Brock Badgers wrestling.
Three words synonymous with consistency and dominance.
When it comes to dynasties in sports, Brock University Wrestling is just that.
To date the program has produced 34 national and 51 provincial titles.
Wrestling is the only sport at Bock that features its own Hall of Fame ceremony and that happened Sunday afternoon at Amici’s Banquet and Conference Centre in Thorold.
Brock’s latest Hall of Fame class includes two builders, seven former Brock wrestlers and three wrestling teams.
Each wrestling inductee experienced sustained championship performance at the university level, capturing multiple individual gold and team titles during their time with the Badgers.
“This is a culmination of a lot of things for us as leaders of the program,” said Brock wrestling head coach and former Canadian Olympian Marty Calder. “We brought kids here who had high ambitions and attained some serious levels of success. The most gratifying part is when people leave feeling they made a great choice to attend Brock University.”
Inducted alongside this wrestling cohort was Dr. Lorne J. Adams, a retired faculty member who also served as athletics director for Brock Sports and Recreation. In that role, Adams helped lead the Badgers to 50 championships, including eight consecutive men’s wrestling provincial and national titles.
“He knew what it took to be an elite athlete, and he gave us that support,” Calder said. “He was always at games and tournaments, and in all the years I’ve been here, Lorne is up there as among the best athletic directors we had.”
Also honoured at the event was former wrestling coach and assistant athletic director Richard Deschatelets, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.
The next Hall of Fame induction, scheduled to take place Sunday, June 14 as part of the 2026 class, will include five individuals across different sports and four Brock Generals men’s hockey teams from 1965 to 1969.
Members of the 2026 Brock Badgers Hall of Fame class recognized April 26 included:
Dr. Lorne J. Adams (Builder)
Dante Berlingeri (BA ’01) (Athlete)
Luke Collison (BPhEd ’92, BEd ’01) (Athlete)
James Crowe (BPhEd ’98, BEd ’99) (Athlete)
Richard DesChatelets (Previously inducted in 2025) (Builder)
Sean Pierson (BBA ’01) (Athlete)
Paul Ragusa (BEd ’98) (Athlete)
Greg Robles (BSc ’97) (Athlete)
Kyle Sweezey (BPhEd ’03) (Athlete)
1994-95 men’s wrestling team (Team)
1995-96 men’s wrestling team (Team)
1998-99 men’s wrestling team (Team)
Biographies and accomplishments for each inductee are available on the Brock Badgers Hall of Fame webpage.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
