A few weeks ago, the University of Regina announced that due to funding cutbacks that they would be cutting wrestling and men's volleyball from their athletic programs for next season.

Moose Jaw's Adam Hendrickson, who just completed his first year as a wrestler with the Cougars, was shocked when he found out the news in an email while cleaning out his dorm room.

"It was very much a shock and I felt cheated," said Hendrickson. "There had been no prior warning or talk to the athletes that this would be happening, so it just completely caught me off guard."

Four Moose Jaw athletes were effected by the decision with Dalton Wolfe and Brennan Goski both just finishing their fourth seasons with the Cougars, while Haley Pearce was also in her first season with the wrestling team.

Hendrickson said that had he have known that this decision was a possibility, he would have considered other schools to wrestle at.

"I always knew that I knew that I wouldn't wrestle for five years, but I at least wanted the decision to quit when I wanted to quit and not be forced to do something like that, so it really feels like a complete lack of respect is what they gave us," said Hendrickson, who earned a bronze medal at the Canada West conference championship earlier this year and competed at the U Sports Nationals as a freshman.

The U of R wrestling program was one of the most decorated in Western Canada with ten Canada West titles and two national championships.

The decision to cut the two sports from the 16 teams that the U of R had was made following a report completed in January 2017 that number of teams was unsustainable. About 45 student athletes will be impacted by the move, which will save the university an estimated $350,000-$500,000 per year.

For now, Hendrickson said that he will remain at the U of R as they will be honouring his scholarship, but he added that its disappointing.

"I want to do as much as I can to save the program and stay at the U of R," said Hendrickson. "I don't think I'll wrestle at a different school because of the unfortunate timing of this, many spots on many teams are already full up, we're past registration dates for other schools.”

He added that he plans on looking for another challenge, be it trying his hand at football after playing in high school with the Peacock Tornadoes, or moving onto recreational sports.

The wrestlers aren't going away quietly either as Hendrickson and the team are working to increase their community involvement and show the importance of the program, while also fundraising. They’ve held open practices at the FNU campus in recent weeks.

For more information on their plans moving forward, check out the Save U of R Wrestling Team Facebook page.