At the U SPORTS level, one second can make all the difference – Cochrane wrestler Connor McNeice learned that the hard way Feb. 23, during the gold-medal match for the 65-kilogram (kg) weight class at the 2019 U SPORTS national championship. Wrestling at the University of Calgary, McNeice, a first-year member of the UofC Dinos, grappled for gold with Christopher McIssac – a fourth-year member of the Brock University Badgers and a former U SPORTS champion. With seconds remaining in the final round, the two were tied 2-2 for points, with McNeice leading on criteria. But with one tick left on the clock, McIssac managed to force McNeice outside the ring, earning two points and winning the national title in stunning fashion. “It’s kind of bittersweet for me,” said McNeice, who grew up wrestling for the Cochrane Cowboys. “Obviously, I wanted to go out and win, but that didn’t happen. That was kind of heartbreaking, but I had a couple of rough weeks leading up to it.” Just weeks before the U SPORTS championships, McNeice said, he had been diagnosed with pneumonia and lost 15 pounds as a result. Despite the illness, he managed to bring home the gold medal from his first Canada West championships, held Feb. 8 to 10 at the University of the Fraser Valley. Winning the Canada West title qualified McNeice for the U SPORTS championships, which were taking place at the UofC for the first time in nine years. “I wasn’t on the mats for the three weeks leading up to U SPORTS, so even making it to the [gold-medal bout] was really rewarding,” he said. Considering McNeice is still in his first year of university, Dinos head wrestling coach Mitch Ostberg said winning the Canada West title and making it to the gold-medal match at nationals was a great accomplishment. “I actually believe, had he been fully healthy and had correct preparation leading up to the championships, that he was capable of winning,” Ostberg said. “But what a great performance from a rookie – to travel through the tournament and make it all the way to the final.” McNeice is not the first in his family to make it far in wrestling – his older brother, Callum, wrestles alongside him with the Dinos. The older McNeice, 21, is a three-time Canada West champion who has made it the U SPORTS semi-finals each year of his university career. Furthermore, their father Vern is an assistant coach for the Dinos and the head coach for the Cowboys, which has become almost a feeder club to the Dinos – five Cowboys alumni are currently on the UofC wrestling team. In addition to the McNeice brothers, other former Cowboys include Brendan McKeage, Grace Chambers and Hunter Smith. “The group Vern McNeice has put together in Cochrane has really done a great job of technical and physical development of the athletes, but also inspiring them to want to continue and stick with it,” Ostberg said. While the university wrestling season is over until the fall, McNeice won’t be off the mats for long – he’s slated to compete at the 2019 Junior/Senior National Championships, March 22 to 24 in Saskatoon, Sask. “If I win that, I’ll be on the junior world team, so I’d just be training all summer for the junior worlds,” McNeice said. "That’s the plan, and that’s what I’m hoping to do.”
