Former Kennebunk and Wells Athletic Director Marty Ryan was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame during the New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships held in Providence last weekend. PAT McDONALD/Journal Tribune
Ryan was the athletic director at Wells High School for 21 years and then held the same position at Kennebunk High School for nine years before retiring in 2009.
His work with high school athletics in Maine has not been limited to his roles with the Warriors and Rams as Ryan has been the Executive Director of the Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association for 30 years.
Ryan has also been a fixture in the sport of wrestling in Maine as he has been a regional and state meet director for many years — and helped implement the New England Qualifier tournament back in 2014.
The New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame certainly took notice of Ryan’s work with the sport in Maine as he was selected as a member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018.
Ryan took some time to talk with me after the Hall of Fame induction which was held prior to the New England finals at the Providence Career and Technical Academy last Saturday night.
Here is the complete interview:
PM: What does being inducted into this hall of fame mean to you?
MR: It’s really an honor. It’s a real honor to be recognized for the work we’ve done for a long time in Maine. I realize that (making a) hall of fame comes with longevity, but I respect that a great deal. It’s been a love of mine to be managing wrestling tournaments (in Maine).
PM: What do you remember from your days as Athletic Director for Kennebunk and Wells?
MR: It was a great experience at both schools. They were different positions. At Wells High School I was both student activities and athletic director. At Kennebunk, I was straight athletics, which was something I wanted to do with my career before I retired. It was a good experience at both places.
PM: What is it like seeing the Maine wrestlers competing and winning medals at New Englands?
MR: I’m very happy. I was an advocate for the (New England Qualifer) that we ran (two weeks ago). We are making some progress with wrestling as a sport in the state of Maine and we hope to continue to (grow).
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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