A team of four  wrestlers has been named for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina in October.

The selected wrestlers are Westerly Ainsley (Te Wharekura o Mauao), Arapo Kellner (Kaitaia College), Ryan Marshall (Hamilton Boys’ High School) and Ella Derry (Tauranga Girls’ College).

The athletes were selected after winning their respective divisions at the Oceania Wrestling Championships, which doubled as the Youth Olympic Games qualifying tournament, in Guam in May.

Arapo Kellner began wrestling when he lived in Wyoming in the United States, where the sport is extremely popular.

“I started wrestling when I was four years old, growing up in the US my older brother and all my friends were all wrestlers so that’s how I got into it.

“I love the physicality and intensity that comes with the sport, it’s the ultimate challenge,” said the 16-year old.

15 year old Ella Derry also got into the sport through her brother. She enjoys the tactics involved and the fact that wrestling keeps her fit, strong and healthy.

“What I love about the sport is how much it makes you think and how different it is to the basic school sports that are offered, it really tests your mental strength.”

Westerly Ainsley will contest the 65kg Freestyle category, Arapo Kellner will contest the 60kg Greco Roman category, Ryan Marshall will contest the 80kg Freestyle category and Ella Derry will contest the 43kg Freestyle category.

About the wrestlers 

Ryan Marshall
Age at Games: 17
School:  Hamilton Boys’ High School

Career highlight: 
Winning the Youth Olympic Games qualifying tournament in Guam in May 2018.

How did you get into your sport: 
My older brother was invited by his representative rugby coach, who was also the wrestling coach at the time, to try out wrestling. I went along and have been wrestling ever since - that was 2011.

What do you love about the sport: 
I love the fact that even if you are down on the score board, you can still come back in the final seconds to win the match.  You have to stay 100% focused as the match is not over until the clock stops. 

What inspires you:
I am inspired by wearing the fern and representing New Zealand on the international stage.
 
Arapo Kellner
Age at Games: 17
School: Kaitaia College

Career highlight:
The first time I got to wear the Silver Fern and represent New Zealand in front of my Grandparents.

How did you get into your sport:
I started when I was four years old, I grew up in Wyoming in the USA and my friends and my older brother were wrestlers.

What do you love about the sport:
The physicality and intensity that wrestling brings is like no other, it is the ultimate challenge.

What inspires you:
To push myself to be better in life not just in sport.

Ella Derry
Age at Games: 15 years old
School: Tauranga Girls’ College.

Career highlight:
My highlight in wrestling was when I beat a girl in a weight range above me during National champs. Another one was when I got selected to go to Guam for the Oceanias and being able to represent New Zealand.

How did you get into your sport:
I got into wrestling via my brother, he started going to training because we knew the coach, Mark Grayling.

What do you love about the sport:
What I love about the sport is how much it makes you think and how different it is to the basic school sports that are offered, it also tests your mental strength.

What inspires you:
What inspires me is the need to keep fit, strong and healthy.
 
Westerly Ainsley
Age at Games: 16
School: Te Wharekura o Mauao.

Career highlight:
Winning the Oceania Championships in Guam.

How did you get into your sport:
 I started wrestling to help keep me strong and fit for rugby.

What do you love about the sport:
I enjoy the contact side of the sport, particularly the physicality and the challenge.

What inspires you:
To get fitter and stronger and to win for New Zealand.

Practice makes perfect.
​
“I usually go out and shoot a couple of hundred arrows every day, and I’m always working on how I can improve, says Ryan Jones.

The year 11 James Hargest College archer is fully committed to his sport and next month he will be representing New Zealand for the first time at next month’s Oceania Championships in New Caledonia.

Ryan will be joining other archers, including Sid Spence (Fiordland College) and Jack Light (boarding at John McGlashan College in Dunedin).

Ryan earned selection for the New Zealand junior team after finishing second at a two-day tournament in Ellsemere near Christchurch in March.

This tournament consisted of a ranking round and then a match play round, which is one archer versus the other.

“We shoot a day of different distances, so for me it would be 70, 60m, 50m and 30m, and at the end we get a score and we are ranked on a points system that determines the match play seedings for the next day, explains Ryan.”

The match play is a knockout round, down to the final pairing who meet in the final.

Each archer shoots six arrows per round in competition and there is a time period of four minutes to shoot all six.

At this point in the story, it is important to note the distinction between compound archery (what Ryan shoots) and recurve archery (the type of archery in the Olympic Games).

Compound archery is different in that it relies on a system of pulleys or cams that the string passes through, allowing greater mechanical force (draw weight) and thus allowing the arrows to fly farther and more accurately than from a traditional recurve bow. 

There is little crossover between the two, owing to the decidedly different way the bows shoot and the time needed to perfect the form at the elite level.

It’s not in the Olympics, but compound archery has been a Commonwealth Games sport twice (in 1982 and 2010). “The world archery championships is ultimately where I hope to go in the future, says Ryan.”

The Oceania Championships are every two years, so Ryan will be eligible for the New Zealand again whilst he’s still at school.

How much of archery is mental and how much physical?

“There is kind of a point in archery where it switches from between 90 percent physical to 90 percent mental. If your mental state is not there it all falls apart.”

That’s not to say Ryan isn’t physically fit, his other sport being crossfit. “I absolutely love crossfit, and I have done a bit competitively but for now I am just focusing on my archery but it has been great to build up my body and my endurance and strength.”

The conditions are also a big factor.

“The wind’s a killer! Sometimes you don’t know if it is the wind or if it is you. We ‘call it chasing your sight’ thinking it is the wind but really it is something that you are doing that can really mess you up.

“But the good thing about the wind is that it affects everybody. At the end of the day, the person that has the best mindset and keeps calmest in the conditions really is going to win. It is not someone who has the best physical attributes it is someone who is on point with their thought process.”

Ryan has his own bow and arrows, which require careful maintenance. “Everything needs looking after, and strings wear out as well so you have get that replaced.”

He does his bow tuning and arrow maintenance with his coach Tony Waddick but anything more gets sent away.

How did Ryan start archery?

 “I really started taking it seriously about three years ago. I got a toy bow as a present and then I went to my local archery club [Southland Archery Club] and then started on a proper bow and through the help with coaches I have had stuck with it and improved.”

Following the Oceania Championships, the Nationals are in Auckland in the first half of January. This is also attended by some of the Pacific Island nations, so Ryan could end up shooting against some of the archers he will meet in New Caledonia).

Ryan may also have to travel to North Island Tournaments to hone his skills against his peers for more competition.

The Oceania Archery Championships in New Caledonia run from 9-13 July.

The New Zealand Junior team is:

Intermediate Compound Men:
Sidney Spence
Jack Light
 
Intermediate Men’s Recurve:
Ryley Griffiths
 
Intermediate Women’s Recurve:
Meg Elvin
Annie Leen
Charlotte Askin
 
Cadet Men’s Recurve:
Finn Matheson
Ben McLean
Oliver Hamilton-Curry
 
Cadet Women’s Recurve: 
Olivia Sloan
Rebecca Jones
Keeley Watson
 
Cadet Compound Men: 
Adam Niziol
Ryan Jones
Brodie Cox
 
Junior Men’s Recurve: 
Struan Caughey
Aaron Choi
Bradley Foster
 
Junior Women’s Recurve: 
Julia Harrison
Katie Ellis
Caitlin Thomas-Riley
 
Junior Compound Men: 
Ryan Dittert
 
Junior Compound Women: 
Lauren Tucker