By Larry Moko
Two veteran members of the Bishop Ryan wrestling team are wrapping up their outstanding high school careers in the sport.
Ella de Almeida and Taylor Engelen each won a gold medal at the recent OFSAA wrestling championships in Peterborough.
For de Almeida, it was her third consecutive first-place finish at the annual provincial showcase event. And for Engelen, she repeated as a gold-medal winner.
They competed in the girls' 67.5 and 61-kilogram weight categories, respectively.
Because OFSAA wrestling was shut down due to COVID-19 precautions in 2021 and '22, Engelen and de Almeida missed one year of eligibility. When they returned as Grade 10 students in 2023, de Almeida captured a bronze medal.
Engelen's other medals since then at OFSAA have included bronze and silver.
In addition to their individual achievements, the pair of mat stars helped coach Sheldon Francis and the Celtics bring home three consecutive girls' team championships from 2023-25 along with a combined team title in '24.
This year, BR came a close second in both the girls' team and combined standings. Another Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic entry -- the St. Thomas More Knights -- placed third in boys' team.
"We'll lose some big pillars on the girls' side (Engelen, de Almeida and bronze-medal winner at 83 kg., Jaslene Nikulita)," the Celtics coach said. "But next person up is the way I've been running the program for the last 13 years.
"We have a lot of top athletes waiting in the wings for their time to shine. Next year, hopefully, we'll be talking about them."
de Almeida became the fourth person in Bishop Ryan wrestling history to win three or more OFSAA gold medals. And she was the first girl to do it. The others were former Canadian Olympian Greg Woodcroft (four gold), Francis and Emidio Coccia (three apiece).
"We've had a lot of phenomenal females come through our program," Francis said, "but she is the first one to win three in a row.
"Ella is an athlete who makes it look easy. But it isn't easy."
Engelen and de Almeida hope to wrestle at the university level but haven't decided where yet.
"Taylor is one of the top recruits in the country," Francis said. "She's even got some interest from the United States because she went down there (Illinois), wrestled at an open university tournament and won. Anywhere she wants to go they'll be happy to have her."
Engelen said she felt more pressure at OFSAA this year than in the past.
"I was the first seed and favoured to win," she said. "Everyone was sort of expecting it.
"I just reminded myself that wrestling is what I love to do. Just put your head down and have fun. I was able to keep a good mindset during the tournament and block out the noise."
At OFSAA last week, de Almeida said one of her matches posed the most problem.
"In my semifinal," de Almeida recalled, "my opponent didn't outscore me but she was very strong. I had to overcome that. And then I was good."
de Almeida,says she got into more nutrition this year and enjoyed the training experience.
"I was able to train more with Jaslene who was a consistent partner," de Almeida said. "I was excited, too, because I had the chance to get a record for the school. It feels good to be the first girl to do that."
Up next for Engelen and de Almeida are the junior provincials later this month in Windsor and the junior national team trials in May in Montreal.
Engelen said the five years at Bishop Ryan have flown by.
"You know what they say, time flies when you're having fun. I'm super fortunate to have wrestled for a program like Bishop Ryan's," Engelen said. "We have the highest level of coaches and the highest level of training partners.
"Overall, it's been a really great experience. I think me and Ella are both really happy to go out as OFSAA champions."
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
