Long-time Southington High coach Peter Sepko has died

Long-time wrestling coach Peter Sepko, right, coached Southington High for 22 years. (Photos courtesy Southington Mat Club)

Peter Sepko, who helped to keep the Southington High wrestling program alive by taking the head coaching position in November 1981, died on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, at the age of 73.

Without any experience in wrestling, Sepko took over the Southington High program after Bob Wittneben, who helped found the program in December 1974, resigned to move into the private sector.

Sepko was a physical education teacher at Southington High and was coaching football and track and field at the time. But he didn’t have any experience when it came to coaching wrestling.

“I didn’t know anything about the sport then,” Sepko told this writer for a story in the New Britain Herald in 2003. “But I knew about weight training. I knew about keeping kids in good condition. And we had a good bunch of seniors that year. They helped every night, taught me stuff every day.”

Sepko’s long-time friend, Dave Kanute, urged him to take the position. “I told him that he knew how to coach. He knew how to take care of students and motivate them,” Kanute told this writer in 2003. “I told him the wrestling will come and we’ll get you some help.”

Sepko coached the Southington High wrestling program for 22 seasons through the 2003-04 season, winning more than 300 dual meets (333-173-6) and leading the Blue Knights to four CCC South championships (2000-03).

Southington finished second in Class LL behind Danbury in three consecutive seasons from 1999 through 2001 and finished third at the State Open twice in 2001 and 2003.

In 2001, he was named wrestling coach of the year by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. In 2002, Southington set a state record, which has since been eclipsed, for more dual meet wins in a single season when the Knights went 32-1.

Pete Sepko, right, offers advice to wrestler Bill St. Pierre during the 2003 season. (Bryan Curtis photo courtesy The Herald)

Kanute began a youth wrestling program in Southington, a program that he is still involved in to this day. “I talked him into being the wrestling coach,” Kanute said in 2003. “The least I could do was to start a youth program to help feed the team.”

Sepko went to wrestling clinics and camps to learn the sport. He found good people to help him coach. Current Southington High coach Derek Dion was an assistant coach under Sepko for nine years.

Sepko was born May 22, 1949, in Southington, the son of the late Joseph and Teresa. Sepko grew up in Southington and graduated from SHS before earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University.

He worked at Southington High for 36 years and coached field hockey along with wrestling and track and field. With field hockey, Sepko was primarily the junior varsity field hockey coach. But he was the varsity coach for one year in 2000, leading the Blue Knights to the Class L state tournament and the program’s first state tournament win since 1994.

After retiring from teaching in 2006, he continued coaching track and field in East Lyme for many years.

Sepko is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jaye, his daughter Alissa Brown, her husband Dave, grandchildren Owen and Anna; and daughter-in-law Aimee Sepko. He is survived by his siblings: Christine, Madeline, Joseph, Martin; and predeceased by Jane.

Sepko is predeceased by his son Colin, who passed away in 2020.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022 at the Thomas L. Neilan & Sons East Lyme Funeral Home, 48 Grand Street, Niantic, followed by a Celebration of Life at the funeral home at 12:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Colin Sepko Memorial Scholarship Fund in his memory would be appreciated. To leave the family an online condolence, please visit www.neilanfuneralhome.com.