Sendrowski looking to get back on top of podium
By Pat
McDonald
The dream
of every high school wrestler is to win a state championship.
Scarborough’s
Jeremy Sendrowski was able to accomplish that goal in his first year of varsity
wrestling. The past two state tournaments have ended with Sendrowski on the
podium, but with a bronze and silver medal around his neck.
With just
over a month to go in his high school wrestling career, the Scarborough
standout is looking to finish where he started — on top.
“As a
senior, I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder. I have some unfinished
business from the last two years,” said Sendrowski.
While the
last two seasons haven’t ended the way he would have liked, Sendrowski had two
of the state’s best standing in his way with Gardiner’s Peter Del Gallo handing
him a loss in the semifinals as a sophomore and Noble’s Austin Shorey beating
him in the 145-pound finals last year.
“I mean
facing Del Gallo and Shorey, I could have dodged them if I wanted to, but I
wanted to really make myself better,” said Sendrowski. “Facing the tougher kids
really makes you better, losing you know you never lose, you only win or you
learn. Whenever I lose a match, I just learn from it. I have some bad matches
sometimes, but you know there’s a lot of things that I work on, my coaches are
always there for me and I always have to improve on stuff after every match.”
Scarborough
coach Deron Sharp believes Sendrowski’s willingness to work hard and his drive
to improve every time he steps on the mat has helped make him the wrestler he
is today.
“We have a
constant theme of always getting better. I think that’s the mentality that he’s
embraced and that’s one of the reasons why he’s been able to be so successful,”
said Sharp. “Wins are great, losses are upsetting but when we get to the
practice room the next day, it’s ‘what do I need to work on? What’s my goal for
today?’”
Sharp, who
is in his third season with the Red Storm, is happy to have Sendrowski on his
team as he tries to build up the Scarborough program.
“He’s a
role model in the room,” said Sharp. “He’s a wrestler that since I’ve gotten
here, everyone has been able to look up to him and say, ‘this is what I should
be doing, this is what I shouldn’t be doing,’ and things like his work ethic
and attitude are addicting. He’s quite the leader, and that’s why he’s a team
captain and that’s why he’s doing well.”
There’s no
doubt that part of Sendrowski’s drive to be a great wrestler comes from
spending his early years in Pennsylvania.
“Watching
as a kid, the atmosphere in Pennsylvania is just insane. I remember one of the
meets at Nazareth, Jordan Oliver was still on Easton and they turn off all the
lights, the smoke machine would come out, all the Nazareth wrestlers would walk
around, it was just insane,” said Sendrowski, who moved to Maine in the fifth
grade.
Sendrowski,
whose older brother (Aaron Chamberlain) won over 100 matches at powerhouse
Northampton, had the chance to wrestle with some of the best wrestlers
Pennsylvania has to offer while he was growing up.
“Our
practice room was two full mats, it was like a college room,” said Sendrowski,
who stays in touch with some PA wrestlers. “Definitely seeing all my friends
back in Pennsylvania, over the last two years I think six of them have
committed to Ivy League schools, kids I used to hang out with. Sammy Sasso, we
used to be really good friends and hung out all the time, we still keep in
touch. Seeing all their success is wonderful.”
The senior
has tried to bring some of that PA style to the mats in Maine.
“People
have their own types of style, but obviously I grew up on that stuff with leg
riding, wrestling on top,” said Sendrowski.
Sendrowski
has also thought about what kind of wrestler he would be if he had stayed in
the Keystone State.
“I always
think about how good I could have been if I stayed down there. That’s always in
the back of my mind, but then again it was my choice to move up here, and it
was my choice of how hard I wanted to work,” Sendrowski said.
The former
state champion believes he could have been more dedicated over the past few
years.
“Looking
back on it now, I definitely could have worked harder,” Sendrowski said. “I
kind of regret some of that stuff but (my) advice to other kids is it’s going
to suck during practice, I know it sucks, I hate going to practice, but embrace
the grind. Every second is going to pay off.”
The senior
is happy to give advice to younger wrestlers and is enjoying his role as a
leader for the Red Storm.
“We’re
definitely a growing program, but we’re getting a lot better. Being a leader,
you know I like it, kids kind of look up to me,” Sendrowski said. “I really push
the kids in the room sometimes. I’m not that vocal, but when I’m working with
the kids I make sure I’m pushing them as hard I can — make sure they get
better. Being a leader is just nice because everybody looks up to you and you
get to show them your style of wrestling and you get to give them tips.”
One tip he
would give any Maine wrestler is to get out of state and find tough camps to go
to and better competition.
“Definitely
outside of the state experience is the best experience you can have,” said
Sendrowski, who has attended the grueling camp held by former Minnesota coach J
Robinson at Edinboro University in PA. “I mean J-Rob, it wasn’t fun, but I
would definitely recommend it to any wrestler. It made me 100 times better.
Mentally, I’m not the best, but J-Rob definitely helped it. If you’re not too
confident about yourself, I mean just go to camps, get out of state — a couple
wins out of state can boost your confidence a ton.”
Sendrowski
is certainly looking to close out his high school career with a second gold,
but he also has his sights set on the college mats.
“I’m pretty
much committed to (the University of Southern Maine),” said Sendrowski, who has
built a close bond with USM coach Mike Morin. “I’ve been with their coaches
since I moved up here and going to Bulgaria with them really helps. They are a
bunch of great guys.”
The senior
has been impressed with the type of wrestlers Morin has filled the USM room
with — which includes a lot of the wrestlers Sendrowski faced during his high school
career.
“The room
is insane, I mean you have Del Gallo, Shorey ... they used to beat on me all
the time so they’re only going to make me better. That team is just going to be
a great environment for me and I think all the Maine kids going there will be
great,” said Sendrowski.
— Pat
McDonald is the Sports Editor of the Journal Tribune in Biddeford. He can be
reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com.
Photo Credit: Jason Gendron