JAY — Michael Danforth of Livermore Falls shared an update on the Spruce Mountain Middle School wrestling program on April 10 during the Regional School Unit 73 directors meeting held at the high school.
“So last year I came in front of the school board I asked to start a wrestling program,” Danforth said. “I just wanted to give you guys a quick update. Let the community know how we did. I had over 20 wrestlers on the team this year.”
“Nice,” Chair Don Emery of Livermore Falls said.
“I also had several wrestlers place at regionals,” Danforth noted. “I had a regional champion at 195 pounds. I had a second place at 145 pounds, a third place at 93 pounds, and I had a wrestler place fourth at 117 pounds. I also had one alternate
The team beat several teams in the region, team to team, head to head, Danforth stated. “We lost to teams like Cony, Oxford Hills by six team points, 10 team points, which means one or two matches. We were not the bottom of the barrel. We did really well. That’s the positive on the mat.”
Positives were seen outside the mat too, Danforth stressed. “The staff can tell you guys I have knuckleheads, some of them are knuckleheads,” he noted. “They don’t like to keep their grades up. They like to do spooky things in class. That all stopped. Their grades came up, they passed. The problem child were no longer the problem child. I had teachers coming into the wrestling room telling me “they’re doing great. I don’t care about what happened on the mat.””
Danforth said he does care about what happens on the mat. “I’m very proud of them,” he stated. “I’m thankful for you guys for letting it happen. I hope we have a high school program. I think we have the numbers.”
Directors approved the wrestling program at the middle school in February 2024. Voters earlier April 10 approved the RSU 73 budget which includes funds for wrestling at the high school. When directors reviewed the proposed budgets, Marc Keller, high school athletic director said eight middle school wrestlers are in the eighth grade. Voters in Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls will go to the polls in each town on April 29 for a final vote on the budget.
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