The upcoming City-Catholic Wrestling Association’s celebration of its latest hall of fame class promises to be a big one.
Twelve former standout wrestlers in the Rochester City School District or private schools are in this year’s class.
“Late 1950s, the 1960s and 70s, the city was the dominant league (in Section V),” CCWA president Leo Rhodes said. “We were powerful. Franklin, Madison, Monroe, all of them. The wrestlers went on to do wonderful things in college, as well.
“In the late 1970s, the dynamics of city wrestling started changing.”
The ceremony, an annual reunion picnic that is open to the public, is Aug. 16, 1 to 6 p.m. at the Millennium Lodge inside Greece Canal Park. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for student-athletes 18 years old or younger and can be purchased at the event.
“We try to send people (wrestlers at city schools, for the most part) to colleges, to camps and things like that,” Rhodes said.
For more information, contact Rhodes (585-733-9693), the CCWA president or Vince Asito (585-703-6323).
“We started off as a picnic in 2008,” Rhodes said, “Within two years, we created the hall of fame aspect of it because the picnic generated so much conversation about who did what and when.”
2026 CCWA Hall of Fame class
Visit armdrag.com for more details about these individuals.
James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. His career began as an intern during the summer of 1990, before the start of his senior year at Edison in the Rochester City School District. The Upstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame presented Johnson its 2023 Stanbro Media Award. He was the recipient of Section V wrestling’s award for “outstanding service” to the sport in 2012. Follow him @jjDandC on X (Twitter) and Instagram. Contact him at JAMESJ@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester wrestling stars from multiple eras honored this weekend
Reporting by James Johnson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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By James Johnson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY Network
