When she is not inflicting pain on the rugby pitch, Sabrina Kelly imposes her will on the wrestling mat.
Last month the 18-year-old standout grappler competed for Canada at the Junior Pan-Am Championships in Managua, Nicaragua and was awarded silver in the 72-kilogram category.
"It was an amazing experience to be able to come back and say I've been to an international tournament. It was such a big competition. I hope I can do more of that in the future," said Kelly, the 2010 national gold-medal winning juvenile at 69 kg who wrestled up a weight division at the Pan-Am meet.
The Paul Kane High School graduate pinned down victories against Mexico and Nicaragua, scored a win by decision against the United States and lost out to Venezuela on a decision.
"[The Venezuelan] had just a little bit more skill. She knew what she was doing. Maybe next time I will have a better try at her," Kelly said. "Even though I didn't win I gained a lot of international experience. Not only was it a lot of fun, but I also got to meet a whole bunch of people from different countries. It gave me a better understanding what wrestling means to those countries and how they train."
The 72-kg silver medallist at junior nationals this year was a late addition to the Canadian Pan-Am team when the wrestler who beat her in a qualification match was unable to go.
Her performances this year with the University of Alberta–based Bears Wrestling Club generated a scholarship offer from the Pandas' program that she quickly snapped up.
"I'm pretty excited. It's going to be awesome," said the 70-kg bronze medallist at the Canada Cup Pre-Junior Championships in early July.
The provincial high school gold medallist the last two years at 70 kg highlighted a major recruiting class by University of Alberta wrestling coach Owen Dawkins.
"She competes nationally in an age group where she is a year younger, so she already has all this experience and success competing against senior and more experienced athletes," Dawkins said. "Having her join the program makes us more competitive and helps the other athletes on the team get better by just competing against her and watching her."
Kelly has been a medal threat nationally since winning bronze at cadet nationals in Grades 9 and 10 and gold at 65 kg at juvenile nationals in Grade 11 while training with the Edmonton Wrestling Club.
"I guess I owe it all to my three brothers. They beat me up when they were younger and I kind of got my experience from that," she said. "They don't do that anymore."
Her tradition of excellence started in junior high with the legendary Lorne Akins Crush wrestling team as a three-time Provincial Junior Olympics medallist.
"It's an awesome program. I've had a great time there, both as a wrestler and a coach," she said. "I get emails from wrestlers that I've helped coached at Lorne Akins and they kind of say they want to aspire to be like me. It's really humbling actually."
Kelly's goal at the university level is to keep honing her skills for more podium finishes.
"Knowing when to do my moves and building my speed and just getting more experience is what I want to improve on the most."
Rugby background
Meanwhile, the tackling machine for St. Albert in senior women's rugby hasn't missed a beat since making the jump from the Paul Kane Blues after her Grade 12 season ended.
"It's a lot more running and lot harder tackles. The girls know what they're doing. They know how to get the ball out faster. It's just higher intensity," said Kelly, who helped the Blues win the metro Edmonton premier championship in 2008. "In senior it's a lot of fun to get back and play with the ladies. I played when I was 14 and then they threw in a rule that you can't play until you're 17. Last year I did play one game so I guess this is sort of my comeback season."
Unfortunately, her presence with the senior program hasn't translated into wins as the second division side finished the regular season at 1-9 in the Edmonton Rugby Union after falling 49-7 to the Pirates (7-3) Saturday at St. Albert. The Alberta premier women's squad is 2-8 (both wins by defaults) with one game remaining.
"We never really start our games off really well but we always end them on a good note," said the U17 silver medallist with Team Alberta at the 2009 Rugby Canada National Championships Festival and bronze medallist in 2008.
In the first half the Pirates scored six tries and kicked two conversions as Amelia Towns and Kady Martin did most of the damage for the visitors. It was 44-0 when St. Albert got on the board as Kristy Klyne busted loose after a turnover ball was smartly distributed by Jasmine Van Staveren to the veteran forward in the 65th minute. Katie Davis converted the try.
"It was a good game for our girls. We actually came through and played as a team. We were working together," said Kelly, a versatile player who can play eight-man, flanker or second row.
