HAMPDEN – Ryan Shaw has stepped down after five seasons as the boys varsity soccer coach at Hampden Academy – for a couple of good reasons.

Not only are he and his wife the proud parents of a 10-week-old daughter, Hannah, but the commute just got to be a bit too much.

Shaw, an Aroostook County native, commuted on average several times a week to Hampden for games and practices for the last two seasons from his home – in Mars Hill – and that combined with his young family prompted his decision to resign, according to HA athletic administrator David Shapiro.

“He certainly had made a commitment to his kids,” said Shapiro, who currently is accepting applications for Shaw?s successor.

Shaw, a financial adviser by profession, coached the Broncos for the last five years after serving as the program’s junior varsity coach for three seasons.

He stressed superior conditioning as well as soccer skills, and under his guidance Hampden was a perennial contender in Eastern Maine Class A. The Broncos won the regional championship in 2004 and reached the Eastern A semifinals in each of the last three years.

The Broncos were seventh seeded at the end of the regular season last fall, but scored two postseason wins to reach the semifinals and finish with an 11-5-1 record.

Shaw’s teams had a five-year record of 62-19-3, winning at least 10 games in each season.

“He really had the ability to get kids to work well together,” said Shapiro. “He just did a great job of getting the most out of his players and to get them to perform at a high level.”

Shaw currently is in Italy coaching a team of Eastern Maine high school-age soccer players in a tournament just outside of Venice.

Shapiro hopes to name Shaw’s replacement relatively soon, as preseason practices for the 2008 season are set to begin Aug. 18.

Spencer 5-0 at wrestling exchange

Three-time state champion Travis Spencer, who will be a senior at Belfast Area High School this fall, went undefeated in five matches to lead Team Maine to a 3-1 record during the 24th annual Maine-Nebraska Friendship Wrestling Exchange.

The event, held this year in Nebraska, featured a squad of Maine wrestling all-stars against four different teams of wrestling standouts from the Cornhusker State.

Team Maine lost its first match at Kearney, Neb., but rebounded with victories at Columbus, Lincoln and Auburn.

Spencer, who earned All-America honors at 189 pounds with his sixth-place finish at the 2008 National High School Wrestling Championships, won four matches by decision and one by technical fall.

His closest match came during the Columbus meet against Terry Laursen of O’Neill High School. Spencer trailed 2-1 after two periods but scored an escape in the third period and a takedown in overtime to earn a 4-2 victory and keep his perfect record intact.

“I thought I’d go out there and do all right,” said Spencer, who also competes on the football and track teams at Belfast. “I was hoping I’d go 2-2, but I was able to go out there and do pretty good.”

Among other top wrestlers for Team Maine were Chris Smith, a four-time state champion from Deering of Portland, and Jake Longley of Noble of North Berwick.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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