Senior Trey Burnham, an active outdoorsman and competitive athlete.

Burnham competes in wrestling along with enjoying hunting, fishing, and lobstering.

Alex Chase, Staff Writer

He’s a long time wrestler who excels not only on the mats of Biddeford High School but the environments of Maine’s coastline as well.

Raised in a family that spends most of their free time outside, Trey Burnham explores the woods pursuing his passion avidly hunting deer, turkey, duck and even geese. “I expect to hunt for the rest of my life,”  said Burnham. “I have been since I was ten.” When he is not outside, his focus shifts to his love for wrestling. Burnham is currently in the top two of his weight class as a senior and is confident he will go beyond that.

Burnham’s father and grandparents introduced him to hunting and also fishing at an early age. His happiest memory he recalls is the day he shot his very first deer, a 135 pound four point buck. But that’s not all he’s accomplished.

“About two years ago I shot two turkeys with one shot,” said Burnham. “I hunt almost everything but turkey and duck are my favorite because there’s a lot of shooting and the thrill you get when you hit the call and hear them call back is so intense.”

Burnham also spends his downtime out on the water lobstering with his brother Chris. He loves it because there is never a dull moment, it takes a lot of hard work. Not everything goes as smoothly as planned while out on the open water however. Last summer Burnham and his brother faced a close call while trying to pull a trap up.

“We were in the Portland Harbor,” said Burnham. “A trap was hung down and we kept trying to pull it up and the boat was tipping. After a little while we had to let it go and check when the tide changed.”

A hung down trap creates a situation of distress for the lobstermen. Not much can be done to help the problem besides remaining calm and letting the water do it’s thing.

“It was pretty scary,” said Burnham. “It’s happened multiple times but we just left and checked it next time.”

Waiting for the right time to take a shot in the woods or when to pull his lobster trap up takes great patience. Patience is also key while on the wrestling mats in order to know when to pin the competitor. Burnham’s perseverance is an important skill that he relies on as a wrestler for BHS. Maintaining a certain weight is essential in being successful and something he works hard at.

“I weighed 210 and dropped to 195 in a week,” said Burnham. “Now I’m in the top two of my weight class.”

Competitions began for Burnham at the age of 11. His current goal is to go even further than he did his junior year.

“I placed at states as a junior,” said Burnham. “I expect to go higher this year. I think I’m going to win it.”

Burnham thrives on success and thrill. Many people may argue that hunting is boring and time consuming, Burnham sees it in another perspective.

“It does get boring out there,” said Burnham “But there’s nothing like it when you’re sitting there in the morning watching the sun come up and see the different animals in the woods.”

Burnham solidified memories that he will never forget and a bond with his family that will last a lifetime. As wrestling will come to an end when he graduates, he will spend his time in the woods waiting for his next big game kill for as long as he can.