Capital City Classic Wrestling Tournament Celebrates 35 Years At Concord High School Saturday

CONCORD, NH — Hundreds of wrestlers from high schools around New England will be in Concord on Saturday, competing in one of the most vigorous wrestling meets of the season.

The Capital City Classic wrestling tournament is in its 35th year and will feature schools, mostly from New Hampshire, but also Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is also the Crimson Tide wrestling team’s biggest fundraiser of the year, usually raising between $10,000 and $12,000 for the team.

Head Coach Hamilton Munnell said the event was a sense of pride for the organization.

“We’re proud that we are hosting the fastest and the toughest one-day tournament in New England,” he said.

Many other coaches in the state agree with that comment, attending tourneys that often last into the evening hours. Both Coach Nick “Tiny” Zeras, who is also a Concord School District teacher, won in the 275-pound class in 1997 and 1998, while another teacher and coach, Dan Breen, who won in the 103-pound category in 2007, confirmed Concord’s event used to be a long affair. Sometimes, it would last until 11 p.m. or even midnight. Zeras said the first- and second-place bouts were held under the spotlight, and there were fewer mats then.

But now, with eight mats, in two different areas of the high school, it goes fast, Breen said.

“There used to be only 12 teams, too,” Zeras said.

Today, the event wraps up by the afternoon.

Last year, Bishop Hendricken High School, a Catholic boys’ school of Warwick, Rhode Island, placed first with 211 points, while Keene High School placed second with 197, and Natick High School, in Massachusetts, placed third with 196.5. Bishop Hendricken was first in 2024. Concord High School came in fourth with 136.5 points, 0.5 points ahead of Pinkerton Academy of Derry, which placed fifth.

At publication time, 35 schools had signed up: Alvirne High School in Hudson, Aquidneck Island Wrestling of Middletown, Rhode Island, Bedford High School, Bishop Hendricken, Bow High School, Burlington High School in Massachusetts, Campbell High School in Litchfield, Concord, Exeter High School, Franklin High School, Goffstown High School, Haverhill High School in MA, Hollis Brookline High School, Hopkinton High School, John Stark Regional High School, Keene High School, Littleton High School, Merrimack High School, Middlebury Union High School in Vermont, Nashua North and Nashua South high schools, Natick High School, North Country Union High School in Newport, VT, North Middlesex Regional High School in Townsend, MA, Pilgrim High School of Warwick, RI, Pinkerton Academy, Plymouth Regional High School, Portsmouth High School, Randolph High School, Souhegan High School of Amherst, Spaulding High School in Rochester, Spaulding High School in Barre, VT, St. Johnsbury Academy in VT, Waltham High School, White Mountains Regional High School, and Windham High School.

This year’s community supporters include the Ninety-Nines, Angelina’s Ristorante Italiano, The Barley House, Checkmate Pizza, Concord Co-op, New Hampshire Print & Mail, The Red Blazer, Starbucks, Smokeshow BBQ, Weathervane, and The Windmill.

If you cannot make it to the event, donations are being accepted via Venmo at @CHSwrestlingboosters.

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