GORHAM — University of Southern Maine wrestling coach Mike Morin didn’t have a ton of holes to fill on a roster that returns 27 wrestlers from a successful 2017-18 campaign.

Morin recruiting focus was to get the state’s top high school seniors to pick the only NCAA wrestling program in Maine.

“We are the only Maine school that offers a varsity program at the NCAA level, so for me, I want to put a fence around Maine and keep all the Maine kids in, and that’s part of why I’ve been really recruiting Maine heavily,” said Morin, who led USM to a program-best fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Northeast regionals last winter.

Morin believes the state has plenty of talent – and he has seen Mainers produce at the college level.

“I think these kids can compete at the next level and it’s happening,” said Morin. “When you look at our lineup and look who’s actually producing, a lot of those kids are the Maine kids. So … you put those kids in a good room with some coaches, a good schedule, good training partners, they are going to get better.”

Morin’s incoming class will include five freshmen from Maine, plus Brad Beaulieu, the state’s all-time wins leader from Marshwood High who spent his freshman year at Division I Old Dominion.

Those newcomers will try to follow in the footsteps of 2017 NCAA champion Dan Del Gallo and 2018 NCAA tournament qualifiers Peter Del Gallo and Austin Shorey.

“I think any time your program can win an individual national title is pretty special. To have a guy like that, it kind of shows you can come to USM and you can accomplish your goals of being an NCAA All-American and national champ,” said Morin. “We’ve done it … we have proof of it. Having the Del Gallo brothers come (to USM), I think that made a lot of people in the state say, ‘hey, if USM is good enough for these guys to go and compete at, it’s a good program.'”

Sanford’s Sam Anderson and Scarborough’s Jeremy Sendrowski admitted that the success of the Del Gallo brothers, who wrestled for Gardiner High, and Shorey, a Noble High graduate, made them take a second look at USM.

“Definitely, Dan got it rolling and then Peter going to (USM), too. I think a lot of kids noticed that it doesn’t matter how good you are … obviously Peter could have gone Division I or Division II, but he wanted to stay in Maine, and that really opened a lot of eyes for a lot of wrestlers to be like, ‘we could make this program into a really good Division III program,'” said Sendrowski.

“I think the Del Gallos really had an influence on what’s next for Maine wrestling in general,” added Anderson. “I think it all started with something Dan Del Gallo did winning that national title, and really that (program) just saying ‘we’re not just an average team. We’re not here just for average results. We’re here to compete and to be one of the top universities in the country.’ I think that’s something that’s great.”

Morin is happy to have the state’s best wrestlers looking at USM as an option.

“For the longest time, even when I was a student-athlete here and my earlier days when I was an assistant coach, it was tough keeping some of these good in-state kids in state. A lot of them brushed off USM and said, ‘I’m going to look at this school or that school, but USM is not for me,'” said Morin.

And the Huskies are not only getting some of the top Maine wrestlers, they are getting guys who are looked at as all-time greats in the state.

“Now you’re seeing some of the best kids to ever come out of the state of Maine. You look at Dan Del Gallo, Peter Del Gallo, Brad Beaulieu, Austin Shorey, those are some of the best guys to ever wrestle in this state, period. When you look at what they’ve done at the high school level, their accolades, against anyone else their names will be thrown up there,” Morin said.

“So for those guys to pick USM and want to stay in state and represent the state of Maine, I think it’s huge. I think it’s making my job easier, to be honest, when I go out and try to recruit kids, the in-state kids, now they are looking at USM and instantly giving us a shot.”

For Anderson, Sendrowski and Erskine Academy’s Jake Peavey, the 2018-19 college wrestling season will mark the first time they will be on a team together – but they have been part of the same Maine wrestling family for years.

“I mean, I’m always focused on wrestling. I’m focused on bettering myself, but at the same time when you look and you see these are good friends of mine, these are kids I’ve gone on wrestling trips with … I know I’ve enjoyed myself (with them) and talked about things other than wrestling, it kind of helps,” said Anderson. “It’s a really good feeling when you know you have good people surrounding you. These are good kids. These are class acts and great wrestlers.”

Both Peavey and Sendrowski agreed with their new teammate.

“It’s going to be great. We’re really excited to go. We’ve been on (travel) teams together since freshman year, so we know each other really well. I just think the team chemistry there is going to be really good and we’re all going to want to see each other succeed,” said Sendrowski.

“I think that’s huge. A lot of us have grown up wrestling against each other,” added Peavey. “I know Sam, Jeremy and I have been on travel teams out to Nebraska and New York, all those places, so it’s going to be kind of awesome to be on an official team together.”

USM’s recruiting class also includes Wiscasset’s Sam Strozier and Mt. Ararat’s Dylan Schenk.

Copy the Story Link