In his first season as a collegiate wrestler Matt Waite was nothing short of spectacular. The 6’3 197 pound sophomore from Canton, Maine dominated the league, and compiled a 20-2 record. Waite is currently ranked third in New England in his weight class.
The Huskies finished a disappointing 2-12 on the season, but that never hurt Waite’s commitment to excellence.
“He’s determined and he believes in himself. He wants to be the best,” said Head Coach Joe Pistone. Being the best is nothing new to Waite. He led Mt. Blue High School to three state wrestling championships, but don’t expect to hear him boasting of his success. “He’s very humble and he’s exactly what you want in an athlete, ” said Pistone.
Waite officially began wrestling in elementary school, but he learned how to wrestle even earlier. “I used to wrestle with my brothers around the house all the time, until finally my parents decided I should wrestle,” said Waite.
Waite is a criminology major, and admitted that it’s hard to find time for both wrestling and academics. “It’s been really tough. I don’t have time for anything else,” said Waite. In addition to practice everyday, Matt lifts weights and runs at least four miles a day. Waite says that college wrestling is more demanding than high school wrestling.
“You need strength, speed and heart. Being mentally strong is important too. I try to break my opponents down mentally,” said Waite.
Coach Pistone believes Waite’s hard work and dedication is rubbing off on his teammates. “It sparks success in the room. His hard work inspires others to work hard,” said Pistone.
Another Husky wrestler that works hard is junior Phil Hamilton. Hamilton, from Skowhegan, wrestled in the 184- pound class and finished 17-13 on the season. “He’s one of the toughest wrestlers in New England for his weight class,” said Pistone.
Hamilton’s record could have been even better. He lost a couple hard fought overtime matches to nationally ranked wrestlers. However, Hamilton did manage to finish third place at the Plymouth State Invitational in the 184 pound class. Hamilton routinely wrestles Matt Waite in practice. “Wrestling with Matt each day probably makes both of them better wrestlers. Phil knows what he can do and is starting to turn corners in his career,” said Pistone.
The Huskies finished 2-12 for the regular season. However, the team made an excellent showing at the New England College Wrestling Association Championships. Chris Rispoli took fifth place in the 133- pound weight class. Phil Hamilton, Matt Waite and Jake Stoddard all finished sixth in their weight classes.
One of the issues that plagued the team, which featured seven freshman this season, was inexperience. However, the team’s poor record does not reflect the effort put forth by the team. The Huskies lost three meets by a total of four points. “We lost one and two point meets to top teams. Our inexperience probably cost us some matches, ” said Pistone.
Another issue that hurts the wrestling team is recruiting. “It’s hard to get good wrestlers from other states to come to Maine when we can’t offer them scholarships, ” said Pistone. However, Pistone thinks this may change because he knows some people involved with wrestling in other states and hopes that wrestlers from out of state will start coming to USM. In fact, a top wrestler from New York is coming in next season.
Pistone has a great bunch of wresters on the team. Four of them, including Matt Waite work with Coach Pistone to help mentally challenged adults at the Lutheran Community Services in Portland. “These kids are giving back to the community. They’re putting smiles on people’s faces,” said Pistone.
Kevin Moran can be contacted at [email protected]