Dr. James D. Aguiar

December 10, 1946 - August 13, 2015  Campton, New Hampshire | Age 68

Dr. James D. Aguiar, beloved husband, father, grandpa, and friend, died at home on August 13. Despite a cancer diagnosis in 2013, Jim continued to pursue his passions: music, coaching, travel, and politics.

Jim was born in Biddeford, Maine, on December 10, 1946 to Daniel J. Aguiar, Sr., a machinist, and Jennie (Sparkowich) Aguiar. As a 1965 graduate of Biddeford High School, Jim was a two-time state wrestling champion at 165 pounds and the school's first all-state football player.

Jim attended Boston University on a football scholarship and helped start a wrestling program. He also frequented the coffeehouses of the folk music scene, playing gigs on his prized Gibson guitar. In December 1968, he married his college sweetheart Martha Back. After earning his BS in 1969, he pursued a Master's degree at the University of Oregon while coaching football.

In 1974, Jim was hired as an assistant professor of health education, assistant football coach, and head wrestling coach at Plymouth State. Jim was a demanding and creative teacher and respected coach whose wrestling squads tallied over one hundred dual meet victories during his tenure. In 1981, Jim stepped in as head football coach, setting a positive tone for a struggling team while posting a winning season. 

Jim earned his doctorate in education from Boston University in 1986. He went on to teach and coach wrestling at Moorhead State University (MN). In 1988, he moved to Ithaca College (NY), where he spent the remainder of his career teaching health education and supervising student teachers.

After returning to New Hampshire, Jim became active in local Democratic politics. In 2005, he won the first of five elections to serve in the State House of Representatives. He was particularly proud of helping to pass the Marriage Equality Law and introducing local elementary students to government.

Jim also returned to Plymouth State as an assistant wrestling coach, focusing especially on recruitment and alumni relations. Recently, he was inducted into the Maine Wrestling Hall of Fame, the New England Wrestling Hall of Fame, and won the Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance's Lifetime Achievement Award. In honor of his longstanding contributions, Plymouth State established the annual Jim Aguiar Wrestling Tournament.

Jim had many passions. Together with Martha, he explored all seven continents and fifty states. He played guitar at open mic nights and farmers' markets, and sang at his daughters' weddings and for his grandchildren. He loved his boats–sailing Cayuga Lake, puttering around Squam, kayaking southern swamps, and venturing out solo on Lake Champlain.

But on any given day, you'd find Jim in overalls at his house overlooking the Pemi, attending to one household project or another, forever fixing, adapting, and problem solving.

Along with his wife, he is survived by daughters Gretchen and son-in-law Jeff Allred, and Jessica and son-in-law Shane Mack; his brother Daniel; his beloved nieces; and his cousins. Jim was preceded in death by his parents and sister Janice Mazur. He will be deeply missed by his grandchildren Seamus (Moose), Hattie, Henry (Hank), Hazel, and Bee.

Jim also leaves behind a wide circle of treasured friends. He never forgot a birthday and always made a call to those in need. During his long illness, countless friends stepped in and help sustain the Aguiar family with calls, visits, rides, meals, and love. Thanks to Pemi Baker Hospice, Jim was able to be at home in his final days, cherishing visits with loved ones. The messages of tribute to Jim's lasting influences on people's lives truly warmed his heart.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 22 at 10 a.m. at the Plymouth Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to: The Aguiar Family Award, c/o Treasurer, Biddeford High School, 20 Maplewood Avenue Biddeford, ME 04005. Or, Friends of Plymouth Wrestling c/o Coach Ryan Schieding, Plymouth State University P.E. Center, Plymouth NH, 03264.

Winslow coaching icon Harold ‘Tank’ Violette dies

The Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee, who died Tuesday, led Black Raiders to 3 state titles
BY TRAVIS LAZARCZYK STAFF WRITER

When he was head football coach at Lawrence High School in Fairfield, Pete Cooper knew his team would always have its hands full when it played Harold “Tank” Violette’s Winslow squad.

“He was a tough guy to coach against,” Cooper said of Violette. “His teams were always well-prepared.”

Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee Harold “Tank” Violette receives a hug from his granddaughter, Allison Hegarty, during the Maine Sports Hall of Fame awards banquet on May 22, 2011, at the Augusta Civic Center. Violette died Tuesday Portland Press Herald photo by Tim Greenway

Harold “Tank” Violette greets well-wishers during the Maine Sports Hall of Fame banquet in 2011. Violette, one of three Winslow football coaches since 1958, died Tuesday. Staff file photo by Andy Molloy

Harold “Tank” Violette stands on Poulin Memorial Field before he was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. A University of Maine of graduate, Violette was one of just three Winslow football coaches since 1958. Violette died Tuesday.Staff file photo by David Leaming

Violette, a former Winslow High School hockey and football coach as well as the school’s athletic director, died Tuesday. He was 77.

