Article by Phoenix writer Griffin Noumair ’24:
The Kellenberg Wrestling team woke up bright and early to travel to the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale to participate in National Wreaths Across America Day on Saturday, December 17, 2022.
Wreaths Across America is an organization that coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies for fallen soldiers in 3,700 different locations across the United States. They host the National Wreaths Across America Day which takes place each year in December in an effort to not only remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for the country’s freedom, but also to teach others about it.
The team helped unload hundreds of boxes containing wreaths and gave them to the families of the fallen veterans.
Senior wrestler James Perrotta shared, “Our service project this year was a great way to honor our veterans around the holidays, and it also helped to bring our team closer together.”
This is the second year that the wrestling team has participated in this event, as last year the team traveled to Calverton to honor Coach Alfalla’s father-in-law who is buried there.
Varsity Head Coach, Mr. Fiore, also expressed the impact it has on the sport to come together as one heart and one mind. “Many people look at wrestling as an individual sport because it is just one wrestler on the mat at a time. However, there is a strong team component to the sport of wrestling,” said Coach Fiore. “We want to teach our wrestlers the value of a team and family by honoring the fallen soldiers that served to protect the values of our country. We hope this day of service reminds each wrestler on the team that they are part of something bigger than wrestling.”
The day served as an opportunity for the students to not only honor those who fought for US freedom, but also to grow closer as a team.