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
- Dave Bell (Bishop Kearney): 1989 and 1990 City-Catholic weight class champion. Two-time Section V Class B runner-up. Placed seventh at a prep school national tournament in 1991 with the national champion Blair Academy. Wrestled at Boston University.
- Mike Campbell (East High): 1972 may have been his best season. Rochester Interscholastic League champion. Champion at 132 pounds during the City of Rochester Recreation Department Wrestling Championships, where he was named an outstanding wrestler. The tournament included Pittsford, Madison, Gates Chili, Cardinal Mooney and others.
- Scott DeSimone (Cardinal Mooney): Wrestled at the private school 1980-1984. 1984 155-pound City-Catholic champion and Section V Class A runner-up. Became the team's coach four years later.
- Steve Klien (Cardinal Mooney): Three-time team MVP, a City-Catholic champion, won tournaments at Penfield and Spencerport during his time. Wrestled at Monroe Community College, inducted into National Junior College Athletic Association Region III Wrestling Hall of Fame. Member of University at Buffalo Hall of Fame.
- Kenny Ladd (Madison): The lightweight was a City-Catholic champion in 1974. Two years earlier, Rochester Interscholastic League runner-up.
- Dave Lanzatella (McQuaid): City-Catholic league champion in 1981 and 1983. State meet qualifier. Runner-up at the 1983 Section V state qualifier. 1983 Section V Class A and City-Catholic champion. Spencerport tournament champion in 1982 and 1983.
- Dan Oberst, posthumously (Bishop Kearney): Lightweight/middleweight was a champion at the 1964, 1965 and 1966 Rochester Diocesan Catholic Invitationals. He also was a two-time Eastridge Tournament champion.
- Eugene Oberst (Bishop Kearney): Lightweight was a weight class champion at the 1964, 1965 and 1967 Rochester Diocesan Catholic Invitationals.
- Dwayne Powers (Madison): Wrestled in the team's powerful lineup 1969-71. Rochester Interscholastic League 145-pound champion as a senior.
- Raymond Scott (Franklin): Lightweight who sometimes wrestled against opponents who were 20 pounds heavier. 1974 City-Catholic 134-pound champion. Wrestled at Monroe Community College, placed fifth in the 1975 National Junior College Championships during a season he won 30 of 32 matches. Later, wrestled and graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology.
- Robert Smith (West High and Madison): "Smitty" was "one of the top lightweights in his era," according to Rhodes. 1971 Rochester Interscholastic League 98-pound champion and Section V Class A runner-up while at West High.
- Larry Tyler (Madison): City-Catholic champion in 1972 at 155 pounds. That year, Tyler also was a Rochester Interscholastic League champion and won his weight class at the City of Rochester Recreation Department Wrestling Championships, a tournament that included Cardinal Mooney, Pittsford. "One of the most dominant City-Catholic wrestlers in his weight class in his era," Rhodes said.
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
