5 minute read
Finding the Right Fit at Castleton
When Max Tempel graduated high school, he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do. He had been recruited by Spartan head coach Scott Legacy to join the first-year wrestling program for the 2016-17 season, but Tempel felt unsure about his future as a wrestler after a grueling high school career and decided to stick close to his home town of Averill Park, New York.
His college days started at Siena College, but he quickly realized that it wasn’t a good fit for him, so he transferred to Hudson Valley Community College to finish out his freshman year.
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“Sometimes it’s tough to really know what you want at 18 years old,” Tempel said. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be, so I ended up going to Siena for a semester because it was close to home. I got about halfway through the fall semester and looked at myself in the mirror and really felt like I wasn’t in the right place.”
At that point in time, Tempel had the itch to continue his wrestling career in college and began to train once more for the sport he loved so much. Word got around to Coach Legacy, and the Spartan head coach reached out to Tempel to let him know that there was still a spot on the roster for him if he was interested. That gesture meant a lot to Tempel, proving the character of Coach Legacy and the program he was working to build.
Max Tempel
“I really liked Coach Legacy and the coaching staff at Castleton out of high school, but I just decided at that time to not continue with wrestling and I think I regretted that a little bit,” Tempel added. “For me, it meant a lot when Coach Legacy reached back out because he didn’t forget about me, and I knew that they did a lot of really impressive things in that first year as a program. Castleton felt like the right fit the year before, but I just wasn’t ready to wrestle at the time.”
Tempel’s decision to choose Castleton was reinforced immediately, as he set a program single-season record with 46 victories in his first year on the mat to earn a spot on the NEWA All-Rookie Team. He followed the impressive debut season up with 33 wins in each of his next two seasons, giving him 112 wins through just three years — second most in program history. Tempel added six more wins in his senior season in 2021, going a perfect 6-0 during a COVID-shortened season to put his career mark at 118-29.
Beyond accumulating victories on the mat, Tempel was a three-time all-region honoree and is one of just three wrestlers in program history to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships. He was also named to the New England Wrestling Association’s All-Conference Teams three times. Despite all the accolades, Tempel was hopeful that he would have one last shot in 2021 to reach his goals on the national stage. That hope was taken away with the cancellation of the NCAA championships and the news that Castleton would not be able to travel to the alternative event put on by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
“I knew that things with this season were going to be tough, but I always remained hopeful that it was going to work out,” he said. “I worked really hard in preparation, and it was tough to hear [that we couldn’t go] knowing that I put in all the time and I wasn’t going to get a chance to go out one more time and try and reach some of those goals that I’ve had since I was a little kid.”
After some time to reflect, Tempel has come to terms with the way the 2021 season came to a conclusion.
“I’ve realized now that sometimes you’re not always going to get that storybook ending that you wanted,” he said. “I don’t regret a second of my preparation or my training because I know that it’s shaped me into who I am, mentally and physically. Even if I never get to be called an All-American or a National Champion, I know I’m going to be able to take a lot away from my career.”
Max Tempel
Tempel’s accolades become more impressive when you realize how involved he was off the mat. He was a three-time member of the NEWA All-Academic Team and a threetime NWCA Scholar All-American. He was also named to the Dean’s List five times. In his first semester at Castleton, he joined the Student Government Association as the SGA secretary before later being named the SGA vice president of academics. Tempel was also a community advisor on campus, earning the SGA Community Advisor Award in 2020 for his devotion to his role. He also received the Student Life University Service Award, given annually to students who have made outstanding contributions to Castleton through their participation in various extracurricular activities.
In his senior season in 2021, Tempel worked full-time remotely as an associate financial representative for Northwestern Mutual while simultaneously balancing coursework in Castleton’s MBA program and his wrestling schedule. He landed the job after a mentoring program put together by Coach Legacy connected him with a former collegiate wrestler and current Wealth Management advisor, Matthew Herrington. Tempel took an internship under Herrington in 2019 and performed so well that Herrington offered him full-time employment upon graduation.
Tempel has one more season of eligibility left after the NCAA granted a blanket waiver for student-athletes due to the impact of COVID-19. While he hasn’t committed to using that season of eligibility, he also hasn’t committed to hanging up his singlet quite yet. Regardless of whether Tempel exercises his final year of eligibility on the mat, he is thankful for his time at Castleton and cherishes the opportunities that he had both as a wrestler and as a student.
“Castleton is a really great place,” he said. “The people make the difference here. I’m really grateful that I got to spend some time in my life here and I’ll never forget it. Not only am I thankful for the wrestling program that got me here, but I’m thankful for all the people that I met along the way.”
