The wrestling room at Marshwood High School will be officially named after the school’s former wrestling coach who became a legend across the state.
The RSU35 Board of Directors agreed at its recent meeting to name the room after Matt Rix, a 1982 graduate of the school whose record as coach from 1985 to 2018 included 624 wins to 129 losses and a legacy of championship titles for his team.
But more important than these successes was the way Rix brought together a variety of students in a safe and supportive space, said Superintendent John Caverly, who proposed the room naming to the board.
“He was the person, the best I’ve seen at [bringing together] a group of kids that have nothing in common – a kid who will win 200 matches and a kid who will never win a match, and creating a community and culture for these kids,” said Caverly, as he apologized for getting emotional. “He was just a game changer.”
A ceremony coordinated by Athletic Director Rich Buzzell will be held to honor Rix and to officially rename the room, Caverly said.
Coincidentally, district Facilities Coordinator Todd Hughes, a 1990 Marshwood graduate who was the school’s first state wrestling champion and later became an assistant coach under Rix, was standing by as the school board agreed to the new room name.
Caverly read off a long list of Rix’s accomplishments, including six Class A state team titles; four Class B state team titles; 13 regional titles; 85 individual state champions; 21 New England place finishers; and five national All-Americans.
Rix was named Coach of the Year for Maine 10 times by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, was inducted into the Maine Wrestling Hall of Fame, was twice named Coach of the Year by the Maine Wrestling Association, and was Maine state chairman for USA Wrestling for 18 years.
In further accomplishments at Marshwood, he established and coached the Marshwood Youth Program, the Marshwood Jr. High Program; the Eliot/South Berwick Wrestling Association, and the Southern Maine Trappers Wrestling Club. He established and ran the Marshwood New England Youth Classic for 30 years.
