AUBURN — The trio that constitutes the Edward Little wrestling team doesn’t have its own home gym and isn’t even technically a team.

Brothers Shawn and Sheldon Bang and Conner Murphy do live under the same roof, though, brought together by similarly nomadic backgrounds and a love of wrestling.

They are also three of the best independent wrestlers in Class A. Sheldon and Murphy qualified for states last year, and Shawn likely would have joined them if not for a serious knee injury.

There are dozens of independent wrestlers across the state. Most practice and compete with nearby teams but have to overcome numerous obstacles to reach their potential.

For the Edward Little kids, not having a team means half-hour rides to and from practice to a school, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, that is normally a rival  (Oxford Hills also hosts three independent wrestlers from Poland Regional High School). It means not being part of the team competition, and even though they consider the Viking coaches and wrestlers a second family, it’s still not the same as being motivated by a common goal.

But Murphy and the Bangs have an advantage over many other independent wrestlers because their teamwork goes beyond the wrestling room.

“It helps a lot for us to all live together because we can give each other uplifting words and help each other out and we can practice wrestling together after our actual practice,” said Sheldon, a sophomore.

 Murphy, now a senior, moved in with the Bangs almost two years ago, adding to a bustling household that already included seven children.

“We met through other friends,” said Shawn, a senior. “He kind of just started coming over more and more often and we just said, ‘You know, you can stay here if you want.”

Murphy and the Bangs have fathers with military backgrounds and lived and wrestled in numerous different locations before coming to Maine. The Bangs, whose father, Steve, wrestled for Brigham Young University, lived in Wisconsin and California prior to moving to Auburn three years ago. Murphy lived on Guam and wrestled there and Japan before his father retired from the Navy.

“It’s a lot different than Maine,” he said. “In Guam, the kids didn’t have as much skill but they were a lot more powerful. Japan was just completely something else. It was wild.”

Shortly after moving to Maine, Murphy was disappointed to learn Edward Little did not have a wrestling team. He looked into starting one, but convincing administrators to find room in a tight budget for the sport was tough. Finding schoolmates who were interested in it was even tougher.

“It’s a tough sport. You’ve got to make weight. You’ve got to have the stamina for six minutes straight. There’s no passing the ball or handoff. It takes a lot of dedication and a lot of self-discipline,” Murphy said.

Murphy found his kindred spirits in the Bangs and, last year, with the help of Edward Little athletic director Dan Deshaies, found their “second home” with Oxford Hills.

All three seemed to be peaking at the right time when Shawn’s season was ended by a freak knee injury. In his first match at the KVAC championships, he completely tore the ACL and partially tore the MCL in his right knee.

“It was really devastating,” he said. “With all of the surgeries and physical therapy, it was very discouraging.”

Sheldon and Murphy both qualified for states by finishing fourth in their respective weight classes at the Eastern A regional. They didn’t place at states, but the experience left them with higher expectations for this year.

“I was just very happy to make it to states last year,” Sheldon said. “After the first year of making it, it became more of a goal to place at states.”

“My goal is to make it all the way, come in first and qualify for New Englands,” said Murphy, who hopes to compete in mixed martial arts after high school. “If I make top three or top four, I’ll be happy with that.”

Sheldon (132 pounds) and Murphy (120 pounds) have already had success at big meets this year, the former finishing third at the Nokomis Warrior Clash and the latter taking fourth at the McDonald’s Invitational.

Shawn (160) is making steady progress back from his injury. The knee is still not back to full strength, and he has had to adjust his wrestling style because his right leg is his dominant leg. But he hasn’t wavered from his goal of making it to the state meet and hopes to continue wrestling in college.

And the trio hasn’t given up hope of making wrestling a viable sport in Auburn, even if it won’t happen until after they have graduated.

“I think it would be great for the community if they started a youth program, and then a middle school and then a high school program,” Shawn said. “We would love to come back and help with that.”

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