By: Wilson Wong - Manager, Communications and Sports Information (wilson_wong_5@sfu.ca)
BURNABY, B.C. – Simon Fraser men's wrestling is welcoming a trio of newcomers as
Jagvir Grewal,
Nitin Kukreja, and
Sam Pereira have joined the program ahead of the 2022-23 NCAA season.
"We are super excited about all three wrestlers," said SFU head coach
Justin Abdou. "It is a small recruiting class but we only had
Riley Prough and
Logan Nelson to replace from 2021-22. They're exceptional people and athletes.
"Although Kukreja is from California, all three are Canadians with the hopes of representing Canada at the NCAA and international levels. Both Grewal and Kukreja will add depth this year and gain experience while competing for SFU. Pereira, however, will be looking to make some noise at the NCAA level. He has had some notable success this year as a member of Canada's U-20 team and we are excited to add him to our lineup. He works hard and loves to learn."
Grewal is a former national title holder, three-time BC high school provincial champion and a Canada Games medalist from Abbotsford, B.C.
In 2019, he won the Canadian under-17 national championship in the 39-42-kg division.
Grewal recently won bronze in the 60-kilogram weight class for BC at the Canada Summer Games in the Niagara Region of Ontario. He also helped the province win silver in the team competition. Grewal qualified for the event by claiming top spot at the BC Canada Summer Games trials.
As a member of W.J. Mouat Secondary School, he won the 60 kg competition at the high school provincial meet in February 2022, and led the Hawks to the team title. Grewal also won gold in 2019 (41 kg) and 2018 (38 kg with Abbotsford Traditional Middle School), and bronze in 2020 (48 kg).
Kukreja makes the move north from California, where he captained the varsity wrestling team at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino. As a member of the Sunnyvale Wrestling Club, he competed at the 2021 California Folkstyle Championships and the 2022 California Freestyle State Championships in the 132-pound division.
From Winnipeg, Pereira is a decorated wrestler who is transferring to SFU after a year of university competition with the Alberta Golden Bears of U SPORTS.
He won silver in the 97-kg class for Canada at the 2022 Junior (U20) Pan-American Championships, July 8-10 in Oaxtepec, Mexico. Pereira is the current national junior champion at 97 kg after besting the field at the 2022 Canadian Wrestling Trials in May in Edmonton.
With Alberta, he won the Canada West 100-kg title, and helped the Golden Bears capture the conference championship. There was no national university event as the 2022 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships were cancelled. In February, Pereira was named the Canada West Men's Wrestler of the Week after winning the 100-kg competition at the Golden Bears and Pandas Invitational.
In 2019, he won gold for Manitoba at the Western Canada Summer Games (63 kg).
SFU's first competition in the 2022-23 NCAA wrestling season will be a dual meet on Nov. 5 followed by the SFU Open the next day.
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit
athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
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