Eric Halsall was more nervous than he'd ever been Friday morning.
The Grade 12 wrestler from D.P. Todd secondary managed to fight those nerves and win his first match at the 2014 Provincial High School Wrestling Championship at the Northern Sport Centre.
Halsall went on to win his second match and won his semifinal 14-3 in the 74-kilogram class Friday night. He'll now grapple for the gold medal today ( 2 p.m. Saturday), and is among the favourites to win it.
"I always feel like the first match is the hardest," said the 17-year-old Halsall prior to Friday's semifinal. "I try to ignore the pressure of being the favourite to win, but it's good to know people believe in you. But it also brings pressure."
Besides Halsall, Colton Illingworth, a Grade 9 College Heights student, and Dan Gillis from PGSS are still in the medal rounds in their 63kg and 84kg classes respectively.
They're among the 438 grapplers from B.C. high schools who stepped onto the six mats Friday at the NSC to begin the provincial tournament.
Illingworth, 14, who turns 15 in March, lost his first match Friday, but won the next two to stay in the hunt for a medal. Gillis lost 6-4 in his quarter-final and is now on the other side of the draw. He'll wrestle for bronze in today's medal round that begins at 2 p.m.
Illingworth went into provincials after he compiled a 3-1 record at the zone championship in Mackenzie in last month, including a 10-0 win over Kelly Road's Cody Furnell in his final bout.
Competing at home has its benefits.
"At the other tournaments [on the road], I would talk to my dad over the phone, now he's here," said Illingworth, whose six-year-old brother watched his matches Friday.
"Eric has helped me warm up and really it's just you against your opponent. He's trying to beat you and you're trying to beat him."
Illingworth, who only took up the sport half-way through Grade 8, has already posted a better record (2-1) at provincials this year than he did in his rookie season in 2013 where he posted a 1-2 record.
"That experience has really helped me out from last year to this year," he said.
Halsall finished fifth at provincials in 2013. He's already made two appearances at the national championships, finishing sixth, his best so far, in 2013.
"It's nice to compete here in front of friends and family," he said. "It's all about how you prepare and you try not to think about people watching myself and the match."
Halsall, Illingworth and Gillis all train with a large group of athletes based at PGSS, guided by Prince George coach Louie Van Grootel.
"We've got a young group and the seniors are performing really well," he said Friday afternoon. "They've had some tough matches in front of their home crowd."
Van Grootel is also serving as the provincial tournament director. It's only the third time Prince George has hosted the high school championship.
"With the 438 athletes competing, the Northern Sport Centre and the six mats, the seating... this has been a really good combination with 70 volunteers to host this at home," Van Grootel said. "It's also a chance for school groups to come up and see wrestling for the first time and provide a spark for next year.
The provincial tournament resumes today at 9 a.m. and continue until 11 a.m. After a break, the medal finals in all weight classes will begin at 2 p.m.
