The Lantern _ Spring/Summer 2020

 STARLIGHT athletics

A Season for the Record Books Landmark High School’s 2020 wrestling season was one for the history books—in more ways than one. After the departure of longtime veteran coach Kyle Pietrowski at the end of the 2016–2017 season, Nate Efinger took over and began to rebuild a program that had fallen on tough times and low participation numbers. However, when the season started in November 2019, Efinger and assistant coaches Bruce Miller and Dave Hammond opened the wrestling room to nearly 40 athletes—a testament to persistent, effective recruiting.

What’s more, for the first time the program welcomed three female wrestlers into the fold!

With an “Iowa Style” mentality, Coach Efinger preached extreme fitness and conditioning—a tactic that can sometimes backfire when athletes are new to a sport (particularly wrestling) and sometimes overwhelmed by the challenging physical demands of such intense practices. Yet, as the days and weeks passed, it was clear that this group would gel together very nicely.

In fact, the group could not get enough of the wrestling room. The positive leadership and support provided by captains George Athanasiadis ‘21, Josiah Castellucci ‘21, and John Simpson ‘20 provided the younger and 76

The Lantern

STA N G OD LE WS K I / N EPSAC

by Brook Sumner

SPRING/SUMMER 2020