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Longtime Dexter High wrestling coach Frank “Spook” Spizuoco is among four members of the Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame Class of 2004.
Spizuoco will be inducted during a ceremony this summer along with coaches Dennis Walch of Westbrook and Al Kirk of Deering of Portland, and the late Sean Sheehy, who wrestled at Wells High during the mid-1980s.
The four inductees will raise the total to 40 members in the Hall of Fame.
Spizuoco has been associated with the Dexter program since its inception in 1958, assisting eight different coaches.
Spizuoco served as head coach for several years, including from 1963 to 1965, a period when the Tigers were unbeaten.
Spizuoco also coached the University of Maine wrestling team for its final two seasons.
“Spook is a major reason behind the success of Dexter wrestling,” said current Dexter coach Dave Gudroe. “He really puts his time in and it’s all volunteer. The thing that’s impressive is he is so detailed and wants to know everything each kid is doing and how they are positioned on the mat. I’ve learned so much from him over the years, beginning when he coached me as a freshman [in 1974].”
Walch established the program at Westbrook in the early 1970s and remained as head coach until retiring last year. He is also the team leader of the annual Friendship Series, featuring wrestlers from Nebraska and Maine.
Sheehy was the first wrestler to win three Class B state championships (1985-87) and also was the first to reach 100 career wins.
Kirk has been the Deering wrestling coach since 1977 and also was an assistant football coach for 19 years.
Ponies poised to repeat?
Maine high school wrestling of recent vintage has been slow to change the names on its championship trophies.
Noble of Berwick won its sixth straight Class A state title last Saturday, while Camden Hills of Rockport earned its fifth straight Class B crown.
So what of championship newcomer Foxcroft Academy, which won its first-ever state Class C wrestling title by ending Lisbon’s three-year reign?
Odds are strong the Ponies will enter the 2004-05 season as a favorite to begin a string of their own.
Just three of the 13 Foxcroft wrestlers who participated in the state meet will graduate this June: Max Kennedy, the 145-pound state champion; Chris Lewis, the 275-pound winner; and Chris Cookson, the third-place finisher at 140 pounds.
Three state champions will return to lead the Ponies next winter, including two current juniors – Caleb Pelletier at 152 pounds and Randy Briggs at 171 – who already are two-time titlists.
Next year’s senior class also will include Mike McNaughton (second at 119), Andrew Pomeroy (second at 160), Cyle Heaney (fourth at 112), and Ryan Whittemore (third at 135).
Josh Pelletier, the 215-pound state champ, will be back to lead next year’s Foxcroft junior class, along with Alan Whittemore (fourth at 130) and James McPhee (second at 189).
Colby Johnson, third at 103 pounds, will be a sophomore next year.
Foxcroft will need to find a replacement for Lewis at 275 pounds, but there are at least two top lower-weight prospects who will join the program from the junior high ranks next season, further strengthening the Ponies’ depth.
Hawks maturing on mat
Hermon High’s wrestling team took a solid step forward during the 2003-04 season.
The fifth-year program, coached by Richard Stark, compiled a 14-8 regular-season match record and last Saturday finished seventh at the state Class B wrestling championships.
“Our numbers are still small,” said Stark, “but, head-to-head, we’ve done pretty well this year.”
During the state championship meet, 171-pound Chris Archer became the first Hermon wrestler to reach the state final in his weight class before falling to two-time state champion Randy Briggs of Foxcroft Academy.
The Hawks’ Pat Reardon finished third in the 215-pound division, scoring a pin over Penobscot Valley of Howland’s Ed McKenney in the consolation final.
In addition, 135-pound Dustin Cyr scored his 100th career victory in a preliminary-round match at the state meet, and went on to finish fourth in his weight class.
Cyr was the second member of the team to get his 100th win this year. Kyle Stark, the Hawks’ 152-pound representative, reached the same milestone earlier in the season.
Hermon had only eight wrestlers this winter, but coach Stark is hopeful that with a local youth feeder program now in its second year, the high school roster will grow in coming years.
Crusader wrestlers honored
John Bapst of Bangor was one of six high school wrestling teams to receive Maine Principals’ Association sportsmanship banners at the conclusion of Saturday’s state championship meet at the Bangor Auditorium.
The Crusaders, coached by Frank Haney, were awarded the banner for Eastern Maine Class C.
Other sportsmanship award winners were Oxford Hills of South Paris, Eastern A; Kennebunk, Western A; Winslow, Eastern B; Fryeburg Academy, Western B; and Hyde of Bath, Western C.
Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or eclark@bangordailynews.net
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