When Joe Panfili took over the Steinert wrestling program in 2021-22, the Spartans went 6-10 and were without a winning season since 2017-18.
Since then, it has been nothing but winning campaigns, with the Spartans winning 11 matches each of the next three seasons and going 33-23 during that time.
And then there is now.
Entering its Feb. 2 match with West Windsor-Plainsboro South, the Spartans were 14-3 and needed a victory over the one-win Pirates to claim their first CVC Colonial Division title in 13 years.
“That just shows how far we’ve come as a team,” four-year starter Alex Castano said. “Not only this year, but once I graduate I expect success from the rest of the Steinert wrestlers, there’s still a lot of good guys for next year moving forward.”
Even in defeat the Spartans were impressive, as their 36-32 setback to Mercer County dynasty Hopewell Valley was the Bulldogs closest setback in their 51-match winning streak.
But according to Castano, this wasn’t a sudden explosion as much as a gradual build-up.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said the senior, who won 21 of his first 28 matches this year, including his 100th career victory. “We’ve been working hard in the practice room ever since I’ve been here. We have a lot of seniors on the team and they’ve all been here for a while.
“(Graduated seniors) Elliot Morris, Alex Hart and Anthony Giglio kind of built the foundation when I got here; we used to always go to Elite (wrestling club in Jackson) together and we always worked hard. We’re just continuing it forward. We’re working hard, we don’t start and stop during wrestling season. It’s always hard work all year round.”
Castano noted that the team camaraderie has reached a new level. When one guy wins in a dual meet, it motivates the next guy to do the same. If a guy loses, everyone rallies to his cause.
“Alex really hit the nail on the head, it’s just about a culture,” Panfili said. “When I came in here five years ago that was job number one — build a culture where the kids feel safe, they’re having fun and enjoying the sport of wrestling.
“If you create that I think winning kind of follows and I think that’s why we’ve been fortunate enough to have this happen this year. I’ve had a lot of really good kids come through the program the last five years that built that foundation, a lot of great coaches, a lot of great mentors I’ve worked with and for over the years that helped us get to this point.”
This year’s assistants are Doug “Paparazzi” Cooper, Rashone Johnson (also the girls head coach) and former Hamilton West standout Alan Constance. Panfili also acknowledged Jason Jones, “who was with me as soon as I got this program five years ago and really worked hard to help us build this culture we have now. “
The main lineup throughout the season – which may alter slightly in weight classes during the tournament season – has featured Dino Zulla (106 pounds), Jayden Carpenter (113), Matthew Mottola (120), Julian Bijaczyk (126), Anthony Ricigliano (132), Castano (138), Yasin Ahmed (144), Jackson Clarke Goss (150), Yazid Ahmed (157), Marcello Pandolfini (165), Rudy Ortiz (175), Jose Samayoa-Rodas (190), Mikey Odige (215) and Aidan Constance (Alan’s son, 285).
Panfili refers to Castano as “the foundational piece” of the program.
“I met Alex as a freshman football player when I was coaching freshman ball,” Panfili said. “I had heard about him from PAL programs and youth programs. He had a pretty good first year, he was a .500 wrestler as a freshman and built off of that.”
Castano has wrestled his entire life but did not take it seriously until ninth grade. He qualified for regionals the past two years but could not wrestle in them last season due to injury.
“I’ve just been working hard,” he said. “I went to some camps every off-season. I’ve been looking at some wrestling colleges. I’ve been really focusing on my strength too. Coming in I was a really skinny 106-pounder. I just built a foundation, conditioned myself to deal with six minutes on the mat and perform my best.”
Entering the Colonial Valley Conference Tournament Jan. 30, Steinert’s hottest wrestler was Pandolfini with a 19-3 record and 15 pins. He had won 10 straight (nine of them pins) prior to the CVCT.
“Pandolfini has wrestled well, he’s won some big matches and really been on a tear,” Panfili said.
Also steamrolling foes were Yazid Ahmed (19-5, 14 pins), Odige (20-2), sophomore Bijaczyk (19-2), Clarke Goss (18-6, seven straight pins entering CVCT) and Constance (17-6).
“Those guys have been wrestling really well and gotten some great wins for us,” Panfili said. “But I don’t want to slight anyone. On any given day any of our guys can come up with a big win. We’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of guys step up and pick up the slack. They’re all doing a great job.”
When it comes to wrestling, the self-sacrifice is legendary as players have to condition themselves for six minutes of war while also limiting their diet to try and make weight. Castano just takes the advice of his club coach, Steve Rivera.
“He says ‘Find peace in your suffering,’” Castano said. “That’s what we’re doing this year. We’re all close as a team so we’re all suffering together and it just makes it more fun and motivates us.”
Panfili laughed when he overheard the “suffering” comment and chimed in with a laugh, saying, “all we’re doing is working hard, that’s all.”
While the Spartans were confident they could do some big things this year – they won the eight-team Payne Memorial Tournament over the holidays – Castano felt a 65-9 win over Notre Dame Jan. 7 was proof that they were truly on to something.
“We lost to them by a point last year and this year it really wasn’t a close match,” he said. “It just felt really good and gave us momentum to continue growing throughout the season.”
And while they hoped to defeat Hopewell and end their monumental winning streak, Panfili still took positives from the close loss.
“I was very pleased with the effort they displayed,” the coach said. “They showed a lot of determination and grit to make it a very competitive match. Hopewell has been the gold standard in our county for a very long time and it felt very encouraging to compete with them on the level that we did.”
It all comes back to the culture. Castano calls it “the tightest group of kids I’ve been with. The Ahmed brothers have a mat in their basement and we go there all the time. My coaches say iron sharpens iron and I think our room really shows that.”
He also praised the job done by the coaching staff, saying “they’re really engaged with us.”
The Spartans have a veteran team with nine seniors in the starting lineup. The senior captains are Odige, Castano and Pandolfini, and junior captains are Mottola, Constance and Elijah Kerlin.
The close-knit group has begun doing personal training with local trainer Joe DeMarco, which has helped in conditioning and strength. They are hoping it pays off in the postseason.
As of Jan. 16 Steinert was second in Central Jersey Group IV power points, slightly ahead of Hightstown. Should they remain there they would get a home match for the team sectional tournament. After that comes districts, regionals, and hopefully states.
“I’m really excited for it. We’ve been blessed and fortunate to have kids working hard and coaches working hard for this program. We get a lot of support from the administration, and that all helps.”
And now, winning seasons are the norm for the Spartans.
Steinert wrestler Alex Castano grapples with Hamilton High’s Gabriel Pierre, Dec. 16, 2025. Castano won by technical fall, 16-1. (Photo by Amanda Ruch.),
