BURNABY, B.C. – Two Simon Fraser wrestling alumni returned from the Under-23 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, with bronze medals.

Ana Godinez Gonzalez (Coquitlam, B.C.) placed third for Canada in the women's 62-kilogram weight class, after winning three of her fourth matches. In her bout for bronze, Godinez Gonzalez defeated Paulina Malgorzata Danisz of Poland by superiority (11-0). It is the sixth international medal of her career, a total that includes her 2021 U23 world title. 

Godinez Gonzalez beat Kazakhstan's Irina Kuznetsova 9-0 in her opening match, Yagmur Cakmak of Türkiye by superiority, 14-4, in the quarter-final round. In the semifinal, she lost by technical fall, 10-0, to Japan's Nonoka Ozaki, who eventually won the competition.
 

American Alex Hedrick, winner of SFU Athletics' Rick Jones Award for Courage in 2022, captured bronze in the women's 57-kg division on Friday. It is her first medal at a world championship meet. 

In her bronze-medal match, Hedrick, from Fair Oaks, California, defeated Laura Almaganbetova of Kazakhstan by superiority, 13-2. She began the event with a qualification-round win against Turkish opponent Melda Dernekci by fall, 11-0. Hedrick fell to Patrycja Gil of Poland 9-6 on points in the quarter-final, and then came through the repechage by forfeit after Welvima Vemba of Angola didn't make her weight.

Hedrick also helped the United States place second in the final team standings.

Current SFU men's wrestler Patrik Leder fell 6-3 to Georgia's Temuri Beruashvili in the 74-kg qualification round on Saturday, and finished 18th.

Leder and the rest of the SFU wrestlers will open the 2022-23 season with a dual at home on Nov. 4.

For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.

#RepTheLeaf