Wrestler Nicholas Hooper has successfully defended his provincial high school gold medal and Maeve Maguire won her first at the ASAA Provincial Wrestling Championship.

The medal wins continued the school's long tradition of excellence in the sport.

For seasoned wrestler Hooper, 17, it's his last time competing for his high school, something that holds special meaning.

"What felt really cool is doing it for St. Tim's, because St. Tim's has a long history of wrestling, and being able to be a part of that is awesome. My name will be up on the wall with the McNeice brothers, Cooks and Leoeppkys. It feels awesome to continue that for the school."

He says it wasn't an easy win, especially with the calibre of wrestling improving as we continue to climb out of the pandemic.

Nick HooperNick Hooper on the podium at the ASAA wrestling provincials.

He faced Joseph Breedlove in the final, whom he trains with at the Dinos

"He's only in grade 11, and he's scored on me and almost beat me, too. He's really good."

Hooper has a storied wrestling career. Among his most recent honours is winning gold at the Canada Summer Games and placing second in the junior nationals. He's wrestling in the U19 nationals tomorrow (Mar. 25) in Vancouver.

He has also recently committed to the UCalgary Dinos wrestling team.

Maeve Maguire is in grade 10 and made her first appearance at the provincials. She enjoyed the opportunity to compete.

"It was a tough competition, so it was fun to have people around my level and it was a hard-fought match to win," she says.

maeveMaave Maguire on the podium after winning gold at the ASAA provincials.

For those in Alberta's wrestling community, the name Maguire is a familiar one. Maeve competed in the 2020 Alberta Winter Games, and her brother Brendan is an accomplished wrestler with the Cochrane Cowboys Wrestling Club.

Maeve, though, doesn't have room in her schedule to join the club. 

"The only reason I don't join is that I have baseball training, so it's a conflict, but I do get to complete some training with the Cowboys some days."

She's a highly-skilled ball player and is a member of the 15AAA Cochrane Crush. Last summer, she was a two-time medallist, first with the Cochrane Crush, then with Alberta's 16U girls' baseball team.

Still, she hopes to compete again at the ASAA wrestling provincials and is considering vying for a spot on Team Alberta for the 2025 Canada Summer Games. She has been discussing the idea with Cochrane Cowboys head coach Gord Peavy.

Maguire says the school was supportive upon her return from the provincials. Fellow stduents and school staff congratulated her.

"They even put an announcement over the intercom, so it was really nice."