University-level wrestling in Ottawa was a fantasy for the longest time. But just one season after joining Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Carleton University’s newest competitive club is looking to ruffle some feathers in U Sports, the national governing body of university sports.
Ravens wrestling made its OUA debut in the 2022-23 season and resulted in three out of six Ravens athletes taking home medals, including a gold medal for Ziad Saif El-Nasr in the men’s 61 kg class. Carleton finished sixth out of 11 teams.
After their successful showing, the mixed men’s and women’s club was approved to compete in U Sports.
Although Ravens wrestling has become U Sports-affiliated, Hong says the club requires evaluation over time to become recognized as varsity. In the meantime, Hong said much of their team’s success is attributed to their “heart and passion.”
“We don’t have anything to offer in terms of scholarships or anything like that, so these kids want to be here because they want to be here,” said Ravens wrestling club president Jessica Hong.
Hong is currently ranked No. 1 in the U Sports women’s individual rankings for the 50 kg weight class, with many other Ravens ranked in the U Sports top eight in their respective weight classes.
Hong said the journey to gaining U Sports recognition has been a long process.
“I had no direction,” said Hong. “I didn’t know any of this was going to happen, but I took the risk […] There is a lot of paperwork, lots of talking, and lots of emails.”
Wrestling at Carleton was first introduced by Carleton alumnus Wassim Ghadban in 2019, two years before Hong arrived on campus. Ghadban registered a CUSA club for wrestling, but there was no competition yet.
Hong transferred from Lakehead University to Carleton in 2021 with the goal of introducing university wrestling to her hometown. She previously won Lakehead’s 2019-20 wrestling rookie of the year honours.
“I was genuinely just really confused why my teammates from high school weren’t there [at wrestling meets] with me, and it was because Carleton didn’t have a team and they couldn’t leave,” Hong said.
Hong said many talented wrestlers are unable to leave their hometowns to wrestle competitively because of steep living and tuition costs.
“Especially in Ottawa, a lot of people who are first-generation Canadians cannot afford to move away,” Hong said. “In Ontario, athletic scholarships are a max of $4,500 a year … Their wrestling was amazing, but they just couldn’t leave.”
Although Wrestling Canada Lutte, the national governing body for wrestling, is headquartered in Ottawa, neither Carleton University or the University of Ottawa had a varsity wrestling program until last year.
“[Ottawa] has had a lot of national and provincial champions, but they never have the option of staying home,” Hong said. “A lot of my friends who wrestle in Toronto, Hamilton or St. Catharine’s all have options to stay at home for school, and [Ottawa] doesn’t.”
“We are starting from the ground up on the basis of passion,” Schrauwen said. “We have this clean slate to build differently than the existing [wrestling programs].”
Schrauwen said the club’s freshness also allows wrestlers and the coaching staff to learn from each other.
“We are building something in Ottawa that’s maybe just a step above everybody else, combining all the athletes, all the opinions and all the experience we have collectively as a team.”
The speedy success of wrestling at Carleton has spread throughout the wrestling world, inspiring the sport to grow more at the university level.
Wrestling Canada’s high-performance director Chris Woodcroft hopes other schools will be inspired by Carleton.
“This will be Carleton’s first year at the U Sports [Wrestling] Championship, and we’re hoping to use them as a model for other programs,” Woodcroft said.
Among other responsibilities, Woodcroft is the link between U Sports and Wrestling Canada, a new partnership between the organizations beginning next year.
“I want to have a conversation in 10 years talking about Carleton being the U Sports champion 3 years in a row,” Woodcroft said. “We want the longevity of the sport to survive.”
Carleton participated in the OUA Wrestling Championships Feb. 9 and 10 at the George Leach Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Hong took home another silver medal in the women’s 50 kg class and Alecsandra Vlad earned a bronze in the women’s 72 kg. Carleton finished tenth out of 11 teams.
“As we make our second ever appearance in the OUA for Ravens Wrestling, I hope to make it memorable and to continue shaping history for future Ravens wrestlers,” Hong said before the championship weekend.
Carleton now looks to the U Sports wrestling championships, which are set to take place March 2 at the University of Guelph.
Hong is ranked No. 1 in the country in the 50 kg class.
Featured image by Marisa Settimi/McMaster Athletics and Recreation.
