Connor Church is enjoying a two-year run that’s seen him become one of Canada’s premier young grapplers.

The Winnipeg teen’s dominance on the mat continued earlier this month at the national junior wrestling championships in Waterloo, Ont., where he defended his U20 title in the 79-kilogram freestyle division without so much as a point scored against him in four matches.

Church stuck around an extra day for the senior nationals — and mopped up there, too.

Indeed, it’s been quite a stretch for someone who started wrestling six years ago to learn self-defence. Church currently holds four different national titles: a gold medal at the 2022 Canada Summer Games, the aforementioned junior and senior triumphs, and the U Sports wrestling crown, captured in February as a member of the Concordia University (Montreal) Stingers.

Church was also named the recipient of the 2022 Tom Longboat Award, which is presented annually to Indigenous athletes for their outstanding contribution to sport in Canada.

“My first national championship when I won, I was surprised. When I won Canada Games, I was so overjoyed — tears a little bit. When I won this time, it was just expected of myself,” said Church, who is of Métis descent.

“This is what I do consistently now. Now, I want to start placing at international tournaments. It’s time to take my wrestling to another level.”

With his wins earlier this month, Church maintained his spot on the U20 national team and secured his place on the senior national squad. He won’t compete in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games, however, as his weight class has yet to be added as an event.

In the meantime, Church has his sights set on other international meets, including the Pan-American Championships in Chile on July 5.

“Super unexpected, I’d say that,” Church said of his string of successes. “But now, it’s starting to just become a habit. I’ve consistently been putting up results and it feels really good. I’ve had a bit of streak going, since I moved to Montreal, of performing in competitions.

“It feels like I’ve been taking step by step by step and I’ve passed every time so far. I’m just building and building and building and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon. That’s why I just want to keep running with this as long as I can.”

Church moved east in August 2021 and met people he now considers role models in his life, including Jordan Steen, a Canadian Olympic freestyle wrestler, Alex Moore, a member of the senior national team, and David Zilberman, his coach, who Church said is “the kind of man (he) wants to be like.”

Zilberman said Church’s work ethic and competitiveness are his best traits, adding his positive attitude has been instrumental in his development.

“He was inexperienced, for sure (when he moved to Montreal),” said Zilberman, a coach at the Montreal Wrestling Club. “He not only had to develop his physical game, but he had to develop his psychological game, which he’s come leaps and bounds from where he was. He’s slowly developing into a high-level wrestler.

“The potential is really dependent on him. If he keeps going with the same attitude that he has now, where he wants to keep learning and keep training and adapting to the different levels and demands that come, it’s hard to say what could be.

“But he will be an international performer.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam