By Larry Moko
She's known on the mat as Gia 'The Bulldog' Bedour.
Tagged with that nickname by St. Thomas More Knights coach Stefanie West, Bedour tenaciously scrapped her way to a gold medal at the 2025 OFSAA high school wrestling championships in Kitchener.
There, at the Memorial Auditorium, she took top honours in the girls' 54-kilogram division.
"Gia is a little bulldog," West said. "She's low to the ground, aggressive, attacks the legs and never stops wrestling."
The Grade 9 student at More scored what West describes as the "upset of the tournament" in a semifinal victory.
"She beat the No. 1 seed -- a Grade 12 returning OFSAA champion," the Knights coach said. "That was the best match. It was incredible wrestling. Then, in the final, she pinned her opponent."
Bedour says she trained hard for the annual high school showcase event and feels good about her semifinal-round performance.
"I just had to get a mindset of thinking I was going to beat her."
Bedour, who also won the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic and Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference titles, isn't a newcomer to the sport. She's been wrestling for almost six years.
"I started in Grade 2 with jiu-jitsu and other martial arts," she said."My dad talked to coaches who told me about wrestling."
The Hamilton resident divides her training time between More and the Brock Wrestling Club.
"We're excited to have her," West said. "She comes to us 2-to-3 times a week and is at Brock 2-3 times a week. She's a great addition to our program."
Last month Bedour won the provincial 53kg juvenile championship in Markham -- one division about her age. And next month she plans to travel to Calgary for nationals.
"She has incredible mat awareness," West pointed out. "She's deadly in every position."
Her goals? Probably to go to the world championships and hopefully the Olympics," Bedour said.
St. Thomas More also got a bronze-medal performance at OFSAA by Grade 11 student Aydan Cook (boys' 57.5kg). Said Cook: "I think I did pretty good, but I could have done better."
Cook captured a cadet championship at provincials in 2024 and this year came third in the juvenile category. He competes for Discipline Wrestling Club.
"Usually, he said, "I have a high pace. Against everyone I wrestle I gas them out after the first 80 seconds. I don't think a lot of people can keep up with me."
Cook wrestled in Grade 9. However, he didn't qualify for OFSAA. He went to the tournament with the team that year but only to watch. That hooked his interest and last year he finished fourth at OFSAA.
"Aydan is incredible," West said. "He helps coach the team as well."
The Knights other medals were antique bronze for fourth place. They went to Krista Coleman (girls' 95 kg) and Nathan Evangelista (boys' 56 kg).
More qualified 16 wrestlers for this year's OFSAA and finished fourth overall as a team. It's the most medals the school has ever won at OFSAA in the wrestling team's brief history.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
