Whirlwind year leads to Canada Games bronze for Cayer

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This article was published 18/08/2022 (1336 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mackenzie Cayer only started wrestling last fall.

Since then, the Brandonite travelled back and forth to Winnipeg for training sessions, competed at tournaments in Philadelphia, Rochester, N.Y., and Atlantic City, N.J., and would go on to win a pair of medals at the 2022 Canadian Wrestling Championships in Tsuut’ina Nation, Alta., in June.

She capped off her busy year last Thursday in the Niagara region of Ontario with a bronze medal in the female up-to-56-kilogram division at the Canada Games.

“I honestly really didn’t know how well I was going to do there, especially since there were a lot of girls at the games who were older than I was and that had a lot more experience than me,” said Cayer, who turned 16 the day after reaching the podium.

“I was just looking forward to having a great experience with all of the other athletes and learning from my matches. To be able to come away with a medal was pretty awesome and it definitely felt like a bit of an early birthday present.”

Cayer’s journey to the bronze medal started off in the team event, where she competed alongside Peguis’s Emma Bear, St. Laurent’s Anaka Chartrand, Morris’s Katie McLachlan and Winnipeg’s Nina Zigic and Tehani Blais.

While Manitoba would end up in eighth place after two days of action, Cayer’s 3-2 record earned her a spot in the final four.

“I didn’t think I did all that well in my first match (which was a loss to Nova Scotia’s Finn McDormand), but I think some of that had to with the fact that I was still trying to work off some rust as that was my first match in quite awhile,” Cayer said.

“Once I got back into the groove again, everything just started to go better and a lot of that came from the help of my teammates. They were always there to cheer me on during that matches and that gave me a lot of motivation to get through those first two days.”

Although she dropped a 5-0 decision to eventual gold medalist Sophia Bechard of Quebec in her semifinal bout, Cayer rebounded in style in the bronze medal match with a 5-0 triumph over British Columbia’s Ivy Threatful.

“I was able to scramble really well and do moves in certain situations that ended up working out for me,” Cayer said.

“When I realized that I had won … I was very excited.”

Cayer was also thrilled for her the rest of her teammates, as Manitoba won five medals at the Canada Games.

Winnipeg’s Owen Giancola finished first in the male up-to-98-kg event, while Chartrand (female up-to-60-kg), Cerio Abrenica (male up-to-48-kg) and Ebraheim Aldrar (male up-to-56-kg) of Winnipeg each earned bronze medals.

“We have a lower population area to draw from in terms of wrestling so to be able to come away with so many medals was really cool,” Cayer said.

The team aspect of wrestling is something that Cayer has enjoyed since she first got involved in the sport last fall.

At that time, she and her sister Riley had been involved in jiu-jitsu when one of her coaches asked her if she’d be interested in trying wrestling.

“To be honest, I probably would have stuck with jiu-jitsu if it wasn’t for that,” Cayer said.

“This year has gone by so fast, but I’m really glad that I started doing wrestling and got to know so many great people. The team aspect has helped a lot, especially with how happy you are when your teammates do well.”

While her focus has changed to wrestling, Cayer’s experience in jiu-jitsu has been a big bonus in her transition to the sport.

“It helps you out when you are on your feet fighting against other people and it also helps in terms of mental toughness as you prepare for a match,” Cayer said.

“There’s some differences in terms of doing ground work, but it’s still a combat sport and there are a lot of similarities.”

While she’s currently enjoying the rest of the summer holidays, Cayer is preparing for more training at the Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts, where she’s coached by former pro mixed martial arts fighter Dominick Blais.

She hopes to make another trip to the nationals and earn a spot at next year’s Pan-American Games trials, in addition to working towards a long-term goal of wrestling at the post-secondary level.

“The biggest thing for me right now is to continue to learn and gain experience, especially at these big events,” Cayer said.

“To be able to see and go to different places is really exciting, but it’s also giving me lots of chances to see wrestlers who have different styles. Competing against them and trying different things is helping me out a lot.”

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