“Coach Violette, he was my mentor,” said Wes Littlefield, who played football at Winslow for Violette and is now an assistant football coach at the school. “He was a father figure to not only myself, but to anyone who played for him.”

Jim Poulin began his football coaching career as an assistant coach on Violette’s staff in 1974. Poulin said with the death of Violette, the Winslow community has lost an icon.

“He was special, and that’s an understatement,” Poulin said. “I never would have coached football if it wasn’t for him.”

Violette coached the Black Raiders football team from 1969 to 1984, winning 113 games and state championships in 1973, 1976 and 1982.

He was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2003, Violette was inducted into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame.

Violette grew up in Waterville before attending the University of Maine, where he played football and graduated in 1960.

Littlefield remembered Violette as an intense coach who stressed teamwork.

“He instilled playing for community pride and playing together as a team,” said Littlefield, also a former Messalonskee head coach.

“What you got from Harold was the real deal. You didn’t get any smokescreens,” added Wally LaFountain, who preceded Violette as head football coach at Winslow. “He coached that way, and he was that way in life.”

Violette was one of just three head football coaches at Winslow since 1958 — LaFountain and current coach Mike Siviski are the others. In the early 1960s, Violette served as an assistant coach under LaFountain before moving on to become head coach at Belfast Area High School. Violette won state titles in 1967 and ’68 at Belfast before returning to Winslow as head coach when LaFountain stepped down prior to the 1969 season.

“He was a motivator,” LaFountain said. “He asked a lot of his kids, and he got a lot out of them.”

Violette’s eye for detail was a key to the Black Raiders’ success, said Poulin, who retired from coaching in 2013.

“He was a student of the game, from the beginning of his career right to the end,” Poulin said. “Everything was just so precise. We’d run the same drill, over and over, until the kids knew it exactly. I think it helped make me a better teacher, not just a coach, all the repetition.”

LaFountain remembered Violette as a man who could coach anything. When Winslow needed a wrestling coach, Violette stepped in and took over the program for a year, despite no background in the sport. Violette went on to become a wrestling official.

“It was completely foreign to him, but not only did he do well, he got into collegiate meets,” LaFountain said.

In the 1970s, Violette helped start Winslow’s ice hockey program. He then coached the Black Raiders to six state titles. David Chayer, who graduated from Winslow High in 1990, played hockey for Violette.

“The leadership skills I learned from him as a teenager have served me well as an adult,” said Chayer, who works as the vice president of end user services at the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation.

As intense as Violette was during a practice or game, he was quiet away from the field or rink.

“He was kind of a gentle giant. Off the field, he was soft-spoken,” Cooper said.

Cooper recalled a brief conversation he had with Violette on the field prior to a Winslow-Lawrence football game.

“He said, ‘Cooper, I’ll be your best friend before the game and after the game, but during the game I want to kick your (butt),'” Cooper said.

Cooper said Violette’s gentle side came out in 2012, when Cooper’s wife Lois, died.

“When my wife died, who showed up at my house the next day? Harold and his wife, Harriet,” Cooper said.

Littlefield also remembered a fun-loving side of his coach. During preseason football practices, Violette would ask a group of younger players which of them was going to run to the soda machine and get him a Diet Pepsi. The players would look at each other for a moment, then sprint toward the machine, forgetting that none of them had any money.

“They never realized he was standing there, with a dollar in his hand, waiting for somebody to take it,” Littlefield said.

Univ. of Southern Maine Wrestling Coaching transition

Dear USM Wrestling friends, fans and alumni, 

I wanted to let you know that this past season was my final season as the Head Wrestling Coach at the University of Southern Maine. I will finish my University of Maine system contract thru July and my last day officially will be July 24, after the USM Wrestling Camp.

II am heading South and am trading in Pine Trees for Palm Trees and taking over for Pat Milkovich, a former 4x AA, 2x nat'l champ from Michigan State as the new Head Wrestling Coach at Florida Gulf Coast University, an NCAA Division I University with an NCWA Wrestling program. There are strong aspirations per the FGCU booster club President of adding another varsity men's sport within 5-10 years and was hired due to our success and my body of work at the University of Southern Maine.

I was offered this position 2+ weeks ago and after a bunch of negotiations, hours upon hours of soul searching, and logistics personally and professionally, I accepted last Sunday. After 20 years as a competitor and a Head Wrestling Coach in New England (MA, RI and ME), it's time for a new chapter in my life.

The USM Wrestling program is in an ideal and strong place as the current USM Wrestling coaching staff will include Mike Morin , Julio Santiago, Mike Frey, Sean Fagan and Jonathan Deupree . Their respective and official titles (Head Coach, Head Assistant, Assistant, etc) will be officialy announced in coming days. The USM schedule is all set for next year, we have outstanding wrestlers returning, great kids coming in, a new and improved wrestling room and coaches who are familiar with the USM Wrestling philosophy and way.

