Wrestlers take 7th at Hock Championships

In what some might deem a rebuilding year, the Canton High wrestling team has seen its share of team success and individual accolades. The Bulldogs took seventh place at this weekend’s Hockomock League Championships. Franklin High School won the overall title for the meet.

CHS did, however, walk away from the meet with two individual champions: freshman Chris Sullivan at 103 pounds and senior captain Kevin Connolly at 135 pounds. Sullivan defeated Brett Reed of Mansfield in the semifinal and then Ben Zogbi of Foxboro in the gold medal round. The victory over Reed was sweet revenge for Sullivan, whose only blemish in an otherwise perfect season was a loss to the 103 pounder from Mansfield. Sullivan is the first freshman in Canton wrestling history to capture the league title.

“The biggest difference between [the earlier loss to Reed] and now, is that Chris got a little frazzled last time,” said head coach Brian Caffelle. “I told Chris that the difference between good and great wrestlers is that the good ones keep going no matter what. He was able to do that today. He didn’t get frazzled in the least. He has improved his outlook so much, and that will really help him come sectionals.”

Connolly also showed a great deal of mental toughness in the tournament, dominating the competition and winning the championship match by pinfall.

“Kevin ran into a buzzsaw last year against North Attleboro,” Caffelle said. “He understood this time he’s not just going to come in and win, and he was absolutely dominant. He turned on the switch and I don’t see him turning it off anytime soon.”

The Bulldogs also got standout performances from Chris Parsons and Josh Matt. Both of the junior grapplers took fourth place – Parsons at 152 pounds and Matt at 171. Both also experienced heart-wrenching losses, as Matt lost to the eventual champion from Foxboro in double overtime, while Parsons lost his third-place match in a “sudden victory” period.

Tournament rules stipulate that if there is no winner after the two 30-second overtimes, whoever gets the first takedown chooses to start either top or bottom in the sudden victory period. If the player chooses top, they must defend without being scored on, while the bottom must register a point to claim victory.

“[Parsons’] King Philip opponent wasn’t scoring, but he was able to defend very well, so he chose to start the period on top,” explained Caffelle. “He was able to ride him out, and it was a tough way to go for Chris. However, you can see how much his confidence has grown, and I think he will surprise a lot of people at sectionals.”

Matt also made a name for himself in the tournament. At just 155 pounds, he was able to hold his own and defeat much bigger opponents.

“No one is going to see him coming at sectionals,” Caffelle said. “He wrestles like he has nothing to lose, which is a great thing to see.”

Caffelle’s team heads into the sectionals with a specific set of team and individual goals. “Realistically, we don’t have the depth for a team title at this time,” he said, “but we will look to get some extra matches, clean up our techniques, and see what we can do better.”

On an individual level, the Bulldogs have loftier aspirations. “Individually, we want to wrestle to our seed or better,” said Caffelle. “Our one seeds should expect to win, while our four or five seeds should at least make it a few rounds deep into the tournament. We are looking to make a name for ourselves, and I think we’re going to surprise a hell of a lot of teams.”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=685

Posted by Danny Joseph on Feb 3 2011. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.