The strenuous sport of wrestling has a unique way of unifying all those involved. Walking down the hallways, any student can point out a wrestler: the guy in sweatpants spitting into a cup with a look of hunger and exhaustion on his face. But, this is only one perspective of this complex sport. Another way of looking at it is the close bond that is formed among the boys who are brought together under the pressures that they face as a team.

LT boys wrestling placed first in regionals last year and plans to go even farther this season. Due to NC construction the cafeteria is currently in the Vaughan gym, where wrestling used to practice. The boys had to lug all four 1,700 pound mats up the narrow NC stairs to the upper gyms. This was actually a positive change in some ways, because the upper gyms were warmer, making it easier to lose weight, Mac Casella ‘16 said.

Despite the reduced gym space and divide between the upper and lowerclassmen, the wrestlers still expect to have the same close-knit community that they have always had.

“It’s going to be a challenge for the freshmen this year to understand what a practice room is supposed to be like and the serious atmosphere that goes along with it,” Casella said.

Even though the coaches had to separate the freshmen from the upperclassmen, it has not deterred the strong connection among players on the team.

“We talk a lot about being a family,” Head Coach Griff Powell said. “It’s difficult when the freshmen and upperclassmen never see each other, but we still try to do things as an entire group. I say at the end of practice to the older guys, ‘go up to a freshman and introduce yourself; make them feel welcome.’”

The overall unity of the team has greatly affected individual players involved. Jack Hollinger ‘16, currently enlisted with the Marine Corps and wrestling, spoke about the parallels between the two.

“Wrestling is like a brotherhood,” Hollinger said. “I see all of the values and leadership traits I learn in the Marine Corps here with these guys. There is a huge sense of community and unity on this team.”

While all of the boys are connected, wrestling also offers the individual competition and chance to set oneself apart from the team.

“That’s why wrestling is such a cool sport,” Hollinger said. “You get the team experience, but a large part of it is individual too.”

The success they had last year only encourages them to do better this year, Powell said. The coaches work the boys every year so that they will peak at the end of the season in order to get the most people possible to the state meet.

“We should be a top 10 team this year. We ended up top 15 last year. We lost some good guys, but we’re pretty strong. I think we’ll do better than a lot of people think,” Casella said.

The boys have a meet tonight at York at 6pm. And a quad tomorrow at Naperville North at 10am.