Jenner Nohr has only been on the high school tournament scene for five years now but he was born to be a wrestler.
At five-foot-10, 200 pounds, he was the smallest of three heavyweights in the PGSS tournament Saturday at Prince George secondary school but by the end of the day there was no question who deserved to wear gold around his neck.
Nohr won both his matches, defeating silver medalist Parker Florell of Mackenzie and bronze medalist Karan Gill of PGSS, to add another gold medal to the haul for the Nechako Valley Vikes, the team champions from Vanderhoof.
Florell was a familiar opponent to Nohr in his final match of the day and knew his energy reserves would be drained by the time it was over. Florell stands six-foot-five and weighs 275 pounds and the battle for gold turned into a test of Florell's superior strength and leverage against Nohr's quickness and technical abilities. After four takedowns and a few grappling holds in 2 1/2 exhausting minutes, Nohr built the 10-point edge he needed to end the match.
"It's intimidating, size is something you always have to factor in, but it's all about being confident," said Nohr, 17, later chosen the tournament's most outstanding wrestler. 'I've wrestled him before and in the end it was his size that helped me win. Usually heavier people will rely a lot on their weight and so they come pushing down on you, so the best tactic is to snap them down or knock them down to the side. I got him on his back twice and four more times I snapped him down and got behind him and let him tire himself out."
Florell and Nohr are good friends away from the mats and they've fought each other often over the years. Florell had four matches Saturday and admitted he was tired by the time he took on Nohr.
"I only have a few people in my weight class because I'm such a big guy and I like wrestling him," said Florell, a Grade 12 student at Mackenzie secondary. "It was tiring. After my first match with Gill went six minutes, I was done. Six minutes is a long time for big guys. It's a really competitive sport and you have to be fit to do this. For us heavy guys that's hard. You have to have good stamina.
"Jenner used his speed. One problem with me being such a tall guy, I don''t really bend my knees and he drives me hard to the mat and snaps me down and it works for him."
Nohr has had a bit of an unfair advantage in his wrestling development. Travis Himmelright, his coach and training partner, is also his father. He's a three-time B.C. high school champion and former national team wrestler who finished ninth at the 1993 world championships and was a bronze medalist that year at the Pan Am championships. Himmelright has been teaching Nohr how to wrestle ever since he was a toddler.
"I was always the one waiting on the sidelines until it was my turn to get out there," said Nohr. "I didn't understand how skilled he was then but when you're in wrestling you gain a real appreciation and respect for fellow wrestlers based on their skill. He's easily my role model."
Himmelright says Nohr wants to pursue a post-secondary education and his wrestling ability and solid academic standing put him in line for university scholarships.
"I'd be happy for him to go to university or wherever he takes it," said Himmelright. "[Wrestling] builds up his confidence and he was potential to be a great student."
Himmelright, a native of Hazelton, earned his teaching degree while wresting at Simon Fraser University and has been the Vikes coach for 14 years. The Vikes high school team is now 30 strong and there are also 40 elementary school wrestlers in Vanderhoof, many of whom competed in Friday's elementary tournament at PGSS.
"Wrestling in the north is suffering a little bit as far as numbers go but I'm happy to say our program is doing real well," said Himmelright. "Jenner's core of Grade 12s are on their last year and I have a nice group for Grade 7s and 8s coming up right now and they're the new bubble. The key is having coaches in the school. It does take time to build a program."
The PGSS event was the start of the tournament season, which continues next weekend in Vanderhoof. Nohr and Florell hope to compete in the War on the Floor international tournament Dec. 18-20 in Burnaby, where they know the heavyweight competition will be fierce.
The provincial high school championships will be held Feb. 26-28 in Abbotsford.
