By Larry Moko
Twenty-four hours after being postponed by a snowstorm, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic high school wrestling championships were hosted for the first time ever by St. Jean de Brébeuf Catholic Secondary School.
And the man who made Friday's competition happen was Mike Varrasso, the well-respected veteran Brébeuf teacher and wrestling coach who will be retiring in June.
He's coached the sport for 32 years.
"The wrestlers from Brébeuf hadn't had a tournament here for years and they wanted to wrestle in front of their own school," Varrasso said. "I thought this would be a good opportunity because it's a relatively smaller tournament compared to the 300 to 400 you have at others."
Brébeuf has the gym size but needed to borrow mats and specialized equipment.
"The coaches from St. Thomas More and Bishop Ryan have been very supportive in helping us out," Varrasso explained. "Sheldon Francis (BR's coach) brought all the equipment and let me know how to run the tournament. And we got the mats transferred here from coach (Stefanie) West of More."
Varrasso, who announced all the award winners at closing ceremonies, was honoured last year when the OFSAA wrestling championships were held at United Soccer Centre in Stoney Creek. On that occasion, he received the governing body's Leadership in Sport Award.
Varrasso's athletes have won "quite a few" provincial medals over the years while at the 2025 city finals Anthony Canuto, Joey Macri and Olivia DeGiorgi of the Brébeuf Braves earned top honours in their weight classes.
"He's been like a fixture in Hamilton forever," West said of Varrasso. "I remember competing against him. He's unbelievable. We'll miss him."
The succession plan calls for Ninos Sarkis and his brother Bilous -- both former wrestlers under Varrasso -- to take over the coaching duties.
"I made it known I'm retiring from teaching and coaching at the end of the semester," Varrasso said.
"It's a time when you sometimes reflect on everything that has happened, but on a day like this with so much going on it's hard to reflect. So, you want to try and stay in the moment and have a good tournament."
According to Varrasso, it's been satisfying to watch kids develop both athletically and academically over their four or five years of wrestling involvement. They learn the values of discipline, perseverance and teamwork.
"It's rewarding to see the respect they have for the sport and the respect they have for other people."
When asked whether he'll be cutting ties completely, Varrasso said: "Not all together. I'll probably be around for a little bit but in a different capacity obviously."
In 1992, Varrasso started his first wrestling program from the ground up in Niagara Falls. Numbers at the time were sparse and the team used a decommissioned auto shop for practice. While wrestling has been his passion, Varrasso also occasionally coached track and field, cross-country and basketball at the high school level.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
