ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — The McMaster Marauders travelled to Canada Games Park to compete in the 2025 Wrestling Canada Lutte U SPORTS Invitational Championships, held from February 28 to March 1.

The Marauders returned with two gold medals and two bronze medals. The women's team finished in fifth place with 34 points, while the men's team finished in seventh with 25 points. 

Following successful performances on Friday, five McMaster wrestlers advanced to medal matches on Saturday. On the women's side, Serena Di Benedetto (Hamilton, Ont.) would compete for gold in the 53kg category against her opponent from Brock University, while Olivia Lichti (New Hamburg, Ont.) also prepared for a gold-medal match in the 59kg category against a University of Calgary wrestler.

On the men's side, Gianluca Fortino (Hamilton, Ont.) contested the 68kg bronze medal match, Luken Lawson (Enfield, N.S.) competed for the 76kg bronze against Toronto, and Blayne Helou (Pickering, Ont.) vied for bronze in the 61kg category.

On Saturday, Di Benedetto claimed a dominant victory over Brock, winning by technical fall with a 10-0 score.

Lichti also earned a gold medal, securing a technical fall victory over Calgary with a 12-2 score.

Fortino faced a challenging match against Brock and fell short of the podium, finishing in fourth place.

Lawson contributed to the Marauders' medal count, defeating Toronto by fall in 1 minute and 56 seconds.

Helou clinched the bronze medal with a technical fall victory over Saskatchewan, winning 12-1.

Congratulations to the Marauders on their impressive performance at championships!