From left to right: Dave Collie (accepted on behalf of Richard DesChatelets) Evan MacDonald, Debbie Fazzari (accepted on behalf of the late Michelle Fazzari) Tonya Verbeek and Colin Daynes. Photo Credit: Brock Badgers/Facebook
It was a banner weekend for the Brock Badgers Wrestling Team.
On Saturday the Badgers women captured their second straight USports National title (12th overall), while the Brock men won silver.
For the first time Canada Games Park across from Brock University played host to the National Championships.
Sunday, five former Badger wrestlers were inducted into the Brock Sports Hall of Fame.
Colin Daynes attended Brock University from 1994 to 1999, completing a degree in Health Studies. He was a key member of the men’s wrestling team from 1995 to 1999.
During his time at Brock, Daynes became a five-time OUAA champion and four-time CIAU champion, helping lead the Badgers to five provincial championships and five national titles. He was named the CIAU Male Wrestler of the Year during the 1995-96 season and the Brock University Male Athlete of the Year in 1997-98.
Daynes’ wrestling career extended beyond university, as he represented Canada at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, finishing 14th in the 74 kg category. He also placed fifth at the World University Championships in Iran.
Over his career, Daynes earned an impressive 62 gold medals, 11 silver medals and five bronze medals.
In recognition of his athletic achievements, Daynes was inducted into the Windsor Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Richard DesChatelets served as the head coach for the Brock wrestling team from 1981 to 2007. Richard DesChatelets title
As an athlete, DesChatelets represented Canada in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games in men’s freestyle wrestling in the middleweight category (=82 kilograms).
Over his distinguished wrestling career, DesChatelets was a six-time national champion, a two-time Commonwealth Games champion (1978, 1982) and a Canada Cup champion. He also earned silver and bronze medals at the Pan American Games, a bronze medal at the 1979 Junior World Championships and three bronze medals at the World Cup.
Over 26 seasons as Brock’s head coach, DesChatelets guided the team to 22 OUA championships (15 men’s, 7 women’s) and 13 CIS championships (12 men’s, 1 women’s). During his time at Brock, he was named OUA Coach of the Year 11 times and CIS Coach of the Year nine times.
DesChatelets served as the Assistant Director of Athletics at Brock University for 28 years. In 1981, he founded the Niagara Wrestling Club, now known as the Brock Wrestling Club.
Internationally, DesChatelets coached the Canadian world team from 1997 to 1999 and served as the head coach of the Canadian Olympic team in 2000, coaching gold medallist Daniel Igali. He was also the head coach of the junior national team from 1987 to 1989 during which Chris Wilson won the Junior World Championships in 1989.
DesChatelets has been inducted into three Hall of Fames, which include the Canadian Hall of Fame, the University of Guelph Hall of Fame and the West Nipissing Hall of Fame in his hometown of Sturgeon Falls, ON.
Current Badgers Women’s Wrestling Coach Dave Collie accepted on DesChatelets behalf on Sunday.
Michelle Fazzari attended Brock University from 2005 to 2012, completing a Bachelor of Physical Education in 2010 and a Bachelor of Education in 2013. At Brock, Fazzari was an integral part of the women’s wrestling team from 2005 to 2009 and 2011-12.
As a collegiate wrestler, Fazzari won three gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal at the CIS Championships, and she was a five-time OUA champion. During her time at Brock, the Badgers won four provincial championships and one national championship. She also competed at the World University Games in 2008. Fazzari was named CIS Rookie of the Year and Outstanding Female Wrestler during the 2005-06 season and was recognized as the Brock University Female Athlete of the Year in 2007-08.
Fazzari’s wrestling career was marked by numerous achievements on both the national and international stage. She represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in women’s freestyle wrestling, finishing 17th in the 58kg weight class. Before that, Michelle won gold at the 2014 Senior Pan American Championships (60kg) and bronze at the 2006 Junior Pan American Championships (59kg).
Her other international accolades include a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships, gold at the 2013 World Cup and silver at the 2012 World Cup. Additionally, Fazzari won a silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia and secured gold at the 2013 Jeux de la Francophonie. In 2017, she was also named the Golden Horseshoe Athlete of the Year.
Fazzari was a multi-time national champion and represented Canada at over 50 international events from 2006 to 2021. She capped off her career with a gold medal at the Matteo Pellicone tournament in 2021.
Fazzari unfortunately lost her battle with cancer last August. Her mother Debbie accepted on Fazzari’s behalf Sunday.
Evan MacDonald studied Business from 2000 to 2005 at Brock University and played a crucial role on the men’s wrestling team from 2000 to 2004.
During his illustrious university career, MacDonald remained undefeated while securing four OUA and CIS individual and team titles.
MacDonald’s accolades include being named the St. Catharines Athlete of the Year in 2003 and the Brock University Male Athlete of the Year in 2003-04. He was also selected as a finalist for Ontario Athlete of the Year.
He spent 15 years with the Canadian national team, achieving notable success on the international stage. MacDonald placed eighth in the world twice and competed at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games in men’s freestyle wrestling, where he finished 17th in the 66 kg weight class. Additionally, he earned a bronze medal at the 2009 Pan American Championships and 2010 Commonwealth Games, and he competed at the 2003 Pan American Games, finishing seventh. In 2013, MacDonald won the 74kg division to win his sixth senior national title.
MacDonald served as an assistant coach for the Brock wrestling program. He played a pivotal role in coaching his wife Jessie MacDonald (Bondy) to become Brock’s first senior world champion.
Tonya Verbeek was a Brock University student-athlete who played a pivotal part on the women’s wrestling team from 1996 to 2003, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation & Leisure (Honours) in 2000, a Bachelor of Education in 2003 and a Master of Education in 2006.
Verbeek helped lead the Badgers to four OUA titles. During the 2001-02 season, she led the women’s team to their first-ever CIS title. As a collegiate wrestler, she earned five provincial gold medals and one silver. While at the CIS Championships, she claimed three golds, two silver and one bronze. Verbeek received multiple accolades, including the OUA Outstanding Female Wrestler of the Year award in 1999-2000 and the Brock University Female Athlete of the Year award in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. In 2005, Verbeek represented Canada and was the flag bearer at the World University Games in Turkey, where she won a silver medal in women’s freestyle wrestling in the 55kg event.
Verbeek wore the Maple Leaf at three Olympic Games. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, she earned the first Canadian Olympic medal in women’s wrestling after earning a silver in the 55kg weight class in women’s freestyle wrestling. Four years later, she won a bronze medal (55kg) at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and capped off her Olympic career with her second silver medal (55kg) at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Her other international accolades include two silver medals at the 2003 and 2011 Pan American Games, a bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games, two bronze medals at the 2005 and 2009 World Championships and a silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and 2011 World Championships.
Verbeek is a 11-time national champion and was named Ontario Athlete of the Year in 2004.
Verbeek has served as Wrestling Canada’s Talent ID coach from 2013 to 2017 and as an international coach and head coach of Team Canada from 2017 to 2021. For her impressive achievements, Verbeek was inducted into the St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2024. Currently, she is the assistant coach for the women’s wrestling team at the University of Iowa; a position she has held since 2022.
The Badger Hall of Fame commemorates the achievements of former student-athletes, coaches and others associated with Brock to preserve the history and tradition of the University’s athletic programs.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