I hope I served the Maine Wrestling community well after all of these years and most importantly, served and made my former and current USM Student athletes proud of their Wrestling program and experiences at USM.

Lastly, I sincerely hope the Maine Wrestling community and my former and current student athletes had pride in what USM Wrestling accomplished on a local, regional and national level as I have been extremely proud to represent Maine wrestling as a whole; this experience has been the best years of my life.

Thank you for your continuous support of me and the University of Southern Maine Wrestling program during my tenure, 2003-15'.

Coach Pistone

HISTORY OF USM WRESTLING

University of Southern Maine Wrestling 1997-Present

August 1996: Ted Reese founded the University of Southern Maine Men's Wrestling Program; starts out as a club sport at USM

March, 1997: USM Wrestling officially becomes an NCAA Division III sanctioned sport and a varsity sport at USM

February, 1999: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships for the first time with MAWA HOF member Adam Farrington advancing to the NCAA National Championships at 174lbs

February, 2001: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships, crowning its first NCAA New England Champion and MOW, Adam Farrington at 174

April, 2002 USM Captain Tim Morris captures the University Greco Roman National Championship title; finishes as a National Runner up in Freestyle 2 days later in Las Vegas, Nevada.

June, 2003: USM's Ted Reese resigns as the Head Wrestling Coach at the University of Southern Maine. 

July, 2003: Joe Pistone takes over as the University of Southern Maine Head Wrestling Coach. 

July 2003: Longtime USM Assistant Wrestling Coach, Bryan Brunk accepts the Head Wrestling Coach position at Messiah College (PA).

March, 2005: SUNY Oneonta State University alumni, Julio Santiago, is named USM's Head Assistant Wrestling Coach.

February, 2006: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships in Iowa, crowning its 2nd NCAA New England Champion, Stephen Valastro at 133lbs

February, 2008: USM hosts the NCAA New England Wrestling Championships, the 2nd time in history an NCAA National Championship Qualifier is hosted in Maine.

February, 2008: Former USM Head Coach Ted Reese and former Head Assistant Coach, Bryan Brunk (current Messiah College Head Wrestling Coach) are inducted to the NCAA Division III New England Wrestling Hall of Fame before the Championship finals at USM

March, 2008: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships, crowning its 3rd NCAA New England Champion, Mike Morin at 165lbs; Morin wins an overtime match in a best-of-three match against Springfield College in the final match of the NCAA New England Tournament at home!

July, 2009 Former USM Assistant Coach, Jason York, becomes the Head Wrestling Coach at Bridgewater State University (MA)

August 2009 Former USM Assistant Coach Mike Brown wins the WEC World Featherweight title, defeating Urijah Faber by unanimous decision

March 2009: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships in Iowa, crowning its 4th NCAA New England Champion, Mike Morin at 165lbs

March, 2009: USM's NCAA All New England Wrestlers Doug Christensen and Mike Morin earn NCAA Scholar First team All America honors

March, 2009: Mike Morin becomes USM's first NCAA Wrestling All American, finishing 4th at the NCAA National Tournament; this is the first time a Maine collegiate wrestler earns NCAA All America honors.

October, 2009: Mike Morin becomes the #1 ranked Wrestler in the Nation at 165lbs

December, 2009: USM earns an invite to the prestigious 'Desert Duals' and competes at the Flamingo Ballroom and Casino in Las Vegas, NV; USM knocks off #20 in NCAA DII Grand Canyon University

February, 2010: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships in Iowa, crowning its 5th NCAA New England Champion, Mike Morin at 165lbs

May, 2010: USM Head Coach, Coach Pistone is voted in as the NCAA New England Wrestling Association Vice President

March, 2010 USM's 3x NCAA All New England Wrestlers Doug Christensen and Mike Morin earn NCAA Scholar First team All America honors

March, 2010: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships, crowning its 6th NCAA New England Champion, Matt Ulrich at 141lbs

March, 2010: USM advances to the NCAA Final Four in Matt Ulrich at 141. Ulrich defeats 2x NCAA finalist, 3x NCAA All American Jafari Vanier from Augsburg (MN) to become USM's second NCAA All American finishing 6th at the NCAA National Wresting Championships

March, 2010: Mike Morin becomes USM's third NCAA Wrestling All American, finishing 5th at the NCAA NationalWrestling Championships.

