By Jackey Locke

Third-year civil engineering student Dennis Sutton is wrestling his way through university – but not in the way you think. Last month, the St. John’s native won a bronze medal at the 2016 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Wrestling Championships, hosted by Brock University.

“I was excited to achieve a goal I have been working towards for the past five years,” said Mr. Sutton. “I struggled with an injury early in the season and was disappointed in some of my results, so it was great to finish the season with a few wins and take home a medal at CIS.”

With two out of three wins on the first day of the competition, Mr. Sutton qualified for the bronze medal round and won.

Mr. Sutton wanted to try wrestling for as long as he can remember, but his high school didn’t have a wrestling team. Shortly after arriving at Memorial, he attended its wrestling team’s open try-outs and the rest is history.

These days, a typical week consists of three to four, 90-120 minute practices and two to three, one-hour strength and conditioning sessions.

Mr. Sutton enjoys every aspect of the sport, and has had to learn to prioritize when it comes to juggling competitive sports and his undergraduate studies.

“It has helped me be more disciplined when it comes to studying engineering and I think I’m more disciplined in general,” said Mr. Sutton. “The resilience it takes to consistently compete and train in wrestling can build a sense of self-belief and appreciation for hard work which can motivate you to complete difficult tasks in everyday life.”

While happy with his recent win, Mr. Sutton has already started preparing for next year’s competition. But, winning gold isn’t the only thing he’s working towards.

“I want to help grow freestyle wrestling locally,” said Mr. Sutton. “I want to provide high school kids with an avenue to compete and benefit from the positive aspects of the sport.”

Mr. Sutton placed sixth in the 2015 CIS Wrestling Championships.