Brock women wrestlers continue to dominate on world stage

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - This past weekend three Brock women's wrestlers captured gold at international events.

Two-time Olympic medalist Tonya Verbeek (Beamsville, Ont.) and Jessica MacDonald (Windsor, Ont.) both captured gold at the Austrian Ladies Open as Canada won the team title. Badgers newcomer Allyssa Cleaves (St. Stephen, NB) won gold at the 2012 FILA Junior Pan-American Championships in Peten, Guatamala.

Both MacDonald and Verbeek posted perfect 4-0 records in Austria.

At 51 kg, MacDonald defeated Genevieve Haley (CAN) and Mayelis Caripa (VEN) in her first two matches. In the semi-finals she defeated Sanela Mehmedovic (AUT) before knocking off Ilona Omilusik (POL) in the gold medal match.

At 55kg, Verbeek was victorious over Dorina Peter (AUT) and Marwa Amri (TUN) in her opening two matches. In the semi-finals she downed Renata Omilusik (POL) before defeating Martina Desanti (ITA) in the championship final.

Also wrestling in Austria was Brock's Michelle Fazzari (Caledonia, Ont.) who finished fourth at 59kg. She pulled out in the semi-finals with an injury.

At the Junior Pan-American Championships, Cleaves posted a perfect 3-0 record at 48kg. She opened the day with a convincing win over the Honduras wrestler before sweeping both matches against Colombia (1-0, 3-0) in the semi-finals. In the gold medal match, Cleaves defeated Venezuela in three rounds (2-0, 1-3, 7-1) to capture her first Junior Pan-American title. 

Up next for the Brock wrestling team is the Canada Cup which takes place in Guelph on June 30th. Verbeek will be busy over the next couple months in preparation for her third Olympic Games. Verbeek, MacDonald and Fazzari will all represent Canada at the 2012 Women's World Championships which is being held in Edmonton, Alberta in September.