As the whistle blows the wrestlers hit the mats, tired, sweaty and sore. They all know that they must keep working to exceed the expectations that have been put on them.

This year’s East Meck wrestling team exceeded the expectations that were placed on them at the start of the season. Before the season started, the team was expected to be mediocre at best. However, they quickly became one of the best teams in the conference this year.

“Nobody really knew what we would do this year after last year’s coach left and we graduated some top guys. Expectations weren’t high,” head coach Nicholas Dellapace said.

The team put in a lot of work this season in order to get in shape and be prepared for whatever challenges they faced this season. The amount of work the team put in reflects the success the team saw this year as the team improved physically and mentally.

“We practiced every day of the week, and we do not have an easy practice, the most intense of any sport,” Dellapace said. “They’d workout when they go home, they’d run, have work out plans, meal plans, just constant intensity during the week.”

The dedication and work has provided the team with success this year. The team finished near the top of the conference and had wrestlers qualify for both the regional and state tournaments. In the regional tournament, senior Tyshod Brown finished in third place and while nobody placed in the state tournament the team will look to build upon this accomplishment.

The team’s overall success can not only be credited to their work ethic but the family atmosphere that the team possesses. Throughout the season they have grown closer and become more than a team.

“We want them to be a family, not just a group of guys, and that’s big,” Dellapace said. “It’s good at hard practices to have a guy there pushing you, or when you lose a match to have guys there to pick you back up and make you feel better.”

The expectations for next year’s team are high. The team feels like they can improve and come back next year and stay just as competitive as this year. The team hopes to finish at the top of the conference again and qualify for the regional and state tournament, but this time they hope to take a full team.

“My goals for next season is to get back to the state championships, and taking a full team back to regionals, my biggest goal is to win the conference championship,” Dellapace said. “Overall we just want to have good success and work hard.”