April, 2010: Mike Morin earns NCAA Division III Pilgrim League Wrestler of the Year

March, 2010: USM Head Assistant Coach, Julio Santiago earns NCAA New England Division III Assistant WrestlingCoach of the Year. A week later he is within the top 4 nominated for NCAA National Asst. Coach of the Year

December, 2011: USM competes at the Gulf Coast Dual Meet Championships, finishing with a 3-1 record defeating Buena Vista University (Iowa) Central University (Iowa) and Concordia University (Wisconsin)

February, 2011: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships, crowning its 7th NCAA New England Champion, Billy Cole at 133lbs

March, 2011: USM's Billy Cole becomes a 2x NCAA Division III First Team Scholar All American

February, 2011-12: The USM Wrestling team sets a new school record for dual meet wins with 15

March, 2012: USM's Cinjin Goewey becomes an NCAA Division III First Team Scholar All American

March, 2012: USM's Billy Cole becomes a 2x NCAA Division III First Team Scholar All American

May, 2012: USM's Head Wrestling Coach, Coach Pistone, is named the President of the NCAA New England Wrestling Association.

March, 2012: USM's Rick Chipman becomes an NCAA Division III First Team Scholar All American, the oldest in the history of NCAA Wrestling, ALL DIVISIONS!

August, 2012-13: National powerhouse New York teams Ithaca College, Oneonta State University, Oswego State University and SUNY Cortland join the New England Conference, making it an 18 team NCAA Northeast Regional. Top (3) in each weight class earn NCAA bids

September, 2013: Longtime USM Head Assistant Wrestling Coach, Julio Santiago steps down; former 2x NCAA All American is elevated to USM Head Assistant Wrestling Coach.

February, 2013; USM Captains Sean Fagan and Jon Deupree become the first ever NCAA Division III Northeast Region Place finishers; Fagan becomes an NCAA National Championship’s Alternate

February, 2014 USM wins its first team tournament title, capturing the North Atlantic Wrestling Championships

January, 2014: USM's Rick Chipman makes the back page in the worlds most circulated newspaper, the Wall Street Journal; CLICK HERE see the online article 

February, 2014: USM makes the NCAA National Wrestling Championships, crowning its first NCAA Division III Regional Champion, Jon Deupree; Deupree earns the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award of the NCAA Regional Championships pinning his NCAA All American foe in the final.

February 2014: USM Freshman, Carl “CJ” Luth earns NCAA Scholar All America honors

February, 2014: USM Freshman Daniel Del Gallo earns NCAA Scholar All America honors; records a perfect 4.0 both Fall and Spring semesters at USM

July, 2014: NCAA National Championships Qualifier/NCAA Region Champion Jon Deupree becomes a member of NCAA Division III/United States All Star Team and travels/competes in France, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, finishing with a 5-1 record! 

August, 2014: USM Wrestling program founder and USM’s first Head Wrestling Coach, Ted Reese, earns the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Maine Amateur Wrestling Association

October, 2014: Former USM Team Captain and 2012 NCAA Scholar All American Rick Chipman earns USM’s Highest Academic/Athletic honor, the “William B. Wise Award”, for the 4th consecutive year. No other USM HuskyWrestler has achieved this honor.

November, 2014: Coach Pistone earns his 100th career collegiate coaching victory, defeating Norwich University 23-18 in Worcester, MA.

December, 2014: USM competes in the prestigious,”Grapple at the Garden” at Madison Square Garden, the WORLD’S most famous arena. The University of Southern Maine defeats Muhlenburg University.

January, 2015: USM competes in the nationally recognized Wabash College duals competing against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (WI), Mt. St. Joseph College (OH), Wabash College (IN) and Ohio Northern University (OH). USM finishes with a 2-2 record.

February, 2015: USM defeats SUNY Oneonta State and Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT and earns the best dual meet record in the history of the USM men's Wrestling program.

March, 2015: Jonahan Deupree earns his second NCAA Regional Championship at 184lbs to advance to the NCAA National Championships for the 2nd consecutive year. Deupree enters the tournament as the #2 seed, the highest seeded USM Wrestler ever in the NCAA Tourney.

March, 2015: Daniel Del Gallo, the #4 seed at 149lbs, upsets JWU and North Carolina State University transfer and returning NCAA NQ to earn a spot in the NCAA Regional Championship finals. Del Gallo advances to his first NCAA National Championships.

March, 2015: Sean Fagan and CJ Luth earn NCAA All-Region honors with a 5th place finish at 197lbs and 157lbs. This is Fagan's second NCAA All- Region honor.

March, 2015: Daniel Del Gallo and CJ Luth earn 1st Team NCAA Scholar All America honors. They are now 2x NCAA Scholar All Americans.

March, 2015: Daniel Del Gallo earns the NCAA Elite 89 Academic Award, the highest Academic Award given by the NCAA in the Nation. 

