Feb. 12, 2024
By Aiden Nguyen
Staff Writer
As of Feb. 11, the wrestling team’s record was 8-12.
Despite their record, Head Coach DeMarco, who is in his first year coaching the team, said all the wrestlers have been surpassing his expectations.
“Coming into the season, my expectations for the team were to continue to become tougher, more focused and to mature,” DeMarco said. “Each [player] has improved in those aspects since the first day they walked into the wrestling room.”
DeMarco said the wrestlers have encountered a lot of adversity this season.
“My pre-match routine is [to find my] stance and move for about one minute.”
“We have faced some challenges… such as injuries, as well as having to bump guys up in weight class to compete more strongly from a team standpoint,” DeMarco said.
DeMarco said he is working not only on conditioning and strength but on other important aspects of the sport.
“For the rest of the season, I would like to see our wrestlers start to wrestle their matches smarter and continue to improve their in-match IQ,” DeMarco said.
Sophomore Chase Paglio, who joined varsity last year, said he is committed to improving on his weaknesses.
“I need to work on getting out of the bottom position,” Paglio said. “My plan is to go to DC Trained, which is a wrestling club [in Saddle Brook].”
Paglio said his biggest strength is his aggressiveness.
“Right off the start, I instantly go 100%,” Paglio said.
Sophomore Nate Boyd said his pre-match routine helps him be physically and mentally prepared to face his opponents.
“My pre-match routine is [to find my] stance and move for about one minute,” Boyd said. “Then, I [would] stretch for about 30 seconds, and then I would pray. It just makes me feel relaxed.”
Boyd said he makes an effort to concentrate on scoring rather than winning.
“Score early, score often, and the win will come,” said Boyd.
