Montreal wrestlers snag all 3 titles at this year’s Canadian Wrestling Championship

There’s wrestling greatness at the Reinitz Wrestling Centre in Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce at the Sylvan Adams YM-YWHA – as three wrestlers just climbed to the top of the podium, winning the Canadian Wrestling Championships – a win not only for the athletes but for the club’s successful and long established relationship with the First Nation Community.

The three athletes, Connor Church, his younger brother Ryder Church, and Jason Luneau, are all part of the Indigenous community — each fighting in the men’s freestyle wrestling category.

“I train with my buddy Connor at wrestling right now, me and him, we’re good friends, you know, we know we’re indigenous and we’re proud to be,” said Luneau.

“It was really cool to have a friend also there on the podium with me, and the experience, to be in the finals, is best in Canada, is something special,” he went on to explain.

Church walked away with the gold, while Luneau earned the silver medal, and Ryder Church ultimately taking the bronze, earning his place beside his brother on the podium.

In addition to his win at last week’s Championships, Connor Church has also recently been inducted into the North American Indigenous Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of more than 200 other Indigenous athletes already recognized for their achievements and athleticism.

“It was a long kind of process in the making, but when I first found out that I was getting the award, of course, I was ecstatic,” said Connor Church. “It was a really cool moment for me.”

Since moving to Montreal at age 18, the Métis athlete started out as a member of Concordia University’s wrestling team, where he went on to earn four national championship titles.

To make all of the victories possible for the high-level athletes, the Wrestling Club has a team of expert coaches, Olympians, and World Champions training them.

“I think we have a strong foundation of committed wrestlers,” said David Zilberman, ex-wrestler and longtime coach, whose father founded the National Training Centre back in 2001.

“We explain the importance of training full-time, learning to sacrifice, hanging out with friends and doing the regular things teenagers and young adults do to be in the gym and training twice a day,” he explained regarding the training regimen they teach their athletes.

For Ryder Church, who just won a bronze medal alongside his brother at the premier national championship last week, the training his coaches instilled in him is the reason it’s paying off.

“I think a lot of the journey was just showing up to practice consistently every day and never missing, no matter if I was sick or tired or if I was injured, you know, just always showing up,” said Ryder.

The two brothers and Luneau also train together during every practice, which they say helps them motivate each other to push themselves harder and bring a friendly and competitive rivalry.

“We all kind of support each other, we have the same dream,” said Luneau excitedly.

But now, victory celebrations are already over, as the athletes have begun to train and look forward to winning more competitions.

“Obviously, my biggest goal is the Olympics in 2028. I want to make the Olympics team — our upcoming [event] is the U23 national championships, which are June 27th and 28th,” said Connor Church as he prepares for the competition at the end of the month.

“I think next year at seniors, if I can medal, you know, get a silver, just one step up from last year, I think that’d be great,” added Ryder Church when discussing his goals for the year.