Shelburne student wins national wrestling championship

May 7, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Shelburne resident Hannah Little has won the Canadian National Wrestling Championship in Calgary, AB, during competition held on April 15-17.

Hannah, a Grade 12 student at Centre Dufferin District High School won the title in the 52 kilogram weight class after going undefeated in the tournament.

She was up against 11 other wrestlers in her class at the national level.

In total, 650 athletes from across the country took part in the event.

Hannah qualified for the Nationals after competing at the Provincial level at Laurentian University in Sudbury in February.

Working with her coach Cody Airdrie, Hannah competes with the Guelph Junior Wrestling Club at the University of Guelph.

She is also a member of the CDDHS girls’ wrestling team.

“The Nationals are a double elimination tournament,” Coach Airdrie explained. “She won every match. She had five in total.”

Hannah began wrestling in Orangeville seven years ago then followed the Club as it transitioned to another club then settled in Guelph.

“I like wrestling because it’s really hard and is a challenge, but at the same time it’s all on you when you compete,” she said of why she likes the sport and that fact that once a match starts, it’s an individual sport with no team to back you up.

Competing at the Provincial level determines a competitor’s place at the nationals when the matches are set up and players ranked.

Hannah won previous national championships when she was in Grades Nine and 11.

“It’s definitely the most difficult,” she said of competing at the national level with other wrestlers also entering as top in their sport. “It was my fourth time at the nationals so I knew the ropes. I was nervous but I knew what to expect.”

Training is almost a year round activity but gets more intense when a big match is coming up.

“I takes hours and hours of practice. I went to Guelph every night for three weeks before this tournament to train,” Hannah explained of the dedication that goes into the sport.

As a young competitor, Hannah plans to use her experience when she attends the University of Guelph in the Fall and plans to participate at the University level.

From there, she said, she will see how her career goes to determine her next move in the sport.