A silver medal was as good as gold for Conor McIntyre at the Cadet national wrestling championships.
The St. Albert grappler improved on last year’s fifth-place result with a podium finish in the 80-kilogram category last weekend in Fredericton, N.B. In the final he was pinned halfway through the first round by Devin Purewal of the Miri Piri Wrestling Club in Abbotsford, B.C.
“Right after the match I was a little disappointed but after a while it started to sink in. I was like ‘Wow! I came this far from being fifth at nationals to second,” said McIntyre, 15.
The Edmonton Wrestling Club member won three straight matches by pins to reach the final and get a shot at the gold. Last year he finished 2-3 overall at his first nationals.
“My goal was to get past the semifinals because last year I kind of choked and was distracted by the fact that I was in the semifinals. I got a little bit excited and lost. This year I just wanted to keep my cool,” he said.
McIntyre almost had Purewal pinned before the tables were turned.
“He fought out of it, but I wasn’t really shaken by that,” he said.
Purewal proceeded to topple McIntyre with a sweep single-leg attack to end the match.
“He ended up catching me with a real good move and pinning me. It’s a move I used to do all the time last year. As soon as he shot it up, I thought, ‘Oh dear, I’m wrestling me from last year.’ I knew I had lost the match by then,” McIntyre said. “He was a very good wrestler. He was a little bit taller, but I was stronger, like bulkier. He definitely had better technique.”
McIntyre was a quicker and smarter wrestler compared to last year’s national debut.
“This year I definitely improved on my speed. I used to be a little bit slower than I am. My mental game is a lot better than last year, too. I’m a lot calmer and I’m a lot cooler.”
At the high school level the Paul Kane student was the Edmonton zone winner at 82 kg and at provincials finished sixth out of 15 competitors with a 3-2 record as the only Grade 10 wrestler in his category.
“At my weight, and being grade 10, it was kind of difficult because you’re wrestling Grade 12s.”
Last year the newcomer to St. Albert from Chelsea, Que., finished his junior high season with the Lorne Akins Crush undefeated as the 77-kg champion at the Provincial Junior Olympics.
“Wrestling for Crush definitely helped me out a lot. It kind of integrated me into the community of wrestling, which is kind of important when you’re just starting out. It also taught me some great moves, especially my throwing. It definitely helped me with my throwing,” said the 2011 Paperweight and Rosslyn tournament gold medallist.
Next season McIntyre plans to bulk up to 85 kg in a bid to make the juvenile national team for the Pan Am and world tournaments.
“I know it’s going to be difficult. There is a lot of great wrestlers here in Canada but I know I’m up to the challenge,” said the silver medallist at the 2010 Canada East championships. “To get up to 85 kilograms I’m going to have to work on my strength and get kind of heavier, but I still need to work a lot on my mental game. When that final match came up [against Purewal] I was pretty excited, so I just need to remember to keep my cool.”
