AUGUSTA — It’s supposed to be a joyous time of the year for the Cony wrestling team. The postseason began Saturday afternoon with the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships, hosted by the Augusta school.

But a vital part of the program was missing, and it was weighing on the hearts of the grapplers and staff.

Earlier this month, longtime Cony coach Shawn Totman — also the coach of the cross-country team in the fall and track program in the spring — suffered a heart attack that required quadruple bypass surgery.

“It’s pretty devastating,” said an emotional Corbin LeBlanc, one of Cony’s senior captains. “It didn’t feel real at first. Really, it still doesn’t. It’s hard to talk about. But Totman’s our guy. He was the wrestling team. He was the glue that held us all together and made us one big team. He made everyone laugh; he was really there for everyone. It’s just really tough.”

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Added Cony senior captain Logan Childs: “We’ve been wrestling for him since sixth grade. Totman’s been there every single day. He doesn’t miss a meet; he doesn’t miss a practice. He’s always there. He’s always there for you, no matter what.”

Cony athletic director T.J. Maines confirmed Totman, 56, is recovering and expects him to return to lead the track program in the spring, but miss the rest of the wrestling season.

“He has great loyalty to his players and athletes, and in turn, they’re pretty loyal to him,” said Maines, a classmate of Totman’s at Morse High School in Bath, long before they began working together at Cony. “He wants the kids to shine; it’s never about him. All three sports that he coaches, none of them are ego sports. The kids are out leading it. I think that says a lot about him.”

Totman is also a teacher at Cony. He was at the school when he began experiencing symptoms and was driven to the hospital by his colleague, Cony football coach B.L. Lippert.

“He and I are co-chairs of the social studies department, we get together every day,” Lippert said. “We usually don’t talk social studies, normally we talk sports. He’s just a constant. He literally never takes a sick day. He coaches three sports. He’s almost somebody you take for granted, because he is just so reliable. The kids certainly miss him; he’s just a presence that’s there all the time.

Lippert said he has been able to visit Totman since his surgery and he is in good spirits.

“He’s going to want to get back to teaching and coaching track in the spring, but he’s got to listen to his doctors,” Lippert said. “For his own sanity, I’ve had to encourage him to get Netflix. We said, ‘Listen, we’ll chip in and buy you Netflix.’ You can only watch ‘The Price is Right’ for so many days.”

Cony assistants Shawn White and Luke Fredette will lead the program for the remainder of the season. For the team, the emotions are still raw. White, a former standout grappler at Cony, has known Totman, who has been the Rams head coach since 2007, for 25 years.

“It definitely hit hard,” White said. “T.J. called me and said (Totman) was on his way to the hospital. Since then, we’ve been just trying to grab (the season) by the horns and ride the bull. He’s basically a second dad to me; I’ve known him since I was 11.”

The team recently had a chance to see Totman, who made an appearance during the team’s senior night.

“It was good to see him for a little bit,” Childs said. “He just wanted to see us so bad, right after he got out of the hospital, he comes and sees us. The fact that he came to see us right after getting out of the hospital is crazy.”

LeBlanc added: “Just hearing that weakness in his voice from all the stuff he’s been going through, it just hurts.”

The Rams have fought through injury and illness entering the postseason. A few members of the team quit after finding out Totman’s medical prognosis, dropping numbers from the 30s at the start of the season into the 20s. But those who remain stay determined to put forth their best effort, living up to their coach’s teachings.

“We tell (the team) how good they’re doing,” LeBlanc said. “You tell them they’re doing good; they’re going to keep showing up and try to get better. Positive affirmation for these guys, since they’re young, brings them back every day.”