When the dust finally settled and the 2026 Saskatchewan Winter Games came to a close, Meadow Lake’s Denzara Crawford’s star continued to shine as brightly as ever before. Crawford, who competed at the Games in both wrestling and weightlifting, earned double gold by capturing the top prize in both events. This is a remarkable accomplishment according to Crawford, her family as well as her coaches, as there was only a handful of athletes who competed in two events when the Games came to Meadow Lake and Flying Dust First Nation Feb. 15-21.
“Denzara wrestled in the 75-kilogram category,” explained her father, Rufas Crawford, who also coaches the Carpenter High School Spartans wresting team alongside Robyn Rogers and Aaron Fillion. “She was representing Team Rivers West with wrestlers from Lloydminster and Elrose. She lost her first match, but came up against the same girl in the final, this time pinning her quickly.”
Two other Carpenter High School wrestlers also qualified for Team Rivers West – Eli Cappelle and Keadyn Floberg. “Lane Coverchuck wrestled for Team Southwest and Kihew Stock-Mistickokat, who are also both Spartan wrestlers, wrestled for Team North,” Rufas Crawford continued. “Noah Cappelle joined the officiating team and got to work with some of the top wrestling officials in Saskatchewan. Overall, the Spartan wrestling team was very well represented.”
Meanwhile, a new sport to Meadow Lake is Olympic weightlifting. William Swofford and Dayna Demmans started a club last year, with the goal of preparing athletes to qualify for the Winter Games. “They more than qualified,” Crawford said. “Multiple Meadow Lake lifters earned medals. Very few athletes compete in two different sports in the Winter Games, however. Team Rivers West only had two. Even fewer athletes medal in two events. Winning gold in two different sporting events is extremely rare.” Denzara Crawford initially joined the wrestling team to improve her tackling techniques and get in shape for rugby. She joined the weightlifting club to build strength for rugby.
“Denzara will compete in the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) provincial wrestling championships this winter and has a good chance of winning gold in her weight class,” Rufas Crawford noted. “Her hard work in the off season has paid off. She has been selected to join the Notre Dame Hounds rugby team when they travel to Nova Scotia this May. Denzara will train with the St. Xavier University team while in Nova Scotia and compete with the Notre Dame rugby team against Nova Scotia high school teams.” Denzara Crawford also plans to continue with weightlifting and wrestling. “Denzara was also the only girl on the Spartans football team last season,” her father added. “She is eager to suit up again this year and hoping football will further elevate her rugby skills.”