Abbotsford wrestlers will be front and centre when the 2011 edition of the B.C. High School Wrestling Championships arrive in town later this week. Almost every local school has a strong medal contender or two heading into provincials, which run Friday and Saturday at the Ag-Rec Building. • Over at Rick Hansen Secondary, head coach Sucha Mann believes his boys squad has what it takes to win a provincial team title. The perennial powerhouse Hurricanes, B.C. boys champs in 2004 and 2006, have one of the province’s truly elite wrestlers in Jasmit Phulka. In addition to a B.C. high school crown last year, Phulka won gold at the Commonwealth Youth Championships in Singapore and bronze at the Pan-Am Championships. Wrestling at 78 kg, the Grade 12 athlete hasn’t had a single point scored on him during the 2010-11 high school season.”He’s unbeatable at the high school level,” Mann said of Phulka. Other Hansen wrestlers with provincial medals on their resumé include Jobanjit Phulka – Jasmit’s cousin – Maneet Klair, and Ravneet Sandhu.• The W.J. Mouat Hawks also bring a potential-laden team into the provincial meet, and they’ve got a phenom of their own in Sunny Dhinsa. Wrestling in the heavyweight (130 kg) division, Dhinsa is aiming for his third consecutive B.C. title. Last spring, at age 16, Dhinsa won a national title in the junior (20-and-under) division.Mouat’s Amrit Sund is also a two-time B.C. champ, and Melissa Lokombo – a bronze medallist last year – leads a solid Hawks girls team.• Yale Secondary brings a very good girls team to provincials. Serena Kind (silver in 2010) and Zandri Botha (silver in 2009) have both climbed the podium at the B.C.’s in recent seasons.The Lions also have some top contenders on the boys’ side, including Brendan Seppala and Matt Dignan.• Manny Gill is only in Grade 11, but the Abbotsford Collegiate athlete is aiming for his third consecutive B.C. title.• Abby Traditional’s boys team won an aggregate bronze medal at provincials in 2009. Though the Titans are a thinner group this season, they boast a couple of solid medal threats in Harjot Kahlon and Arsh Khangura.• Mennonite Educational Institute returns a pair of former B.C. medallists in Dave Sharma and Amanveer Kaler.• On Friday, the preliminary rounds through the semifinals will be contested from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday’s schedule features consolation rounds beginning at 9 a.m., and the finals start at 2 p.m.

Abbotsford News