Williams Lake’s Braden Conrod gritted his way to a silver medal at the BC Wrestling Championships in Salmon Arm during the weekend.
The Grade 12 grappler, who has been training in Prince George to work with wrestlers of his calibre and weight, took on Karan Preet — the Canadian national champion from Surrey — in the final, following four consecutive wins prior.
“Braden went out there with his head held high and didn’t back down,” his coach and mom, Sonia Conrod said.
“It was back and forth, but Karan was strong and overtook Braden in the end for the silver medal win.
“There are no losers in wrestling. There are winners and learners.”
On day one of the competition Braden, competing in the 70-kilogram class, defeated his first opponent, 12-2, taking him into the second round.
Knowing it would be a long day, Braden’s gameplan heading into his second match was to conserve energy. He did just that, pinning his opponent in 44 seconds.
Much later in the day, Braden duplicated the feat and, again, pinned his rival in 44 seconds to advance to the semifinal.
There, a barn burner ensued.
“Both athletes were exhausted by the end,” Sonia said. “[It] was the toughest match of the tournament and voted the most exciting match of day one. It was toe-to-toe, back and forth.”
With seven seconds left in the match, Braden found himself behind by four points.
“He came back and scored a four-point arm drag at the buzzer to win the match,” Sonia said.
“The crowd erupted. It was crazy.”
The opposing coaches, however, protested the match’s point tally. Sonia, in turn, protested the protest, and won for the original outcome to stand.
The silver-medal victory capped off an extremely successful season for Braden as he’s also been gaining valuable experience officiating wrestling tournaments.
Last month he refereed the high school tournament at the Western Canadian Age Class Tournament in Richmond, and also refereed a tournament in Prince George in early January.
“We’ve received very positive feedback on his abilities as an official from all over the province,” Sonia said.
Back on the mat, Braden scooped up a gold medal at the North Central Zone Tournament to qualify him for provincials, while also officiating.
Sonia said Braden, who attends Skyline Alternate School in Williams Lake, has been garnering the attention of multiple universities interested in recruiting him for wrestling in the near future.
“He’s an amazing role model and will continue with the sport of wrestling for many years to come,” Sonia said.
