Dirigo High School is excited to announce the hiring of Coach Josh Thornton as our new Head Wrestling Coach.
Coach Thornton brings an outstanding background as both a wrestler and coach. A graduate of Mountain Valley High School, he was a three-time regional champion, two-time individual state champion, and two-time First Team All-State selection. He also served as captain of Mountain Valley’s 2011 Class B State Championship team, which produced seven state finalists and five individual state champions.
Following high school, Coach Thornton continued his wrestling career at Plymouth State University before transferring to the University of Maine. During his collegiate career, he earned All-New England and All-Conference honors while completing his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education.
Coach Thornton has remained deeply involved in the sport through coaching. As an assistant coach at Mountain Valley, he has helped develop multiple individual state champions. He also served on the coaching staff at the University of Maine, where he helped coach multiple national qualifiers and All-Americans.
Outside of wrestling, Coach Thornton is a third-grade teacher at Mountain Valley Community School. He and his wife are looking forward to welcoming their first daughter later this month.
We are excited to welcome Coach Thornton to the Dirigo community and look forward to the leadership, passion, and commitment he will bring to our wrestling program. Please join us in welcoming Coach Thornton to Cougar Nation!