Cochrane wrestlers claimed gold and silver medals at the Canadian Wrestling Championships in Montreal, Mar. 16-18, and continue to prove they are among the top wrestlers in Canada. 

Connor McNeice, 18, is the junior Canadian champion for the 65kg weight class and it's a follow-up to claiming the juvenile Canadian championship last year.

Aidan McKeage won silver in his first year in the senior men's competition and it follows in the footsteps of his gold medal in Canada West and silver at the USports championships.

Aidan McKeage, now in his third year with the University of Alberta Golden Bears team, won silver in the senior men's 79 kg division and has become the first Cochrane Cowboy alumni to medal at the senior men's level. He capped off an impressive season of competition in USports, where he's ranked second in the country in his weight class.

McNeice came well prepared to face Garret Sales, of the Guelph Wrestling Club, and has wrestled him in the past. The last time was about 1/12 years ago and McNeice won a close 4-3 decision. This time he won 9-5 and prepared specifically for Sales, whom he believed was his likely opponent in the final.

"I had a game plan going into it," says McNeice. "I sat down with my coaches and we watched quite a bit of video of him. I really knew exactly how he wrestled and everything he did so we made a game plan and put that into practice and wrestled in a certain way to take advantage of him."

Prior to that, he faced three tough match ups. His weight class featured six wrestlers who had won national championships and McNeice was seeded third.

McKeage entered his first year in senior men's with a target on his back after coming into Canada West as an underdog and hoisting gold, then claiming silver in the recent USports national championships. He faced Juwan Burgess, of Brock University, in the Canadian final and it's the first time the two have met.

"It was a tough match," says McKeage. "I’m a little undersized for that weight class but heading into seniors I didn’t have any lofty goals or ambitions so making the final was a surprise in itself. I was using it to get used to wrestling bigger and older guys and bulking up for the bigger weight class that I want to compete in."

His preparations paid off as he went through his side of the pool with little trouble.

"My film and my preparation for the guys on my side worked out perfectly because I ended up walking through my side of the bracket fairly easily. It’s always nice when your training and preparation pays off."

McKeage is looking to build off of his success and has been left a little bit hungry.

"I'm hoping to continue my record in Canada West, which I pretty much dominated all year. In USports, I want to upgrade that silver to a better colour. Making the finals is nice but it definitely leaves you a little hungry after losing a couple of finals in a row like I have this year."

Cowboys alumni Grace Chambers placed fourth in junior women's and fifth in senior women's.

Also in the Canadian champion from the Cochrane Cowboys was Hunter Smith who placed fifth in the 75kg weight class. Alumni and University of Calgary Dino Callum McNeice was 5th in the 74kg class of senior men's, Dino Grace Chambers was 4th in the 53kg junior women's and 5th in senior women's. Dino Brendan McKeage wrestled in the 65kg weight class.

Cochrane Cowboys head coach Vern McNeice was proud of the whole group and continues to praise their commitment.

"For some of them, it was their first juniors, it's a different level and a very high level. That's why we all coach because you see these kids are putting it all out there and they're sacrificing so much and there are no guarantees. Some of them won, some of them didn't. Regardless, what they put forth was pretty neat to watch. We're proud of all of them."

Both McNeice and McKeage look forward to taking a break before returning to the mats. For McNeice, it may be a little shorter so he can start training for the world championship being hosted in Trnava, Slovakia.

McNeice has also recently signed with the Dinos. Six other Cochrane Cowboys wrestlers have made the Dinos team, including his older brother Callum and Hunter Smith, who has also recently been recruited by the team.

Next up is the cadet/juvenile nationals being hosted by Edmonton, Apr. 13-15, that will include several Cochrane wrestlers.