The CHS Wrestling squad continued with its history making season this past weekend as several Bulldogs competed in the D3 State Tournament meet at Foxboro High School. Many great performances were put in by Bulldog grapplers throughout the 2-day meet but, to no one's surprise, it was Canton's "Big Three" of Chris Sullivan, Quinn Merrigan and Rob DiCalogero who advanced the furthest, each appearing in the State Final match of their respective weight classes.
Several other Bulldogs, including Brendan Lewis and Wavol Prentice, helped to earn the Bulldogs a 3rd place finish in the meet- the highest the team has ever finished. Norton finished first with 138.5, Lynnfield/North Reading 2nd with 97 and the Bulldogs were 3rd with 88.5 points.
But, as much of the season has gone (the last 3 seasons for that matter) the headliners were Sullivan, Merrigan and DiCaologero. Sullivan (152) and Merrigan(138) each won their respective weight classes, earning a D3 state championship- each of their 2nd such championships. It is not common for two such dominant wrestlers to come along, let alone in the same class. Sullivan will graduate CHS as the winningest wrestler in the program's history- a title that would have been earned by Merrigan, who will graduate as the 2nd winningest Bulldog wrestler. They become the 2nd and 3rd wrestlers in CHS history to win multiple State Championships. The first was Richie Daniels in '97 and '98. Mike Fitgerald (2002) and Mike White (2007) are the other Bulldog State Champions.
Merrigan, Sullivan and DiCaolgero combined for a remarkable 30 wins and ZERO losses against Hockomock competition this year- a remarkable feat considering the strength of the league.
Coach Brian Caffelle had nothing but praise for his "Big Three." "It's been amazing to see these three young men wrestle side by side by side for the past three seasons. They are truly dedicated to their craft and work non stop year round to constantly improve themselves. Add to the fact that they wrestle each other everyday in the room and push each other to their limits, you end up with three standout guys ready to win every competition."
Good luck to Lewis, Prentice, Merrigan, Sullivan and DiCalogero at the All-States this weekend.
