Burnaby/Abbotsford (Wilson Wong SFU) – Eight highly decorated wrestlers from around western North America make up the newest additions to the 2023-24 SFU Red Leafs women’s team.
Hana Duus (Cupertino, California), Ella Finding (Port Moody, B.C.), Delaney Graves (Seattle), Madisyn Grof (Maple Ridge, B.C.), Marley Jackson (Burnaby, B.C.), Rupi Johal (Abbotsford, B.C.), Lene-Marie McCrackin (Beaumont, Alta.) and Rayne Tafreshi (West Vancouver, B.C.) bring provincial, state, national and international recognition to one of the best programs on the continent.
Hana Duus
Hometown: Cupertino, California
Weight Class: 136 pounds
Height: 5-4
High school: Fremont High
Duus is one of California’s top wrestlers in her weight class. She placed third in the 144-pound division at the 2023 USA Wrestling Western Regional. Duus qualified for the USMC Junior and 16U Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, the last two years, earning a top-20 placing in 2023.
“I chose SFU because it offered me a chance to not only advance my skills as a wrestler but also pursue a great education,” said Duus. “I felt most colleges in the US that had women’s wrestling didn’t quite have the combination of excellence in both education and wrestling. I felt there weren’t a lot of options for me as a female wrestler and nothing really met my standard until SFU. With SFU, I get to be a part of a great wrestling program and get a great education at the same time.”
Duus is a three-time qualifier to the California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championships, and was the 2023 Female Student-Athlete of the Year at Fremont High School.
Ella Finding
Hometown: Port Moody, B.C.
Weight Class: 123/130 pounds
Height: 5-6
High school: Port Moody Secondary
Finding is one of several of BC’s best who will be making SFU the place for their university careers. The wrestler from Port Moody won bronze at 57 kilograms at the 2022 Under-17 Pan-American Championships in Argentina. She then took part in the U17 World Championships in Italy.
Finding is the two-time defending U19 national champion in the 57-kg weight class (2022 and 2023), as well as the 2022 Cadet and 2022 U-17 Canadian title holder.
“I chose SFU because it allowed me pursue a degree in engineering science and wrestle in the NCAA,” said the graduate of Port Moody Secondary School, where she won back-to-back 57-kg high school provincial titles in 2022 and 2023.
Delaney Graves
Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
Weight Class: 130 pounds
Height: 5-10
High school: Chief Stealth High
Previous school: Colorado Mesa University
From Seattle, Graves brings university wrestling experience north of the border after spending last season competing for Colorado Mesa, one of SFU’s rivals in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The league is the first NCAA Division II conference to solely sponsor women’s wrestling.
“I chose SFU for the great opportunity to be immersed in an outstanding academic environment while furthering my wrestling,” said Graves, who starred at Chief Stealth High School, where she was a three-time team captain.
In 2022, she earned runner-up honours in the 140-pound weight class at the Washington state high school championships (Mat Classic XXXIII).
Madisyn Grof
Hometown: Maple Ridge, B.C.
Weight Class: 116/123 pounds
High school: Maple Ridge Secondary
Competing at 53 kgs, Grof was third in the U19 age category and fourth in the junior division at the 2023 Canadian championships. At last year’s national meet, she won silver in the U19 57-kg weight class, falling to current teammate Finding.
Grof won the 54-kg title at the 2023 BC high school championships, and led Maple Ridge Secondary School to the team banner. Grof placed second at 54 kgs at the 2022 high school provincials.
Marley Jackson
Hometown: Burnaby, B.C.
Weight Class: 130/136 pounds
Height: 5-6
High school: Burnaby Mountain Secondary
Jackson, from Burnaby, B.C., has joined her hometown team after proving herself as one of Canada’s top young wrestlers. She won the U19 61-kg national championship in 2022 and 2023, and the 61-kg Cadet title in 2022.
Jackson earned 64-kg bronze at the 2022 Canada Summer Games, and helped BC win the team title. The squad also included fellow recruit Rupi Johal, and current Red Leafs Gina Bolognese, Paige Maher, Ivy Threatful and Mikaela Trolland.
Jackson capped off her high school career in February by winning the Outstanding Female Wrestler award at the 2023 provincial championships after taking top spot in the 64-kg class. In 2022, the graduate of Burnaby Mountain Secondary School won the 60-kg division.
Rupi Johal
Hometown: Abbotsford, B.C.
Weight class: 170 pounds
Height: 5-11
High school: Robert Bateman Secondary
Johal brings impressive international results to Burnaby Mountain. She posted an eighth-place finish in the 73-kg division at the 2022 U17 World Championships in Italy. The wrestler from Abbotsford, B.C., won the Women’s Outstanding Wrestler Award at the 2022 U17 Pan-American Championships in Argentina after topping her weight class.
Johal earned the distinction of carrying BC’s flag into the opening ceremony of the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Ontario, where she won individual (79 kg) and team gold.
“SFU has an amazing wrestling program with many high-performance and skilled coaches,” said Johal of starting her university career with the Red Leafs. “I feel it was the right fit for me and my future goals. The women’s team at SFU is a welcoming and accomplished group of student-athletes.”
Johal was second in the junior 76-kg competition at the Canadian championships. Last year, she was first in the Cadet 73-kg weight class, and earned national bronze in the U19 80-kg division.
Wrestling for Robert Bateman Secondary School, Johal won provincial titles at 75 kg (2022) and 90 kg (2023).
Lene-Marie McCrackin
Hometown: Beaumont, Alta.
Weight Class: 143 pounds
Height: 5-5
High school: Beaumont Composite High
Building a legacy. McCrackin has joined her older brothers, Magnus and Peter, at SFU as Red Leafs wrestlers. Her impressive resume includes bronze at 72 kg at the senior Canadian championships this year, and bronze at 68 kg in the junior competition.
The athlete from Beaumont, Alta., was second in the 69-kg weight class at the U19 national championships in 2022, and won the national Cadet title at the Canadian Trials.
“I chose SFU because I believe it will be a great place for me to grow as a person and as a wrestler,” remarked McCrackin. “The opportunity to further my education while competing in the sport that I love is very exciting. The privilege to represent Canada at the NCAA level was a major factor when I was deciding if SFU was right for me.”
She represented Alberta at the 2022 Canada Summer Games, winning team bronze alongside current SFU star Maddie MacKenzie, and fifth place individually.
McCrackin also won two consecutive Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association championships at 70 kgs. She was the Class of 2023 Student of the Year at Beaumont Composite High.
Rayne Tafreshi
Hometown: West Vancouver, B.C.
Weight Class:
Height: 5-5
High school: West Vancouver Secondary
Tafreshi won bronze in the 75-kg weight class at the 2023 BC high school provincial tournament, and was fifth at 69 kgs in 2022 wrestling for West Vancouver Secondary School.
“SFU is the perfect match for me and my goals,” said Tafreshi. “It is close to friends and family and a great school to pursue athletics and academics at.”
Tafreshi earned the Wrestler of the Year Award at West Vancouver.
SFU opens the 2023-24 season with dual meets against Linfield (Oregon) (6 p.m.) and Texas Woman’s (7 p.m.) on Friday, Nov. 3 at the West Gym. The latter matchup will be the first-ever RMAC dual for both SFU and Texas Woman’s. On Saturday, Nov. 4, the Red Leafs will host the SFU Open.
Tickets can be purchased online at the links below:
Nov. 3: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-wrestling-dual-meet-tickets-740387838957
Nov. 4: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-open-tickets-741637767527
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