April, 2015: Longtime USM Head Wrestling Coach, Joe Pistone, steps down after 12+ seasons at USM; becomes the Head Wrestling Coach at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Plymouth State Coach to receive prestigious award in Maine

From Kent Cherrington, SID kcherrington@plymouth.edu

For Immediate Release

PSU Coach to receive prestigious awards in Maine, Aguiar recognized for a lifetime of dedication to sport

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University coach will be honored in the state of Maine for lifetime achievements, dedication and commitment to wrestling.

Jim Aguiar has been chosen to receive the 2015 Maine Amateur Wrestling Association (MAWA) Lifetime Achievement Award. A native of Biddeford, Maine and a longtime supporter of the MAWA, Aguiar was Plymouth State’s head wrestling coach from 1974-85 and a Panther assistant the past dozen years. He will be honored prior to the MAWA Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on August 27, 2015, at the Hyde School in Bath, Maine.

In his 12th year as assistant coach Jim Aguiar is a familiar figure to Panther fans. Originally from Biddeford Maine, Jim was a two-time State Wrestling Champion and an All-State Football player. He attended Boston University on a football scholarship and was active in the group of student re-establishing wrestling as a varsity program at BU.

Coach Aguiar came to PSU as the defensive coordinator of the football program and served as the head wrestling coach from 1974 to 1985. Jim served one season as the head football coach in 1980 posting the first winning season in years. He resigned coaching football to focus upon his graduate studies.

In wrestling Jim coached many All New England Wrestlers and the first NCAA All American Wrestler at Plymouth State. He still holds the record for most career dual meet victories (over 100 wins). After completing his doctorate in education at Boston University he left the Plymouth area to accept a position at Moorhead State University (MN) where he also was the head wrestling coach. He coached at MSU for two years turning around the Division II program that had fallen on hard times. In 1988 Dr. Aguiar accepted a position at Ithaca College (NY) where he focused on teaching. After retiring from teaching at IC in 2003 he returned to NH and quickly became reconnected with the Wrestling Panthers. 

USM wrestling is on a roll

The Huskies have two wrestlers competing in the NCAA Division III championships

BY MIKE LOWE STAFF WRITER

mlowe@pressherald.com | @MikeLowePPH | 207-791-6422

The University of Southern Maine’s wrestling program enjoyed its greatest success this winter, setting a record for most dual-meet wins (16) and sending two wrestlers to the upcoming NCAA Division III championships.

Huskies Coach Joe Pistone said the seeds of that success were planted a long time ago.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES

Jonathan Deupree

Joe Pistone

Daniel Del Gallo

“A lot of it was our preparation in the summer, with lifting and running and wrestling,” said Pistone, who’s been head of the program since 2003. “We had some pretty strong goals and objectives at the end of last season that carried over.”

He noted the Huskies also had a strong recruiting class that brought talent and attitude to the program.

“Every objective we made, short-term and long-term, was met,” said Pistone. “It’s a very exciting time for the USM Huskies.”

Senior Jonathan Deupree of Ozona, Florida, and sophomore Daniel Del Gallo of Gardiner can make it even more exciting. The two will compete in the NCAA championships Friday and Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Deupree defended his Division III Northeast Regional title at 184 pounds earlier this month, and Del Gallo finished second at 149 pounds.

Two other USM wrestlers received all-Northeast Region honors after finishing in the top five in the regional meet.

“It was a lot of hard work,” said Pistone.

Deupree is an interesting story. He is 26 and came to USM after wandering through colleges, jobs and training to be a mixed martial arts fighter. He grew up in Florida and attended the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky – an NAIA school that offered him a wrestling scholarship. He left after a year, attended a couple of community colleges and, he said “kept moving around.”

“I wasn’t focused, I didn’t have any direction in life,” he said. “Then I moved to Maine and I met the coaches here. They kind of gave me direction, which is what I needed. Wrestling has helped me finish school and achieve the things I always wanted to do.”

Deupree met USM assistant coach Mike Morin at a gym and the two got to talking. That led to him enrolling at the school. He’ll graduate in May with a degree in business administration.

Pistone said having Deupree on the team has been invaluable – and not just because he is a great wrestler.

Deupree, who is going to the NCAAs for the second straight year, is ranked second in the 182-pound weight class, according to d3wrestle.com.

“Jon has seen the world,” said Pistone. “He’s a role model to our kids, he really is. He can talk to them about life choices and decisions. He tells them that everything they do in their life now matters. It matters in five days, it matters in five years.

“He brings that perspective to academics and athletics. He has that mind frame. There are not many kids who can have that day in, day out influence.”

Deupree, who went 13-3 in dual meets and 6-0 in tournaments this year, said his three years at USM have been incredibly special.

“I can see the growth in this team,” he said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the coaching staff. They’re putting a lot more time in teaching basic technique, and because of that, the wrestling has gotten better.”

He’s looking forward to his second venture to the nationals and hopes to do better. “I want to win,” he said. “I want to win every time I step on the mat.”

