There is no place to hide when competitors step on the wrestling mat for the 31st annual Maine/Nebraska Friendship Series. Mountain Valley will be hosting the second leg of the event in Rumford on Monday at 6 p.m. at Chet Bulger Field in the Hosmer Complex.

The venue will feature several wrestlers from Mountain Valley, Oak Hill and Dirigo.

Site director Eric Austin has recruited an array of talented individuals who have won multiple state championships.

The wrestlers include Griffyn Smith, Bryce Whittemore and Nolan DeGoot of Dirigo; Caleb Austin, Ethan Boucher and Eddie DeRoche of Mountain Valley; Danny Buteau of Oak Hill and Dawson Stevens of Oxford Hills.

Prior to visiting the River Valley, Marshwood will host the 25 wrestlers , followed by Belfast and Skowhegan High School on the fourth leg of the trip. The exchange was created in 1985 and is the longest running exchange between two states in the entire country. 

Smith, who recently graduated, won four state championships (three Class C titles and a Class B crown in February 2016). Smith won 191 career matches. Austin broke the school record for wins, with 153 and joined his father Eric and brother Ian, who also won state championships in 1993 and 2015, respectively.

Buteau won his third straight state championship. Whittemore and Bucher, have each won two state championships and DeGroot was a state finalist as a freshman last February.

The Maine wrestlers have high expectations after the success achieved throughout Nebraska last summer. Smith, Austin, Buteau and Boucher were on the Maine team that won all four dual meets in the Cornhusker state. It was the first time ever in FS history that Maine has completed a sweep. 

Bob Craig of Skowhegan is the Maine team leader.

Foxcroft Academy, 2016 Class B team champion, will be well-represented with Tony Ayala, Zak Caron, Bill and Brandon Brooks and Micheal Prendriss.

The Nebraska group will be treated to camping at Coos Canyon in Bryon. They will also experience hiking up Tumbledown Mountain. The hilly terrain is the exact opposite of the flat Cornhusker state.

In April of 1984, when Wally LaFountain, an official from Winslow attended a National Federation of High School’s rules committee in Kansas City and met Mick Pierce, who coached at Lincoln Southeast High School in Nebraska.

Over 1,200 Maine wrestlers have participated in approximately 1,800 matches. Maine has also wrestled against individuals from Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas. While the wrestling is fierce on the mats, the main purpose is to initiate friendships.

There’s a major difference between the two states regarding the ability to draw the best competition. Nebraska has 210 schools offering wrestling in four classes compared to approximately 60 Maine schools in three classes.

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