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Kellen Forrest for Dinos Athletics
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Erica Wiebe (BKin ‘12, BA ‘16) took one take a look at the College of Calgary campus and knew it was the place she wanted to be.
One of many biggest wrestlers in Canadian historical past and a 2016 Olympic gold medallist, Wiebe might be inducted into the Dinos Corridor of Fame subsequent week. And it began when she took her recruiting go to to Calgary.
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“I got here to the College of Calgary on my recruiting journey; it was this chinook day; there had been like 5 centimetres of snow, and the campus in February simply regarded completely immaculate,” Wiebe mentioned. “Instantly I fell in love with the individuals, the setting, and every little thing simply felt so like house. And I simply knew I used to be going to be a Dino.”
However Wiebe got here right into a deep Dinos wrestling roster and didn’t even make the varsity group in her first 12 months. And whereas many would have been discouraged, Wiebe used that 12 months to be taught what sort of athlete she was going to be.
“Each single day, being in that high-performance setting, I actually realized the talents of the way to push myself,” Wiebe mentioned. “To be taught the technical, tactical abilities that had been required in wrestling … I by no means scored some extent in my first 12 months, however I feel what outlined me is I acquired taken down rather a lot, however I acquired up greater than anyone else.”
As soon as Wiebe did get her shot, she didn’t look again. She helped lead the Dinos to 3 consecutive convention titles from 2009-11, together with this system’s fifth nationwide title in 2009.
The Stittsville, Ont., product claimed three particular person U SPORTS gold medals and was named the 2011-12 Canada West Excellent Wrestler.
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The person accolades are all effectively and effective, however it was doing it along with her teammates that Wiebe will actually bear in mind.
“To undergo the method with the ladies to compete each single day within the room with them, after which to compete in a contest setting and in the end to win three Canada West championships, a college nationwide championship, that’s in all probability the spotlight of my college profession,” Wiebe mentioned. “As athletes within the sport of freestyle wrestling, you could have a lot inherent respect for the individuals you do it with. And so, to do one thing like that as a group is one thing that’s actually probably the greatest elements of my college profession.”
Wiebe’s wrestling profession was removed from over after she left the Dinos in 2012. Previous to her gold medal on the 2016 Summer season Olympics in Rio, she introduced house gold from the 2014 Commonwealth Video games and the World College Video games. She added a fourth worldwide gold on the 2018 Commonwealth Video games in Queensland, earlier than capping off her outstanding four-year run with a bronze medal on the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest.
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An excellent resume on the world stage that Wiebe is aware of was solely potential due to her time with the Dinos.
“I actually, really consider that consistency units the desk for breakthroughs. And I all the time prefer to say I gained the Olympics like on a random Tuesday 5 years previous to that as a result of I persistently confirmed up in that Dinos wrestling room,” Wiebe mentioned. “I persistently had the assist and problem of my teammates to push me past the place I used to be comfy. And I simply leaned into that each single day.”
Wiebe will turn out to be the second member of the College of Calgary girls’s wrestling program to enter the Dinos Corridor of Fame after Justine Bouchard in 2022. It’s an honour she doesn’t take frivolously, particularly because of the unimaginable class she’s moving into with and the checklist of athletes she might be becoming a member of.
“I feel as a Dino, I imply, the historical past and legacy of the women and men that competed for this college have paved the best way for the success that we’ve got on the mat, within the health club, on the ice,” Wiebe mentioned. “There may be such a tradition of excellence on the College of Calgary. And so to be a part of this class proper now, but additionally to be a part of this legacy, is one thing that’s really an honour.”
Wiebe might be inducted into the Dinos Corridor of Fame throughout a ceremony on Monday on the Fairmont Palliser, together with the opposite 5 members of the Class of 2024: Sam Effah (monitor & area), Dan Federkeil (soccer), Gord Franson (builder, soccer), Les Gramantik (coach, monitor & area) and Hayley Wickenheiser (hockey).
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