On February 22, 2024, four RLA wrestlers competed in the SOSSA (South Ontario Secondary Schools Association) finals, coming home with two medals and a bloody nose.

Muna Assams dominated his entire first match earning a 10-0 win by pin. This set Muna up to wrestle Graydon Simpson from Smithville Christian School for the gold medal.

The match started with Muna in control. He was able to secure 2 takedowns. One for 4 points and then one for 2. As the second round began, Muna being up 6-0 was encouraged to wrestle smart and watch as his opponent had a throw in mind. Muna was wise to his opponent’s technique as he has been caught with this move and pinned before. Instead, he maintained his lead and even gave up 2 caution points to wind down the clock. This secured Muna as the 2024 89 kg SOSAA Gold medalist. He now turns his focus to OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) .

Emmanuel Kopatsis and Pedran Jenkins ended the tournament wrestling each other for the Bronze medal. The match was well wrestled by both competitors. Emmanuel would outscore his teammate by 9 points. He was however saved by the clock as both boys were stood up with only 8 seconds left in the second round. Pedran landed a blast double and started to secure Emmanuel with a pin, but alas the buzzer would sound leaving Emmanuel the victor. This shows the dedication of both young men to their craft, as it’s not over until the whistle sounds.

On his way to the Bronze medal match Emmanuel demonstrated great technique and skill in his first match, winning by pinfall. His second match, Emmanuel faced a better technical wrestler who was able to secure the win over Emmanuel. In his third match, Emmanuel took the lead with a beautiful shot followed by 4 gut wrench turns to earn a tech fall victory.

Placing third with the Bronze medal in 64 kg, Emmanuel will be an alternate if one of the top two boys cannot compete at OFSSA.

Before facing his teammate, Pedran wrestled fellow Brock Jr Badger Nolan Patten from St Catherine’s Collegiate. He had two deep shots winning his first match by pin. He was very aggressive and shooting well.

Pedran’s second match was against Tyler Schaefer from West Niagara Secondary School. , a very technical wrestler who is more experienced than Pedran. This did not seem to intimidate Pedran as he wrestled well throughout the match, although he did ultimately lose by pin.

In his third match, Pedran was down by 11-7 however, Pedran came back with an impressive takedown and turn and pin for the win!

Oscar Oceguera was the fourth RLA wrestler to compete in SOSSA and was foiled in his path to a medal by two bloody noses.

In Oscar’s first match he faced Logan Simpson from Smithville Christian School. Oscar was off to a great start quickly accumulating points with takedowns at the beginning of the match. However, in one exchange, Logan bumped his nose and it started to bleed. The match had to be stopped several times due to this. This caused the momentum that Oscar was building to stall. In the second half of the match, Logan was able to regain the lead and secure a victory over Oscar.

Looking for redemption and to advance further in the tournament Oscar scored a quick takedown in his second match and a dominant pinfall victory quickly ending the match.

Oscar again maintained a strict focus and worked hard to secure a victory over his opponent in his third match. He wrestled with great focus and intent. Oscar was again able to secure a victory by pinfall and advance.

Oscar then faced his first opponent Logan Simpson again as they battled for 3rd place in 72 kg and the OFSSA alternate position. The boys squared off and Oscar got ahead. Logan then took Oscar to the ground. However, this time it was Oscar who would end up on the receiving end of the bloody nose (unintentionally). After a quick patch up the boys resumed wrestling and Oscar was able to hold his own maintaining his lead until he was picked up in a leg attack and tripped directly onto his back. This allowed Logan to secure Oscar in a pinfall to claim the 3rd place spot, leaving Oscar with a 4th place victory in his first competitive season of wrestling.