMaster)
100 kg – Omogbai Asekohme (McMaster) vs Jeremy Poirier (Concordia)
125 kg – Roger Li (Brock) vs Karanveer Mahil (McMaster)
 
Women's Finals
50 kg - Taylor McPherson (Alberta) vs Sierra Mullin (Saskatchewan)
53 kg - SueAnne Harms (Saskatchewan) vs Serena Di Bennedetto (McMaster)
56 kg - Gabriela Cross (Calgary) vs Mia Friesen (Brock)
59 kg - Eve Maxwell (Calgary) vs Amy Bellavia (McMaster)
63 kg - Aleah Nickel (Alberta) vs Laurence Beauregard (Concordia)
67 kg - Katie Mulkay (Alberta) vs Amanda Savard (Concordia)
72 kg - Andrea Franko (Alberta) vs Alexia Sherland (Concordia)
76 kg - Vianne Rouleau (Alberta) vs Shauna Kuebeck (Brock)
82 kg - Myah Phillips (Saskatchewan) vs Brianna Fraser (Brock)