Del Gallo (24-1 in dual meets, 8-1 in tournaments) is making his first trip to the nationals. Pistone is not surprised.

“After Daniel committed to USM, he came to our summer camp,” said Pistone. “This was between his senior year in high school and freshman year here. We had a bunch of NCAA champions and All-Americans conducting the camp. And he asked us, ‘What can I do to become an NCAA champion like them?’ ”

He got his instructions and obviously paid attention. Last season’s loss in the regionals – “the first time he had ever lost in a tournament,” said Pistone – fueled his success this year.

Carl Luth, a sophomore from Milford, Connecticut, finished fifth at 157 pounds in the regionals, and Sean Fagan, a senior from Arlington, Massachusetts, was fifth at 197 pounds. “To be recognized in the top six is a huge accomplishment,” said Pistone, who sees great things ahead for his program.

“We’ve got some wonderful young men in the program who go above and beyond in representing the state and the university.”

Way-back machine: Lisbon HS with Coach Gary Kent in 1961

Yesterday at our March MAWA Board meeting we were discussing the various schools Hall of Fame Inductee Gary Kent coached. We named Lisbon HS as the first. Others included Massabesic, Sanford, MCI, Rumford, and Hyde. There are probably many others. Thanks to new board member Mark Stevens for offering up and sharing this LHS yearbook picture.

Noble's DeVoll hints that this could be last year

By Mike Whaley

mwhaley@fosters.com

Noble coach Kip DeVoll, left, makes a point to disconsolate heavyweight wrestler, Eric Pilcher, after a consolation semifinal loss at the Class A states Saturday. (Whaley/ Democrat photo)

TOPSHAM, Maine — Noble High School finished second at Saturday’s Class A wrestling championship, its best showing since winning the 2011 title.

Veteran coach Kip DeVoll said this could be his last season.

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” said DeVoll, now in his 34th season and 30th as head coach. “I don’t even know if I’ll be back next year. It’s getting close. I have to take some time off to give it some thought.”

Last year DeVoll intimated he would stay on to coach his youngest son, Jack, who will be a freshman next year, and then call it a day. Saturday he backed off that somewhat, leaving the door open for a more immediate exit from coaching.

DeVoll, a 1979 Noble graduate, has coached the Knights to 12 Class A titles, including 11 during a 13-year stretch from 1998 to 2011, and eight straight at one point.

He had mixed feelings about his team’s effort on Saturday.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “I think the freshmen got a little overwhelmed when they got in there. ... It’s one of those things you don’t know about until you get them into this atmosphere. It was a good start for these young kids. It’s something to look forward to.” 

Noble junior Otto Keisker holds the Maine Class A wrestling runners-up plaque Saturday in Topsham. (Whaley/Democrat photo)

Eight of Noble’s 11 wrestlers placed, and six were underclassmen.

Sophomore Austin Shorey went 3-0 to win the 120 state crown, Noble’s first since Ben Valencia captured the old 140 title in 2011. Shorey had three wins by pin. In the final he pinned Brunswick’s Christian Jensen at 3:26.

Josh Grenier (138), Otto Keisker (145) and Zac Schluntz (220) each took second.

Schluntz was unable to wrestle in his final after his opponent in the semis, Max Story of Cony, drove his teeth into Schluntz’s cheek, opening a sizeable cut. Schluntz went onto win by pin, but he was unable to wrestle in the final.

“We didn’t want to open it up again” DeVoll said. “It’s too bad. He worked hard to get to the final. But he had a heck of a year. This is his first year at the state tournament placing.”

Jake Martel (126) and Bailey Coull (132) were third, and Joe Pilecki (106) and Robert Worell (195) were fourth.

“It was disappointing in terms of you get your hopes up to do a little better,” DeVoll said. “I think we could have done a little bit better. I don’t think we could have caught Marshwood, not without help from other schools. On our own, it wasn’t going to happen.” 

While Marshwood loses six seniors who scored Saturday, Noble departs only two.

“We have a lot of underclassmen,” DeVoll added. “Now that they’ve been here, they know what it’s like. They’ll get that shot again next year, hopefully. That makes the biggest difference, when you’ve got that experience.”

Coach Ted Reese expresses: Business of changing lives

More amazing news form University of Southern Maine alumni, who are contributing, giving back and what USM Wrestling founder and former Head Coach Ted Reese expresses, " in the business of changing lives"!

Head Assistant Wrestling Coach for the Massabesic (ME) Mustangs and former 3x University of Southern Maine team captain, Peter Gilman (Class of 2010) helped crown (3) Maine Class A State Champions yesterday at the Maine State Championships!

Gilman won over 80 career matches as a Husky and was ranked every year in tne NCAA New England Individual Rankings and make several appearances in the NCAA D3Wrestle National rankings over his career!

