The CHS Wrestling Community came together on Wednesday night to honor legendary former coach Tom Bartosk with the official dedication of the new CHS wrestling mat in his name. The Bulldogs then faced off against Oliver Ames in the first ever match wrestled on the new mat. Coach Bartosek is the Father of Wrestling in Canton. The long-time Science teacher at the Galvin Middle School and at Canton High School, brought his deep love of the sport to CHS by beginning a team at CHS in the 1990s. Bartosek founded the Bulldog Wrestling program and developed it to be a great program before retiring in 2010.
It wasn't the titles that were ever important to coach Bartosek- it was the journey. It was the growth of his athletes. It was his special ability to take a young man (or women) who had not been able to find "their thing" and help them recognize it and develop it. He truly made a difference- a hugely positive difference- in the lives of hundreds of young people from our school and town.
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| The official dedication- (l-r) CHS Wrestling captains- Justin Dickie, Nick Matt, School Committee Chair Mike Loughran, Principal Derek Folan, coach Brian Caffelle, coach Tom Bartosek, coach Tye Seastedt, EM Duggan CEO Vin Petroni, and Athletic Director Danny Erickson. |
The gym was packed on Wednesday, with dozens of former wrestlers and parents joining scores of fans of this year's team in watching coach Bartosek be present for the official mat opening.
The Bulldogs came up just short in the match, falling 39-33 (just their first defeat of the season) but the night was a huge success.
