Lisbon’s Derek Giusto continues to take Class C by storm.
By Bob McPhee
Staff Writer

LISBON FALLS – For the past three seasons, Derek Giusto has proven to be a force in Class C wrestling.

The Lisbon High School standout hit the mat running as a freshman and refuses to let up. Giusto has won two Mid-State Championships and three regional championships and is a two-time state champion. The Greyhound wrestler was a finalist his freshman season and is on course to be a four-time state finalist.

When he looks back at his performances, Giusto points out the 2001 state finals at the Augusta Civic Center as his personal Waterloo.

“I was pinned by Kyle Perkins of Bucksport,” Giusto said. “The hard thing about it was that I was leading 8-0. It’s something that I will always remember because I would have had an opportunity to be a four-time state champion.”

Despite that slight set back, Giusto continues to wage havoc with his aggressive style on the mat.

“Being an aggressive wrestler is always a positive thing,” Giusto said. “You are the first one to get a takedown and you are the one who is controlling the match.”

Giusto (135) has had to be adaptable because each match creates different situations.

“Derek is a great analyst,” Lisbon coach Mark Stevens said. “He really studies what an opponent has or hasn’t done during previous matches. This allows Derek to develop a game plan and he’s very methodical in the way he approaches things. Based on that, I’d have to say that Derek is the smartest wrestler that I’ve ever coached.”

A prime example of this occurred on three-straight Saturdays against former Monmouth wrestler Ryan Audet. Each match was extremely competitive and the outcome could have gone either way. But Giusto had predetermined that leg rides would be the most effective counter against Aubet.

Giusto has a 93-10 career record and will join B.J. Hamm, Joe Schreiber and Will Vice who each past the elusive century mark in the past two years. Last season, Giusto compiled over 30 wins and his four losses were against wrestlers from out of state.

Lisbon has earned a great deal of success by winning regional and state meets. This year’s team returns several veterans, including defending state champion Nate Hix (130) and 2002 state champion Troy Clark (140). A strong supporting cast will be Charlie Stambach (112), Tim Swell (119), Justin Cornell 125, Mitch Harmon (145) and Josh Dubois (152).

“Every year it seems as if it is impossible for us to win with all the byes that we get at Mid-States,” Giusto said. “Last year we placed all of our wrestlers in the top 3 and we still lost. To me the MSL isn’t the most important because even with the great teams we’ve had in the past it seems almost impossible to win.”

Lisbon will definitely be out to win the MSL, but a highly competitive schedule features four tournaments through out the regular season.

“We have the experience and the depth to win states again this year,” Giusto said. “But we do have a couple of gaps in the upper weights, which will hurt us at some of the major tournaments. We’ve recruited (Eligh Tefts) at heavyweight.”

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