Congratulations Massabesic, Coach Gilman, Coach DeRosier and Coach Holland! Amazing what you do and continue to do for Maine student athletes; you most certainly ARE and have done an amazing job changing lives!

Coach Pistone

University of Southern Maine alumni, Shane Stephenson and Billy Cole

University of Southern Maine alumni, Shane Stephenson and Billy Cole made some significant and outstanding presence yesterday at the Maine High School State Wrestling Championships and at USM for the North Atlantic Championships hosted at USM.

Stephenson, Class of 2008, has been the Head Wrestling Coach at Scarborough HS (ME) for the past 6 years and crowned his first Maine State Champion in Jeremy Sendrowski (CONGRATS JEREMY!!!!!) at 113lbs!! Stephenson, a former 3x University of Southern Maine team captain earned over 60 wins in his career, was ranked in the NCAA New England Region throughout his career and is currently a Police Officer on the K9 Unit in South Portland, Maine!

Another USM alumni, Billy Cole, Class of 2011, arrived at USM before the North Atlantic Championships to spend time with the coaches and team, presented the USM Seniors, Frey, Fagan and Deupree with the Senior Awards and sand the National Anthem before competition started! Cole was a 3x University of Southern Maine team captain was an NCAA Scholar All American, defeated 98 opponents, was a 2x NCAA New England placewinner, a NCAA New England Champion, a NCAA National Championship Qualifier and was ranked nationally for 2 years during his time here at USM! He is currently serving our country as a Staff Seargent at the NH Air National Guard in Portsmouth, NH!

Much love, pride and thankfulness to them both; USM Wrestling wouldnt be where it is without their significant contributions!!

Coach Pistone

Age a number, MMA debut a ‘rush’ for 50-year-old Camden Hills wrestling coach

LMP Photos/CrossFace Productions

Patrick Kelly (bottom) battles Frank Dellasalla during New England Fights bout on Sept. 6 in Lewiston.

By Ernie Clark, BDN Staff

LMP Photos/CrossFace Productions

Patrick Kelly (bottom) puts a hold on Frank Dellasalla during a New England Fights bout Sept. 6 in Lewiston.

LMP Photos/CrossFace Productions

Patrick Kelly (left) is declared the winner in his bout with Frank Dellasalla during New England Fights event Sept. 6. in Lewiston.

LMP Photos/CrossFace Productions

Patrick Kelly stands in his corner with his members of his fight crew during a New England Fights bout on Sept. 6 in Lewiston.

LEWISTON, Maine — Patrick Kelly’s walk from the locker room to the cage wasn’t just to make a statement about age.

Nor was it necessarily about winning, or solely the pursuit of a new challenge within a continuing quest for fitness.

It was all of the above and more that spurred the Rockport school teacher and veteran wrestling coach from Camden Hills Regional High School to make his mixed martial arts debut on the recent New England Fights’ “NEF XIV” card — at age 50.

“It was a rush,” said Kelly a day after his first-round submission victory over Frank Dellasalla in their amateur welterweight (170-pound) bout on Sept. 6.

“You visualize during your training how it’s going to be when you walk out there and how you’ll feel the day of the competition. I was so focused I don’t think I heard a whole lot except my coaches. I heard the crowd but couldn’t differentiate whether it was anything other than noise. I was just in the zone, and for me it was just the cherry on the cake to come up with the win.”

Kelly came out as the aggressor, using an overhand left to secure early side control. Then as Dellasalla attempted to escape, Kelly gained position behind his opponent to set up a match-ending rear-naked choke hold and become the oldest winner in the more than 250 professional and amateur bouts promoted by New England Fights.

“I went in with the strategy of closing ground with a couple of punches,” he said. “I’m not a striker. I can throw a punch and take a punch, but I didn’t want to play around because if you land something anyone can get knocked out. You can get knocked back to third grade pretty quickly if you don’t pay attention.”

Kelly’s teammates from Young’s MMA in Bangor weren’t surprised by his performance.

“I screamed out when he got hold of that kid because I knew he was going to throw him around and that’s what he did,” said Ryan Sanders, a welterweight from the Bangor area. “He went back to his roots and did everything perfectly. It was beautiful, a beautiful fight.”

The wrestling background

Kelly is no stranger to combat sports, beginning with a stellar wrestling career at the former Camden-Rockport High School during the late 1970s and early ’80s where he won an individual state title as a senior.

He went on to compile a 116-20 record at the University of Maine, becoming a New England champion in 1986 and competing in that year’s NCAA championships.

He soon joined older brother John on the coaching staff at Camden-Rockport and helped the Windjammers win 10 Class B state titles between 1990 and 2002.

Kelly became head coach in 2003 and guided Camden Hills to three more state championships and a 117-5 meet record before stepping down in 2006.

