The Cochrane Cowboys Invitational has been a must-do wrestling meet for years but suffered a slow rebound from the pandemic years.
Flash forward to today, it's returned to attracting huge numbers despite some northern Alberta club's having to back out due to poor travelling conditions.
Staged at the SLS Centre on Mar. 29, almost 300 wrestlers took to the mats from tykes through to U19.
"For the most part, it was very well attended," says April Hooper of the Cowboys. "It was well run and organized, and I thought the kids had a lot of fun. It was very successful."
"It's been well received within the community, and lots of clubs have made it a habit to join our little tournament, and it's been fantastic, especially after the last couple of years of low attendance due to Covid and stuff. We're building back to the numbers we use to see."
A come-try wrestling event at the start of the year has helped to harness a resurgence within the club.
Cochrane wrestlers will be competing in this weekend's Alberta Open, being hosted by the University of Calgary, signalling the end of the season for many of their wrestlers. The Canadian Wrestling Championships for cadets, juniors, and seniors follow in Edmonton, May 29-31.
Many provincial, national, and international calibre wrestlers have come through the ranks of the Cowboys.
The Cowboys were named the top-ranked wrestling club in Alberta in both 2014 and 2015 and have been the ASAA Provincial Champions 18 times. Their wrestlers have acquired national rankings in both Greco and freestyle and have accumulated 16 medals at nationals.
Four of their wrestlers have gone on to represent Canada on the International stage, where they won three Pan-American Wrestling Championship medals. Several of our alumni have earned scholarships at the University level and still come home to coach and mentor the current team.
Learn more about the Cochrane Cowboys here.