The York University Lions men's wrestling team finished in fifth place at the OUA wrestling championships in Sudbury, Ont., on Saturday (Feb. 14), while the women's team put together a seventh-place showing.
 
Ali Koca (Richmond Hill, Ont.) was the gold medal in the 120kg weight division, defeating Ahmed Ramadan of the McMaster Marauders in the final. He was also named an OUA first-team all-star for his efforts.


 
The highlight on the women's side came courtesy of rookie Alexandria Town (Scarborough, Ont.), who won the silver medal in the 51kg division and earned OUA second-team all-star honours. She is the first York women's wrestler to win a medal at the OUA championships in program history. In the final she was defeated by a single point by gold medallist Emily Schaefer of the Brock Badgers.

The Lions had two other wrestlers just miss out on podium finishes at the OUA championships. Greg Pierzchala (Barrie, Ont.) and Tristan Nurse (Thornhill, Ont.) both reached their respective bronze-medal bouts in the 76kg and 57kg weight classes, respectively. Pierzchala was defeated by McMaster's Eric Steffler to finish in fourth place in the division for the second-straight year, and Nurse was defeated by Guelph's Elvir Uzonovic in his first appearance at the event.
 
The Marauders won the men's team title by a single point over Brock to take home their first OUA wrestling banner since 1993, while the Badgers won the women's crown for their seventh team trophy in the last eight years.
 
Koca and Urshian Khalid (Mississauga, Ont.) were also named the recipients of their respective community service awards. For Khalid, it is the second straight year she has received the honour.
 
With their top-three finishes, Koca and Town have also qualified for this year's CIS championships and will represent York at the national tournament in Edmonton in two weeks. Town's appearance will make her the first York women's wrestler to represent the university at the CIS championships.
 
Men's Major Award Winners
Keegan Trophy (Outstanding Male Wrestler) – Jason Buckle, McMaster
Rookie of the Year – Omar Ahmed, McMaster
Community Service Award – Ali Koca, York
Coach of the Year – Nick Cipriano, McMaster
 
Women's Major Award Winners
Outstanding Female Wrestler – Carlene Sluberski, Brock
Rookie of the Year – Emily Schaefer, Brock
Community Service Award – Urshian Khalid, York
Coach of the Year – Marty Calder, Brock
 
Men's Final Team Standings
1. McMaster, 83 points
2. Brock, 82
3. Western, 64
4. Guelph, 46
5. York, 40
6. Lakehead, 31
7. Laurentian, 25
8. Queen's, 13
9. Ryerson, 6
10. Toronto, 5
11. Algoma, 4
 
Women's Final Team Standings
1. Brock, 59 points
2. Western, 46
3. Guelph, 44
4. McMaster, 37
5. Lakehead, 34
6. Laurentian, 19
7. York, 12
8. Algoma, 11
9. Toronto, 8
10. Queen's, 5