A 2007 Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame inductee, Kelly returned as the Windjammers’ head coach in 2013 and has guided the team to two more state titles.

Among the wrestlers he coached was four-time state champion Tim Boetsch of Lincolnville, now a ranked middleweight in MMA’s top promotion worldwide, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

“He and I, particularly his last two years, would go at each other every single day in practice,” said Kelly. “I always had aches and pains because he was big, heavy, strong and motivated. It was quite a relationship.”

The two rekindled their mat workouts recently when Boetsch visited Young’s MMA just before appearing on an Aug. 16 UFC card at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

“At the end of the night we rolled (worked on mat skills) for five minutes,” said Kelly, “and at one point it was so funny, we were having fun with each other without a lot of words and we got into a position and stopped and he said, ‘How many times have we been like this over the years?’

“It was just a nice moment to reminisce about all the years we spent together in that practice room.”

A new challenge

Kelly has continued to compete in summer wrestling tournaments over the years, but those events are less frequent and less frequented than mixed martial arts shows in Maine — particularly through NEF, which stages four to five fight cards a year.

And when he found himself weighing 210 pounds a year and a half ago, the sense of urgency to do something about it kicked in.

“I was just thinking about trying something different, a new way to train with a different kind of novelty in it for me with regard to meeting some new people, finding a new gym and kind of breaking away from my wrestling territory with all the people I know and that comfortability to stretch out and learn some different things” he said.

Kelly found a new comfort zone at Young’s MMA, where not only did he work out but he began teaching a wrestling class.

“He’s been training with us for less than a year now, but he brings a ton of energy,” said Sanders. “He may be a 50-year-old man but he has the energy of a teenager and when he comes we train hard. He pushes us, and I know my wrestling’s gotten better because of Pat.”

And as Kelly followed the progress of teammates such as Sanders, NEF featherweight champion Ray Wood and new NEF lightweight champion Bruce Boyington, he, too, regained the competitive urge and found the state’s amateur MMA ranks a perfect outlet.

New England Fights has found its amateur MMA division to be popular among fans and participants alike— NEF XIV included 17 amateur bouts.

“Over 14 NEF events, we’ve witnessed a wide range of competitors from a multitude of backgrounds and martial arts disciplines move through our amateur ranks,” said Matt Peterson, the promotion’s co-owner and matchmaker. “Some of those athletes are fighters like Ray Wood who are destined to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Another example is a gentleman like Pat Kelly — a fighter who feels the need to continue testing himself athletically at 50 years of age.

“In a word, the NEF amateur division is a mosaic of life itself — and you never know what you’re going to see play out during these bouts.”

Kelly geared his MMA training around an already busy schedule of teaching science and driver’s education, coaching wrestling and family responsibilities.

“It’s a commitment because I’ve got four kids, but everything worked out,” he said. “My wife was generous enough to give me the time, and it was just a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for me to train and get into the cage and represent Young’s.”

Combating Father Time

Then there’s the age thing.

MMA is is among today’s most grueling sports with its aggressive blend of boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and other martial arts disciplines.

While fighters often compete well into their 30s, the sport is becoming more popular with the younger set, including former high school and college wrestlers seeking a next level to continue satisfying their competitive urges.

But that transition usually comes immediately after that high school or college career — not decades later.

“For me age is a number,” Kelly said. “Sometimes we get to an age where we think we better start slowing down. I’m going to start ramping it up.

“I’ve got nothing to prove to anybody. I am my biggest opponent, that’s who I’m competing against every day, not only in this but in making sure my family life’s good, my professional life’s good, my personal life’s good and my physical life’s good. It’s just a good challenge.”

Kelly acknowledges MMA’s physical demands, but sees ways to counter Father Time’s inevitable influence on the human body.

“As you get older you don’t recover as well. You have aches and pains all the time, the weight doesn’t come off, and you’ve really got to be smart about what you do and watch how hard you train,” he said. “I’ve been slow and methodical about this. I didn’t make any major changes. For me it was just eating right, living good and staying really focused on getting my body.

“I think you add quality to your life when you do these kinds of things. You feel better, you look better, you think better, and that was a motivation for me.”

And while Kelly isn’t deliberately seeking to set an example for the older fans in the MMA crowd, if someone wants to follow his lead that’s OK, too.

“There have been times when I’ve been out of shape, and having friends training and seeing people doing different things motivated me, so perhaps someone in their 40s and 50s or maybe beyond can find the same thing,” he said. “You’ve just got to be committed and have the drive and you can transform yourself and keep things from happening to you.”

Kelly plans to continue following that strategy in the cage.

“I’m going to see if I can keep this going, he said. “The timing has to be right between wrestling and teaching and family, but I’m going to ride it out as far as I can. When you sit down and think about it the reality is you are that old, but there are things you can do so you’re not held captive by that number.

“I refuse to let that happen.”