Peckham Tournament- A CHS Tradition

Courtland Priest in action with coach Rockwell and coach 

Caffelle watching on. Priest won his first match of the day.

If you visit the CHS Masciarelli Gymnasium today, you will find the place bursting at the seems with wrestling. That is because today marks the 17th annual James Peckham Invitational Tournament. You can set your calendar by this tournament as it always runs during the 2nd Saturday of the month. It has become a January tradition here and is one of the finest Bulldog athletic events of the entire school year. 

This year's tournament features 8 teams- Canton, Xaverian, Southeastern Regional, Randolph, Norton, Norwood, Sharon and Somerset-Berkley.  It is a battle of some great wrestlers and a special tournament  for our Bulldogs. 

It was 17 years ago that Tom Bartosek- founder and the first coach of the CHS Wrestling team- created the tournament in honor of James Peckham.  Peckham was a legend of Massachusetts Wrestling and is a member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame. The tournament has grown and evolved over the years and has also become a celebration of coach Bartosek- who is really the "father of wrestling" in Canton. 

According to CHS senior and State Champion Quinn Merrigan, the Peckham is an extra-special day for CHS Wrestlers because- "It's our tournament. It's at our home. Coach Bartosek created this for us and we feel an added responsibility to do our best today to honor him too."

It's a great day of Wrestling and a great CHS tradition.