Charleswood wrestler wins junior nationals
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This article was published 29/03/2023 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Sam Pereira wrestled through a challenging start to his year to come out on top in his sport.
On March 10, the young wrestler at Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club overcame injuries to win the Canadian junior title in the men’s 92-kilogram freestyle category, in Waterloo, Ont.
“It feels good. I started off the year with shoulder surgery, and I wasn’t back on the mat until a month before nationals,” said the 19-year-old, a back-to-back national champ who grew up in Charleswood. “It’s nice to get that win after a long year.”
Supplied photo
Charleswood-raised wrestler Sam Pereira stands atop the podium after winning the 92-kilogram freestyle gold medal at the Canadian junior wrestling championships in Waterloo, Ont., this month. Xavier Lauzon (left) finished second, while Omar Ragab took home the bronze.
Pereira defeated Xavier Lauzon of Montreal’s Tritton Performance Wrestling Club in the his final bout.
He said he discovered wrestling through a school program, while he was also involved in hockey and lacrosse.
“I ended up taking wrestling pretty far. I moved to Edmonton when I was 15 by myself to take an offer,” he said.
“These last four years have been really, really tough, especially going through COVID by myself.”
After graduating from high school, Pereira received an offer to wrestle on the University of Alberta team, where he competed for one year before transferring schools.
Now he’s wrestling in British Columbia for Simon Fraser University athletics, which competes in Division 2 of the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Assocation.
“SFU has a great wrestling team, so I just took the opportunity and I transferred this year. This year also brings a new place and new people again, as well as starting off the year with surgery,” he said.
“I’m doing my absolute best to get the work done and put in my extra cardio. A lot of the training is mental, coming back after not wrestling for so long. But I’m glad I went through that experience because I think it made me stronger as a person.”
Pereira’s win earned him a spot on the Pan-American Games team that will compete in Chile later this year, among other upcoming opportunities to showcase his talents.
“ It’s gruelling. It’s a tough sport…
“There’s U23 World Team trials at the end of May in Laval, Que. Hopefully I can make the U23 team. That’s the next goal,” he said.
“If that goes to plan, I’ll be able to wrestle at the U23 world championships in Finland. There are also the worlds in August in Poland.”
For other young athletes considering the world of wrestling, Pereira offers a few words of wisdom.
“I’ve done so many sports, and wrestling by far is the hardest sport that I could ever think of. It’s gruelling. It’s a tough sport, but the fact that you get to represent your country is amazing,” he said.
“Wrestling is one hell of a sport. It’s changed my life for the better, and it’s made me realize things about myself. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do. I think if you can get through a wrestling practice, you can get through most things in life.”