20th Anniversary year for Peckham Wrestling Tournament

Twenty years ago wrestling Hall of Fame coach Tom Bartosek- founder and the first coach of the CHS Wrestling team- created a Canton Wrestling tournament in honor of James Peckham.  If you visited the CHS gym today, you would have found hundreds of local wrestlers competing on three mats (including an awesome new mat thanks to the efforts and generosity of so many) in what has become an incredible annual event here at CHS.

CHS Wrestling Team- 2017 Peckham Tournament Runner-Ups. Weight Class Champions in front

Peckham was a legend of Massachusetts Wrestling and is a member of the Massachusetts Wrestling Hall of Fame as well. 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.

Coach Brian Caffelle

The Bulldogs are now coached by Brian Caffelle- one of Bartosek's most impressive wrestlers back in his wrestling days. Caffelle has done an amazing job in keeping this local tradition alive and thriving up until this very day- the 20th year.

Unfortunately, this year's tournament was postponed from January 7th to today as a result of a big winter storm- resulting in a much smaller group of schools competing- Canton, Sharon, Randolph, Milton and Randolph.  But with the smaller number of schools comes more opportunities for more kids in each of those schools to compete.

The Bulldogs finished 2nd in this year's tournament- matching their finishing spot of 2016.  There was plenty for Bulldog fans to cheer about in the finals as all five of Canton's Wrestlers advancing to the final were victorious in their final match. Champions were- Harry Carter-120, Eddie Marinelli- 126, Anis Chakir- 132, Joey Pacitti- 152, and Mark Whelan- 220.

Joe Paciti on his way to 1st place

As Athletic Director, I can truly say that there is no other single athletic event held at CHS each year that is as impressive, competitive and ambitious as this annual tradition. It exudes teamwork, sportsmanship, hard work, perseverance, positive culture, tradition and the positive nature of competition- all in honor of some great role models.  What else can you ask from a high school athletic event/experience?

The Bulldogs are enjoying a great season which has featured many wins and many competitive defeats.  It's an exciting team to watch. Check them out at CHS this Wednesday night as they are back on the mat hosting Hockomock Davenport rival Sharon in dual-meet action. 7:00pm start!