Gripping a simple letter of inquiry from the University of Southern Maine wrestling coach, Joe Bowen beamed with pride.

Bowen has coached his son Justin, now a senior at Brewer High School, in wrestling for years. The letter represented the hours of hard work and dedication that the duo accomplished together as father and son, coach and athlete.

In addition to college recruitment, Justin also placed third in the state Class B wrestling finals in his heavyweight division.

“Justin has always taken wrestling very seriously. I’m very proud of him, I’m proud of all of them,” Bowen said.

By “all of them,” Bowen refers to all five of his children, four of whom are boys either involved in wrestling or destined to become wrestlers.

Justin, 18, is the eldest of the Bowen wrestling brothers, closely followed by Jeremy, 16, Jacob, 5, and Joey, 11 months.

For the Bowen family, wrestling is a family affair. Once a freestyle state champion in California, Joe Bowen, a seasoned wrestler, has been passing his knowledge of the sport successfully on to his sons and the students of Brewer for years.

Joe coaches the Brewer High School wrestling team and the Brewer Wrestling Club peewees, which means he coaches all of his sons except for little Joey, who is still a little too young for the mat.

But he is not too young for a singlet, the stretchy one-piece uniform wrestlers wear. “He already owns a singlet, it’s black with ‘Bowen’ on the back. He can’t walk, but he has a singlet,” Joe said.

At 5, Jacob has already had success on the wrestling mat. Jacob competed in a Pine Tree League tournament in Camden and wrestled his way to a first place finish.

The youngster is very sure what his favorite part of wrestling is.

“Winning!” the 5-year-old exclaimed with a grin.

As the oldest brother, Justin enjoys winning and has his fair share of victories, but he also recognizes that the sport has provided him with a lot more than just trophies and titles.

“I like having the whole family involved. It allows us more time to spend together, and we can all enjoy the sport together,” the senior said.

Wrestling has created many opportunities for freshman Jeremy to form a consistent peer group at the high school, which can be difficult for many students during the transitional year.

“I knew a lot more guys at school because of wrestling,” Jeremy said.

Family matriarch Kathy Bowen notes that the bond between the athletes extends far beyond the practice room mats and the school hallways.

“I frequently come home to find wrestlers at the house because they want to spend a little more time with their teammates,” she said.

Kathy explained with a chuckle that she is delighted her home can be a haven for her sons’ friends. The only drawback is how the grocery bill multiplies when the boys stop by.

Though the Bowens enjoy wrestling together, Joe admits his dedication to the sport and his athletes can take a toll on his marriage.

“She’s a widower for nine months out of the year, but I’m with my boys more than any other dad I know,” Joe said.

Kathy Bowen does not seem to mind that Joe almost spends more time on the mat than he does at home – after all, he is spending it with their children.

“I have a lot of people say to me that we have a crazy schedule. But [Joe] could be doing a lot worse than spending hours of every day with his kids,” Kathy said.