Resiliently Defeating the Odds
Athlete continues to excel at wrestling despite having over 50 procedures and surgeries
Author: BC Summer Games1/Sunday, July 22, 2018/Categories: 2018 BC Summer Games, Wrestling
By Morgan McLeod
Vancouver Island-born Ashton Combdon won an impressive bronze medal in wresting at the BC Summer Games on Saturday. He may be only 5’5 ft height and in the 54 kg weight class, but Ashton is a force to be reckoned with. He has a life-threatening condition of the digestive system that has required him to endure over 50 procedures and surgeries, but this seems to have only made him stronger in heart, mind and body.
Ashton works on technical wresting skills three times a week, as well as hitting the gym and jogging regularly. A Cowichan local, he trains with his mentor, 5’2 ft, Queen of Angels student and wrestling partner Talon Hird. Ashton remarked, “Talon is amazing. He’s untouchable. We train together and he challenges me.” Talon Hird also won a medal at the BC Summer Games, a gold in the 52 kg weight class. Similarly, female teammate Hayley Bye-Dyce, a friend of Ashton’s, won a gold medal that day in her weight class. The Zone 6 (Vancouver Island-Central Coast) wresting team has done very well gathering medals for the team competition that will be decided on Sunday.
Queen of Angel’s School teacher and Head Coach of the Cowichan Valley Wrestling Club, Nick Zuback, remarked that, “Ashton came to me really keen about joining the wrestling team when he first started at Queen of Angels School in Grade 7. I have never seen someone more dedicated and hardworking than Ashton. He is a sponge for knowledge and when he learns a technique he wants to perfect it.”
Ashton mentioned that the competition at the BC Summer Games has been a great experience and he particularly enjoyed the team aspect of the Games. He is setting his sights on the Olympics and with all he has been through in life and how far he has already come, there’s a good chance with his continued hard work, he will get there.