WORCESTER, M.A. — After winning three straight Class B wrestling state championships for Wells High School, former Maine standout Michael Curtis enters his sophomore season at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Curtis began his college career on a young WPI squad, with many of its go-to wrestlers being freshman. Last year’s newcomers, including Cutis, are now a year older, but see similarities in this year’s group.

“This team is similar to last year, last year we had a lot of freshman in the lineup and this year we have a lot of freshman in the lineup. It’s good to have such a young team do so well against older teams that are more experienced than we are,” said Curtis.

Curtis was focused on learning the ropes of the college level his freshman year, but now with a full season under his belt, he hopes to raise the bar this campaign.

“Freshman year I came in here not expecting to do anything, just come here and have fun. It went pretty well. This year I came in with bigger expectations so we’ll see,” said Curtis.

One of the biggest adjustments for Curtis was the quality of wrestlers who came from other states. At WPI, Curtis has been able to wrestle athletes from all parts of the country, which has provided him with experience while also allowing him to sharpen his game.

“Maine is a small community so you aren’t really opened up to see everyone else who is wrestling in the country. You come to college and you wrestle kids from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio … you wrestle kids from all over the country and they’re all in the same position as you are. Everyone is on the same level in college, the competition is always there,” said Curtis.

Curtis has fond memories of his time in Wells, and looks forward to leaving his mark on WPI and creating a strong legacy as a college wrestler.

“In college it’s pretty cool getting to know all of those people. In high school it is a small town and everyone knew your name … that’s definitely something I miss but in college you have to earn your reputation,” said Curtis. “Like everyone else, I have goals to go to nationals and to do all of that stuff. I would say for the most part I just want to keep having a good reputation.” 

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.