DiCalogero repeats as Hock wrestling champ
By Jay Turner
Senior Rob DiCalogero won his 2nd straight Hockomock title. (Mike Barucci photo)
Senior captain Rob DiCalogero won his second consecutive 145-pound title and fellow captain Reda Chakir battled all the way to the 152-pound finals in the Hockomock League wrestling championships held last weekend at North Attleboro High School.
While the Bulldogs did not fare well in the team standings, placing ninth out of 11 schools with 84 points, they still managed to place four wrestlers in the semifinals, including junior Brendan Lewis at 126 pounds and senior Wavol Prentice at heavyweight.
Five other Canton wrestlers also had wins at the tournament, including Sean Murphy (120 lbs.), John Cudmore (160 lbs.), Alessandro Cipolloni (182 lbs.), Caleb Nix (195 lbs.), and Mark Whalen (220 lbs.)
But the star of the event for Canton was DiCalogero, who came in as the clear-cut favorite and did not disappoint, winning all three matches and dominating North Attleboro’s Nick Gould 16-2 in the finals.
“It was a good way to end his league career,” head coach Brian Caffelle said of DiCalogero. “He’s a three-time Hockomock finalist and now a two-time champ. It’s always nice when you see a kid work so hard and achieve his goals. He was the best wrestler in his weight class, and he’s earned every right to call himself a two-time champion.”
Caffelle was also proud of the performance turned in by Chakir, who spent all offseason training after not wrestling last year and came within a few points of capturing the 152-pound title.
“He’s such a tough kid that’s it’s really wonderful to see him wrestle,” said Caffelle. “Overall he had an outstanding day on the mat.”
The Bulldogs’ other top performer was Lewis, who fell to the No. 1 seed in the semifinals but came back to defeat Sharon’s Tyler Jensen and take third place for the tournament. A recent injury had prevented him from using his signature takedown move, but head coach Brian Caffelle said it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it forced him to use some of the other moves in his arsenal.
“Brendan’s such a well-rounded wrestler,” said Caffelle. “And now he’s getting into a rhythm and gaining confidence with every match.”
In earlier action last week, the Bulldogs traveled to Milford and came out on the losing end 47-27. The team had not been on a mat for nearly a week due to snow days and looked noticeably rusty, according to Caffelle. Individual winners for Canton included Murphy, Lewis, Courtland Priest, DiCalogero, and Chakir.
The Bulldogs were due to travel to Stoughton on Wednesday and are scheduled to compete in the sectional team tournament this weekend. Then it’s on to the postseason, beginning with the Division 3 sectional championships on Saturday, February 14.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=28411
Posted by Jay Turner
on Feb 5 2015. Filed under High School, Sports.
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