Nauset Wrestling Gaining Momentum With Increased Numbers

ORLEANS – The Nauset wrestling program is building momentum.

After returning to action last year with limited numbers following COVID-19, the program has seen increased interest among students this winter. Although the team is still struggling to fill every single weight class, the increased number of participants is helping to rejuvenate the program under second-year coach James Rosato, a 2008 Nauset High graduate.

“We put in a ton of work before the season started trying to get some more kids in,” Rosato said. “We were really trying to get our numbers up. We have 10 or 11 new kids and we had four returning kids, so this is a fresh start.”

This year’s team doesn’t feature any seniors. There are four juniors, two sophomores, four freshmen and five eighth-graders. With so much youth on the team, Rosato said it’s exciting to know that the program is building for the future.

“We’re really working on building a good culture because we know a lot of these kids will be the leaders of the program for the next four or five years,” he said. “We’re trying to build that foundation.”

However, building for the future includes some bumps along the way. Teams typically introduce underclassmen to wrestling slowly as they become more familiar with the technical aspects of the sport, a luxury Nauset doesn’t necessarily have due to its numbers.

“We’re in a unique situation,” Rosato said. “If we had a fully established program and a larger team, we’d be introducing them into the sport and having fun and really developing technical skills. But where all of these kids are varsity members, we have to work a little harder because they are going up against kids with three or four years of experience or seven or eight years of experience.”

For the wrestlers, this season has been an enjoyable experience, complete with more energy and excitement surrounding the program.

“There’s definitely more enthusiasm,” said junior Ashton Lutz, who wrestles at 175 pounds. “It’s such an incredible difference compared to last year.”

Sophomore Jack Talbot (120) agreed with Lutz, adding that this year’s team is much closer.

“Last year, it was more of a group of kids that hung out that just happened to wrestle,” Talbot said. “This year, I truly believe that we have the potential and the ability to become a good, cohesive team.”

The team has already experienced some strong results. Junior Peter Silvernail captured a gold medal at the Sandwich Kickoff Tournament on Dec. 16 after capturing first place in the heavyweight division.

“It was kind of a bar I set for myself to win going into it because I had been there last year and I knew what it was going to be and I knew what my competition was going to be,” Silvernail said. “I just had to go in and execute and win. That was a great experience.”

The Warriors were scheduled for a big test Wednesday in the Cape and Islands League championships before traveling to Cohasset on Friday.

As much as Rosato would love to see winning results in every match, he said his big focus is on helping his wrestlers reach their potential before sectionals.

Silvernail said he wants to help the program continue to reach new heights.

“We’re going up against a lot of teams that have a lot of older guys and a history of wrestling at their school,” Silvernail said. “Our school doesn’t have that [wrestling history], but our athletic director [John Mattson] is being really proactive in helping get us what we need and I think going forward we’ll be able to give the top teams a lot of competition.”