By Neil Corbett – Maple Ridge News
Cody Osborn’s ascent to the status of elite wrestler has been fast, and hints that there could be a high ceiling on his talent.
Osborn started wrestling with the Westview Wildcats in Grade 8, but only started club wrestling a year ago. Joining the clubs, which offer more opportunities for training with some of the best grapplers in their region, is the sign that a kid is taking the sport seriously. They become the best of the best.
This year, Osborn won silver in the provincial championships, and it could easily have been gold. He lost the B.C. final to a kid he had beaten two weeks earlier.
“I didn’t have a good match,” he said.
However, at the nationals in Winnipeg last month, Osborn left with a bronze medal and absolutely no regrets. He lost his first match to the eventual national champion, and then took six straight to win the bronze.
“I was pretty happy. Even against the guy I lost to, it was a close match,” he said.
He wonders what might have been. Osborn had to cut a lot of weight to get down to his 63 kg weight class, and the effects of that lingered through his early matches.
“It took me time to recover, and it left me feeling pretty drained,” he said.
Osborn is fit, with great cardio, but those first matches left his chest heaving.
“Throughout the day, I gained my strength back.”
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