The perennial powerhouse known as the Brock Badgers Wrestling team continued its winning ways at the recent Canadian University National (USports) Championships.
One year after settling for silver, the Brock Badgers Men’s team reclaimed their place atop the national wrestling landscape.
Finishing with 86 points, 22 more than the second-place McMaster Marauders, Brock captured gold in commanding fashion at the 2026 Wrestling Canada Lutte U SPORTS Championships at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.
“It was an outstanding effort from our men’s team this weekend resulting in a dominant win,” said Badgers head coach and former Canadian Olympian Marty Calder.
“The athletes continue to bring the best when it matters most, a tribute to their efforts in the preparation phase. We don’t overlook the value of each championship and the work that it takes to get the desired result.”
Over the two-day competition from Friday, Feb. 27 to Saturday, Feb. 28, Brock earned eight total medals, including three gold, four silver and one bronze.
For the second consecutive year, Yazdan Farokhizad won the 100-kilogram division. In 2026, he surrendered just two points over five matches and capped off his run with a 10-0 technical fall victory in just one minute and nine seconds over Thomas Rousseau of the Alberta Golden Bears in the final.
Two Badgers secured their first individual national gold medals.
Mason Mastroianni, a fourth-year athlete, bested Donovan Neudorf of the Saskatchewan Huskies by technical fall 14-0 in the 65kg final to earn his first career national medal.
Making an impressive debut, first-year standout Javier Tonita-Charriez won a close championship bout against Brandon Carrillo of the Algoma Thunderbirds by 9-8 decision in the 57kg weight class.
Callum Knox (100 kg) and Roger Li (125 kg) each repeated as silver medallists, marking the third and fourth U SPORTS podium finishes of their careers, respectively.
Matching Li with four career U SPORTS podium finishes, Gabriel Blanchette improved on last year’s bronze medal with a silver in the 68kg division.
Rounding out the medal results for Brock were first-year wrestlers Aiden O’Neill (61kg) and Austin Brabant (82kg). O’Neill placed second in his weight class, while Brabant won a gritty bronze medal match by decision 9-8 over Chase Birch of the host Lakehead Thunderwolves.
At the end of the competition, Calder was named national Men’s Coach of the Year for the 14th time in his illustrious coaching career.
Meanwhile, the Badgers Women’s team sealed a six-medal performance propelling them to a podium finish.
At the 2026 Wrestling Canada Lutte U SPORTS Invitational Championships Brock placed third with 68 points.
“While we fell just short of our goal of repeating as national champions at the U SPORTS Championships, we couldn’t be prouder of how our women battled to a third-place finish,” women’s head coach Dave Collie said.
“We had to shuffle weight classes to put our strongest possible lineup on the mat and that meant some athletes set aside individual goals for the good of the team — a true testament to their character and commitment to one another.”
It was a close three-team race as the Badgers finished five points away from the Calgary Dinos and six back of the gold medallists Alberta Pandas.
“Even without one of our captains and conceding a weight class, we put ourselves in position heading into the finals with a chance to defend our title,” Collie said. “Congratulations to the University of Alberta on an outstanding performance. We look forward to the opportunity to battle it out with them and the rest of the country again next year.”
After back-to-back U SPORTS silver-medal finishes, Niagara native (Beamsville) Cassie Corbett captured a gold medal in the 72-kilogram division. She won her finals bout in under two minutes, defeating Aaliyah Hartfelder of the Alberta Pandas by fall.
Vanessa Keefe followed a similar path, finishing at the top of the podium after two consecutive silver-medal showings. Keefe did not surrender a single point, capping off a strong performance with a 10-0 technical fall victory over Maria Sawiak of the Alberta Pandas in the final.
“Both delivered truly special performances in winning their first U SPORTS national titles,” Collie said. “Both athletes have put in years of disciplined, consistent work, and to see that commitment culminate on the biggest university stage is incredibly rewarding. These championships are a reflection not only of their talent but of their resilience and belief in the process.”
Making her return to the national stage, Mia Friesen (62kg) earned silver after a close 5-2 decision with Calgary’s Annika Fines in the championship match.
Francesca Lo Greco repeated as the silver medallist in the 53kg event, while Olivia Mathezer also matched her 2025 result with a bronze in the 56kg division after a victory by fall at 5:41 over Becca Gutteridge of the Algoma Thunderbirds.
In her national debut, Emma Chartres (50kg) won four of her matches by either fall or technical fall, before dropping the gold medal match to Alberta’s Victoria Stefanov.
For more information on the Brock Badgers visit gobadgers.ca
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.
