For all intents and purposes, Emma Brightwell had retired from university wrestling.
Two years on the sidelines battling back and knee injuries had taken their toll, and the Guelph, Ont. native had had enough.
But Brightwell, ranked No. 1 in the 82-kilogram weight category heading into the OUA wrestling championships this weekend at Hamilton’s McMaster University, couldn’t shake the competitive itch and hit the mat in January for the first time in nearly 24 months.
The wait has been painful in more ways than one, she said.
“It’s so frustrating because you’re sitting on the sidelines and you’re seeing people that you’re wrestling with, people that you’ve even competed against and you’re seeing where they can go and you’re thinking, I used to be there, I used to be able to do that. I can’t do that now,” she said.
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The urge to compete often outweighed the need to heal, she added, but led to a whole different set of problems, both mental and physical, that plagued the school’s star wrestler during her lengthy recovery.
“Sometimes you’re sitting there and you feel fine, but then you step on the mat and you do one thing and you’re back at ground zero again. You’re starting at the very beginning when you were injured.
“You just have to think about the future and how your body is going to feel. It’s very hard when you’re injured not to step back on the mat.”
But that’s all behind her, she said. With recent wins in her hometown Guelph and at the Wesmen Open in Winnipeg, facing some stiff competition, she’s definitely thinking about an OUA title in Hamilton, which would automatically qualify her for CIS nationals in Thunder Bay later this month. The top three finishers in each weight category move on to nationals.
“I can’t wait for OUA’s this weekend and for the CIS (championships) to come to see if I can live up to that ranking and show them what I can do,” said Brightwell, named athlete of the month for January for the third-ranked Thunderwolves women’s team.
It is a little nerve-wracking getting back to business, she added.
“It’s not so much pressure or nervousness, because I’ve been off two years,” Brightwell said. “But this is my first OUAs back in two years, so it will be exciting to step on. I’m nervous, but I’m excited and ready to go.”
Expectations are high, she knows it and doesn’t want to disappoint.
Her game plan involves hitting her first match with a clear focus in her mind.
“I have to go through the moves that I want to do, wrestle the way I want to wrestle. I can’t let myself wrestle the way my competitors want to wrestle. I have to try to control the match and put all my training to the test,” she said.
No one can say the former Canadian junior champion is not prepared.
“I’ve worked on cardio so much, I’ve worked on weight training. I just have to be confident that that’s going to pull me through and all my technique and everything are going to work for me.”
Coach Brock Curtis called Brightwell an inspiration for working through the stress of being injured and not able to compete.
Though she won her first meet at Brock, it was Winnipeg and Guelph that gave Brightwell her full confidence back.
“That’s where she realized she had it,” Curtis said, noting his star wrestler may have a surprise or two left under her belt.
“I think there are high expectations for her at that weight class, but she’s trying to go for 72-kilograms right now. So she’s in the middle of a big weight cut and she’s going into a weight class at 72-kilos that is stacked. I think she would be a guaranteed 82-kilo champ at CIS’s. But at 72 there’s no guarantee and she’s right in the mix with the other girls.”
