Kellie Heney of the Queen’s wrestling team traveled to Thunder Bay for the CIS Championship, earning a sixth place finish. Heney competed in the 59 kg weight class at the tournament hosted Feb. 25 and 26 by Lakehead University.
Head coach Gianni Vecchio said he was impressed with how well Heney matched up with the top contenders. By working with Vecchio on a game plan that suited Heney’s strengths, she became a legitimate contender at the championship.
“The girls she was fighting were the first and third seeds, they were a lot closer matches than they [had been] in the past,” he said. “She’s a thrower, she can defend quite well and [we wanted] to work on using that to her advantage.”
Vecchio says that he has seen constant improvement from Heney over the year.
“Her matches were a lot further apart at the start of the year but more recently they have been much closer” he said “She was a good wrestler last year but this year she has shown a lot more improvement.”
After suffering a concussion last year that shortened her season, the third-year student said she wasn’t expecting success at the CIS Championship.
“I didn’t have huge expectations,” she said. “It was more for experience but then I realized I [could] actually do well.”
Heney said she was pleased with her performance and surprised by how well it went.
“I was really happy with how I did; everything sort of clicked and went very well,” she said.
Heney credits her extensive training this year to helping her recover from her injury. She said that Vecchio played a large role in her success.
“He has really helped me,” she said. “Coming off a concussion last year, I wanted to do well this year and his coaching has really helped with my success.”
When Heney first came to Queen’s, she saw joining the team as not only a way to continue her involvement in the sport but also as a way to integrate herself into the school.
“It was a great opportunity to make friends with guys and girls of all ages,” she said.
However, finding the balance between school and wrestling wasn’t easy.
“I had to get really good at time management, in first year especially,” she said. “We had two practices a day so it was a lot to manage but I did pretty well, it was a learning experience.”
Heney’s involvement in wrestling dates back to a very young age, when she started Judo at the age of four.
Heney credits her high school coach, Paul Gowans, in helping her switch over from Judo.
“He helped me get rid of the bad habits I [carried over] from Judo, he really helped me progress [into wrestling],” she said.
Along with her sixth place finish at the CIS Championship, Heney won the bronze medal at the Queen’s Open in November.
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