NICHOLAS PERFETTO TO TAKE THE HELM OF WRESTLING PROGRAM


August 9, 2026

Written by Brad Peters

RIVERSIDE:  The Martin Luther King High School Athletic Director Amanda Chann is excited to announce the appointment of Nicholas Perfetto to lead the Wolves Wrestling program.  Long time head coach Harlan Kistler will be serving in a “consultant” role as his schedule allows.

Nick Perfetto is no stranger to King High as he joined the staff in 2022 as a Senior Year counselor.  Prior to his current tenure at MLK, he was a school counselor at University High School (Irvine) and at Servite High School (Anaheim) .  A native of North Carolina, before moving to the West Coast in 2017, Nick was a counselor and assistant wrestling coach at Green Hope High School located in Cary, NC.

A multi-sport athlete at West Johnston High School in North Carolina, Perfetto wrestled and ran cross country.   He was an active baseball player into his late teens.

In wrestling, he was a two-time conference champion and a State qualifier, but lost his senior season due to an ACL injury.  Sadly, that season was erased while he was ranked in the top five of the state for his weight class.  From high school, Perfetto would go on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a BS in Psychology and Exercise & Sport Science in 2013 and in 2015 he had earned an M.Ed in School Counseling.

Perfetto has taken his understanding and talent in wrestling into the coaching world, serving at Servite High School from 2017-2021, and prior to that at Green Hope High School 2015-2017.   He coached multiple state qualifiers and athletes who went on to wrestle in college

He views coaching as a form of teaching, and the techniques and drills that are taught to athletes are the curriculum. “I believe that focusing on stacking one good day at a time and remaining focused on our process will yield the outcomes that our coaches and athletes hope to achieve,” Perfetto says.  “We have high expectations for our athletes on and off the mat, and we want to be known as a team that works hard, wrestles smart, and maintains perfect sportsmanship.”
Perfetto is married to Brittney and together, they are raising two children.