The University of Toronto Varsity Blues wrestling team took to the mat on Saturday (Feb. 8) for the 2025 OUA Wrestling Championships, hosted by Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

With a compliment of nine wrestlers competing on the day, the U of T men were able to garner 22 total team points to finish eighth in the overall men's team standings. This was achieved through five Top 6 finishes at the highly competitive provincial showcase.

Producing the top results for the Blues were Ketan Nawbatt, Josiah Mayers-Noel, and Omar Al-Lahham, who all placed fifth in their respective brackets. The fifth-place finish earns the trio a berth to the 2025 U SPORTS Wrestling National Championships, hosted by Brock University from Feb. 28-Mar. 1.

Following a slow start to the day, which included two losses in the opening matches, Nawbatt bounced back to earn a pin victory over TMU and in the fifth-place match for the 68kg category, a 15-2 technical fall win over Lakehead.

Meanwhile in the 76kg weight class, Mayers-Noel opened and closed his day with victories, defeating his opponent from York 10-0 in the first match and his counterpart from Lakehead 10-0 in the fifth-place match.

Al-Lahham followed a similar path in the men's 90kg event, earning a 1-2 record through his first three matches, before finishing the championship with a pin fall win over Western and 10-0 technical fall win versus TMU in his fifth-place match.

Also reaching Top 6 in their brackets, Jacob Fritz turned a timely 10-0 technical fall win over York into a sixth-place finish in the men's 72kg, while Keegan McMartin was propelled to sixth in the 82kg event by a victory over Queen's.