Canton
High's lightweight wrestlers shouldering the load for Bulldogs
this season
By Kathy Anderson
Citizen Staff
Their physique
notwithstanding, the lightweight-class grapplers on the Canton
High varsity wrestling team are at the top of their game.
Although half
of the team members weigh in at under 130 pounds, these young
men know how to hold their own, keeping pace with their heavier
teammates and contributing to a successful 13-7 record.
“In most
sports weighing under 130 pounds would be a disadvantage,” said
coach Tom Bartosek. “In this case half our guys are in the
lowest six classes [of wrestling], including our two captains.”
Senior
captains Kyle Forte and Billy Rothkopf weigh in at 112 and 119
lbs., respectively. Bartosek said when the two joined the
wrestling team as freshmen, their weight was in the 90s.
“In working
with the older kids they’ve grown into their weight classes and
made their way up the ranks, and that experience has paid off,”
he said.
Bartosek said
he anticipates an exciting and successful future for the team’s
lower-weight underclassmen.
“Matt Kelly is
a sophomore and is one of the best wrestlers on the team,” he
said. “In any other year he’d have 15 to 20 wins and now he’s
around a dozen, but he’s been training with the older kids and
next year he’ll really have a chance to shine. His brother
James, who’s a freshman, is also working hard and I see him
moving up the ranks, too.”
Junior Kevin
Connolly at 125 pounds is one of the top five wrestlers in the
state. Sophomore David Rosenberg began wrestling as a freshman
at 103 and this year is at 119. Three freshman members – Andrew
Burkowsky, Craig Mills and Ian Mills – are in the 103-pound
class and equally pulling their weight. Bartosek said he
envisions all five to continue as valuable assets to the team
next year.
“I had to talk
senior Kevin Lopes into coming on to the team,” Bartosek said of
one of his stronger lightweights. “But he’s worked hard and this
year he’s achieved confidence and is helping the team through
his experience.”
As a Division
III team competing in the Hockomock League, the 35-member Canton
squad faces teams with upwards of 60 athletes. The 14 weight
classes for high school competition are 103, 112, 119, 125, 130,
135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215 and 285. Although Canton
has a disproportionate distribution among those classes compared
to most schools, the Bulldogs are spread across the weight-class
board. Bartosek said the team exhibits tremendous spirit and
camaraderie, and in a sport that might give an impression of
“bigger is better,” he credits his lighter-weight athletes as
being small in stature but strong in the ring.
“The good
thing about wrestling is we have hard workouts and the kids all
support each other,” Bartosek said. “They respect one another as
far as having to make sacrifices to stay in their weight class;
they can lose body fat but gain weight from building up muscle.
It’s good to watch them realize that sometimes it’s better to
have a salad for lunch instead of a bunch of cookies – it’s kind
of fun to watch them react to the different workouts we have.”
This past
Saturday Canton competed in the MIAA dual tournament at Pembroke
High School and placed second overall. In the first match Canton
defeated Cohasset 36-31 and narrowly defeated Hanover, seeded
second, in the semi-finals 36-35. Ian Mills pinned his opponent
for the win.
“Ian was the
last to compete in his weight class and he was really ready,”
Bartosek said. “There were 300 to 400 people watching but he
knew he could beat his man.”
An additional
motivating factor for the entire team is seeing former teammates
who have graduated come back on occasion to help work out with
them and cheer the team on.
“Over
Christmas break some of the graduates come back and work out
with the kids, and this year’s crew doesn’t want to let down
their younger teammates and I see that tradition continuing,”
Bartosek said. “It really is fun watching these kids come back –
some go to meets and afterward maybe offer a tip on something
they saw that will help in the future. Like all successful
teams, it’s passed on from one generation to the next.”
February 11, 2010
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