ELLSWORTH, Maine — Conference championship meets aren’t directly related to the pursuit of a state title in Maine high school wrestling.
But Foxcroft Academy hopes any momentum gained from its victory at Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference meet at Katsiaficas Gymnasium will be additional fuel for the Ponies’ quest for their first state championship in three years that continues at next weekend’s Class B North competition in Winslow.
“A lot of it is just preparation,” said undefeated Foxcroft 145-pounder Zach Caron. “The majority of teams here we’re going to see at regionals and at states. A lot of the guys here you’re going to see in the state finals so a lot of it is preparation and another chance to figure out what works against an opponent and what doesn’t and what you need to improve on for each match.”
Caron was one of five Foxcroft wrestlers to win individual championships and one of 10 Ponies to score top-three finishes in their weight classes as coach Luis Ayala’s club totaled 171 points to defeat runner-up and defending Class B state champion Ellsworth, which finished with 146.
Dexter was third in the 15-school event with 124 points, followed by Bucksport (69.5) and fifth-place Piscataquis of Guilford (61).
Perhaps no one gained more momentum from the conference meet than Foxcroft Academy senior Antonio Ayala.
Finally freed from a face mask he had used throughout the winter to protect a broken nose, Ayala scored a 6-3 decision over Ellsworth’s Logan Lord in the 126-pound final to avenge three earlier losses this season.
“It was tough with the mask,” said Ayala. “People would shoot on me and I had no idea where they were going. I had no peripheral vision, it felt very enclosed. It was not fun.”
The clear-visioned Ayala used his takedown skills to build a 6-2 lead by the end of the first period and then relied on strong defense to prevent Lord from making a comeback in one of three championship finals matching Foxcroft and Ellsworth wrestlers.
“I’m very strong on my takedowns,” said Ayala, son of the Foxcroft coach, “so the game plan was to take him down and let him up and take him down and let him up, and if I got back points to ride him there. But I wasn’t going to do anything crazy or silly and it all worked out in the end.”
Caron improved his record this winter to 42-0 by pinning his two opponents on the day, including a second-round stoppage of Ellsworth’s Josh Wright in the 145-pound final.
“We’ve wrestled two times this season,” said Caron, a two-time defending individual state champion. “I won both, but they were definitely close matches that could go either way.”
Ellsworth’s Trent Goodman won the third head-to-head final with Foxcroft, scoring a 10-0 major decision over Billy Brock at 182 pounds.
But Foxcroft — despite missing injured 285-pound competitor Connor Holmes — had too much depth, winning both of its third-place matches and going 5-3 in championship-round bouts to expand what was just a 133-129 lead over Ellsworth heading into the consolation finals.
Other individual champions for the Ponies were R.J. Nelson at 132 pounds, Brandon Brock (195) and Michael Pendriss (220). Joining Billy Brock with second-place finishes were Brandon Weston (106) and Dustin Simmons (152) while Cameron Cookson (120) and Conner Johnson (138) each won his third-place match.
Ellsworth, which had defending state champion Connor Petros sidelined by injury, split its six championship finals. The Eagles got additional victories from Peyton Cole (138 pounds) and Austin Smith (170) and another second from Andrew Brown at 160.
Jacob Hesseltine led Dexter by pinning Brown at 3:29 of their 160-pound final, with the Tigers also getting seconds from Tyler Beem (132), Isaiah Hesseltine (138), Bryce Sweet (170) and Tanner Hall (285).
Bucksport crowned two individual champions in Foster Ashmore at 113 pounds and Brody Boynton at 152, while Piscataquis went 4-1 in its consolation finals with Ethan Moulton (113), Zach Wilson (145), Ethan Cooley (160) and Matthew Griffith (170) all placing third and Mitchell Nuite (182) finishing fourth.
Penobscot Valley of Howland won the smallest and largest weight classes, with Codi Sirois winning at 106 pounds and Richard Woodward earning the 285-pound crown.
Daegan Eastman of Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln was the 120-pound champion.
