‘Tis the season for big, multi-team high school wrestling tournaments around the state, and the early returns were good last weekend for Nokomis of Newport and Foxcroft Academy.
Nokomis, now in Class A under the condensed two-class statewide format approved by the Maine Principals’ Association earlier this year, scored an impressive victory at the Tiger Invitational tournament hosted by Gardiner Area High School.
The Warriors scored 150 points to edge runner-up Sanford by 10 points. Three more Class A schools were next among the 18-team field, with Cony of Augusta (105), Westbrook (95.5) and Portland (71) rounding out the top five.
Coach Scott Preble’s Nokomis squad advanced seven wrestlers to the championship finals, with Josh Brown (113 pounds), Quinton Richards (138), Kolin Fraser (145), Christopher Wilson (195) and Hunter Glidden (285) all winning individual titles, and Jacob Booth (120) and David Wilson (152) secured second-place finishes.
Other individual winners were Noah Dumas (106) and Max Storey (220) of Cony, Calvin Thompson (120) of Monmouth Academy, Peter Del Gallo (126) of Gardiner, Isaac Taylor (132) of Erskine Academy of South China, Zach Elowitch (152) and Clautel Buba (171) of Portland, Josh Smith (160) of York/Traip Academy of Kittery and Brandon Lajoie (182) of Westbrook
At Rumford, Class A Noble of North Berwick captured the 17-school Mountain Valley-Franklin Savings Bank tournament, but the Knights got all they could handle from Class B Foxcroft Academy.
Coach Luis Ayala’s Ponies led entering the consolation semifinals and went on to crown three individual champions and three runners-up as well as getting one third-place effort to finish a close second with 137.5 points, just 3½ points shy of Noble.
Host Mountain Valley placed third with 111 points, with Dirigo of Dixfield (108) and defending Class B state champion Ellsworth (92) rounding out the top five in a field that included six Class A programs.
Foxcroft got individual championships from Breyer Manchester at 106 pounds, Zach Caron at 145 and Brandon Brock at 185.
Manchester pinned Vinny DeRoche of Mountain Valley at 23 seconds of his final, and Caron decisioned DeRoche’s older brother, Eddie DeRoche, 8-4. Brock was awarded a forfeit victory over Seth Padelford in his final.
The Ponies’ Antonio Ayala (126 pounds), Michael Pendriss (220) and Conner Holmes (285) each secured a second-place finish, and teammate R.J. Nelson placed third at 132 pounds after pinning Dirigo’s Colin Woodhead at 3:53 of their consolation final.
Other individual champions were Brendan Bruns (113 pounds) of Belfast; Danny Buteau (120) of Oak Hill of Wales; Austin Shorey (126) and Otto Kiesker (182) of Noble; Caleb Austin (132), Ethan Boucher (138) and Mike Provencher (152), all of Mountain Valley; Trent Goodman (160) of Ellsworth; Robert Hetherman (170) of Mt. Ararat of Topsham; Lucas MacDonald (220) of Dirigo and Michael Darling (285) of Deering of Portland.
The early season wrestling tournaments continue on three fronts Saturday — the Penobscot Valley Holiday Tournament in Howland, the Cony Duals in Augusta and the Atlantic Invitational in Wells.
