Like brother, like brother: Max LoRusso joins brother Sam in 100-win wrestling club

By Dom Nicastro

Another LoRusso wrestler out of Saugus.

Another 100 wins.

Max LoRusso, senior captain on the Saugus/Peabody cooperative high school boys wrestling team, nabbed win No. 100 earlier this season. He’s 9-0 after nine dual-meet matches and is surging toward a terrific finish to his career — just like older brother Sam did last year.

“Reaching 100 wins is a great milestone and shows the amount of time and dedication you’ve put into the sport,” Saugus’ LoRusso said. “To me, it’s a symbol of all the hard work I’ve put in, but I always strive for more.”

Ironically, LoRusso’s technical 100th victory came via forfeit. Personally, though, he wanted the real deal so he considered a victory at the Bruce Rich Invitational in Chelmsford his actual induction into the Century Club, joining older brother and former teammate Chase Ledbury, also of Saugus and now wrestling at Trinity College.

Speaking of real deal, that’s all Max LoRusso has been in his career with Saugus/Peabody.

He now wrestles at 144, but his eighth-grade year he started at 113, which he continued into freshman year. As a sophomore, he bumped up to 126 and last year checked in at 138 pounds.

This year? He’s got his eyes on qualifying for New England’s, which he will earn with strong placements at regional and state meets in Massachusetts. Brother Sam finished top eight in New England’s and was fourth in Division 1 states and fourth in the All-States.

Sam said his younger brother has also gotten by meaner, stronger, bigger and added a lot of muscle this season on the mat.

“Max’s strengths are consistency and toughness,” older brother Sam said. “He absolutely hates strength and conditioning and does not enjoy lifting weights, but he will never miss a workout. He’s mentally tough, and me and him wrestle all the time anywhere anytime. He’s always down for a scrap, and he’s a really good tactician. He’s shown the most growth in his wrestling IQ. … Max has a lot of opportunity this year and can make top five in New England.”

Max may debate those conditioning and weight-training comments from older brother.  However, one thing he doesn’t sugar-coat: wrestling takes some intense sacrifices to get to the highest of levels.

“Wrestling is easily the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Max said, “and it makes all other aspects of life much easier. It gives you outstanding discipline mentality and physical shape. Wrestling has taught me that suffering is good for growth and how to deal with the highs and lows of life as in wrestling when you win it’s the best feeling ever, but when you lose it’s one of the ultimate feelings of defeat.”

The good news: Max doesn’t lose a lot.

He has a career winning percentage of around .751 (106-25) and has won big tournaments like the Sons of Italy and Cape Ann League/Northeastern Conference. He was sixth at the Division 1 sectionals.

Max credits a lot of his success to having teammates who motivate him — and of course, his brother, whom Max said he had to get 100 since Sam did (“that’s how competitive we are,” Max said.)

Saugus/Peabody has been one of the top winning programs on the North Shore the past few seasons. It helps to be surrounded by motivated, successful teammates.

“Saugus/Peabody wrestling gets better and better every year, and I’ve been blessed to have great teammates and great drilling partners this year,” Max said. “My drill partner has mainly been Mike Maraio (of Peabody) who’s captain with me. We always push each other to be the best wrestlers we can. And during live wrestling, me, Lukas Fondulis (of Saugus), Maraio and Justin Bremberg (of Saugus) usually always go with each other, and we always wrestle as hard as we can to make each other better.”

Max also noted the support from his family, especially from parents Kelly and Vincent, Uncle Tony and grandparents Sandy and Vinny and his brother, plus all his coaches have played a big part in getting him to where he is today.

Wrestling is year-round for him, but Max does find free time to hang out with his brother and friends for hikes, beach runs, and, not shockingly, some playful boxing. Over the summer, he’s had a gig at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site.

“I’m prideful to carry on the wrestling legacy because not only is it the greatest sport in the world, but it’s the hardest sport, too,” Max said. “Your wins and losses are a complete reflection of how hard you work, and no one can help you but yourself on the mat; it’s just you and the other guy, and you’re both trying your absolute hardest to break each other.”

Usually, it’s Max ending up on the right side of that “break.”

“I love wrestling so it’s hard to find a part of it that’s ‘tough’ because training in the room when you and your partner are beating each other up is considered ‘hard,’ but I love that part of wrestling,” he said. “Going on the mat and battling six minutes with a kid trying to rip your head off is ‘tough,’ but I love that too. I think I overcome most of the ‘tough’ of wrestling just by loving the sport.”