Last month the Western Canada Summer Games were hosted in Wood Buffalo, AB, with local wrestler, Micheline Biermann (12), competing and Manor Mustangs wrestling coach, Monte McNaughton, as the Team Sask assistant coach. Biermann finished fourth in her weight category and she was part of the girls Team Sask wrestling who earned a bronze medal overall.
“There were twenty wrestlers on the team; 10 boys and 10 girls,” McNaughton explained. “It was an honour to be picked as a coach and it was nice to have one of my athletes make the team as well.”
“We had a couple of training camps during the summer, I went to Jamestown with the girls and the other coach went to Bismarck with the boys; so, when we got to Wood Buffalo that was how we split the coaching.”
Biermann explained that she made the team through a series of tournaments.
“Originally I was the only one in my weight category, so 43 kg, but when I went to weigh-in I was over by like 0.5 kg, so I had to compete in the 50 kg which was really tough,” she explained. “In the end I didn’t make the 50 kg, but there was no one in the 43 kg, so I had the option of making my weight and getting to go.”
Although there was no one else in her age category at the lower weight, making it to the games was through grit and determination as she had to compete in the heavier weight first, then try to make the lower weight to compete at the games.
“Weigh-ins are rough because you have to make that weight in the morning, so it’s tough,” Biermann said. “Like you don’t eat breakfast before you go to the weigh-in because that could make you weigh more that day and to compete you have to make your weight.”
Biermann has been wrestling since moving to Manor after being encouraged by McNaughton in gym class to take it on.
“My teacher got me into it,” she explained. “We would wrestle in class sometimes and he said I was pretty good at it, so I tried it out and I really liked it.”
An active youth, Biermann loves to be involved in after school activities from golf to volleyball to track and field to badminton and more.
Being involved in this higher level of competition, however, was very exciting for the young athlete.
“It was amazing,” Biermann said. “They had opening ceremonies and they videotaped those; they were pretty extreme. There were dirt bikes, quads, fireworks, singers, and dancers. It was amazing.”
“That was the highest level of competition I’ve really been at and wrestling there has given me more confidence and I’m going to use that high level of competition to help me handle all levels. It helps you handle pressure.”
Although the competition was tough, Biermann says that it was a great experience off the mats as well, “It was really friendly, it was just like being with your friends at home, but you were competing against each other too.”
“The chance to be on the team was pretty awesome,” Biermann said. “Some people don’t get to have an experience like that and it was a lot of fun. It was mind blowing seeing it all, I was amazed. Getting the Team Sask stuff was really nice, getting to have and wear it. It’s exciting getting to represent the province.”
During the team competition, Team Sask earned a bronze medal, which included Biermann’s efforts, which included a win over the competitor from Team Manitoba, Mikwan Dumas.
The team competition had athletes compete against teams from other provinces or territories, beginning at the heaviest weight and ending at the lightest weight.
Following the team competition, competitors in each age category were ranked with how they did for the individual competition. Biermann was ranked third going into the individual competition and had to take on the fourth place competitor for the bronze medal. Although this time the competitor from Manitoba earned the win, Biermann finished fourth after a tough battle.
“The team competition is a cool, exciting way to do wrestling,” McNaughton said. “Everyone is out watching and cheering for each other in every match because it’s going towards a team total.”
McNaughton is excited for the future of wrestling in the area.
“Hopefully this experience motivates her in continuing wrestling,” he said. “This is a pretty big deal.”
“Last year one of our top wrestling competitors, Tianna [Kennett], graduated, so I’m hopeful wrestling will remain strong here. And I am starting a team in Carlyle for anybody who wants to wrestle there, so we’ll train together and then compete separately as Cougars and Mustangs, but it will benefit the wrestlers because they’ll have more training partners.”
“Getting more people wrestling betters the sport and it betters the athletes competing in it.”
