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NORTH BERWICK, Maine — With less than a month to go before regionals, Wednesday was a good measuring stick for two-time defending Class A state champion Marshwood High school and rival Noble to see how they stacked up.
The Hawks stacked up pretty well, beating their North Berwick rivals, 45-18.
It was a dual meet that left the Knights wondering what might have been. They forfeited one weight class (106 pounds), and lost two other matches after leading most of the way.
“We made some mistakes and we’ll work on those mistakes at practice,” said veteran Noble coach Kip DeVoll, who was honored before the meet for recently winning his 500th dual meet as a coach. “We had some chances to win a couple of matches that we didn’t. That’s something we’ll learn from.”
Leading 27-18, Marshwood closed out the meet with four straight wins, including pins in the final two matches by Cody Hughes at 170 pounds and Justin Stacy at 182.
The best match of the day came at 160, where Marshwood’s Jackson Howarth rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Noble’s Joe Grenier, 4-3 — avenging a loss to Grenier at the Spartan Invitational in Sanford earlier this month. Howarth’s takedown with 25 seconds to go turned Grenier’s then tenuous 3-2 lead into a shocking 4-3 win.
“Grenier keeps moving on his feet,” said Marshwood coach Matt Rix. “There aren’t many people Jackson can’t take down, but Grenier keeps moving and bobbing and weaving. It didn’t look good.”
Howarth was a little surprised he was able to pull off the win that late in the match.
“I was holding on as tight as I could, making sure not to let him go, not to let him stand up and give him another chance to take me down,” Howarth said. “I got a body lock and I got behind and dropped him back to the mat and got my two and that was the end of it.”
At 126 pounds, Marshwood’s Killian Murphy beat Noble’s Josh Grenier, 19-15. But Grenier actually led 11-4 in the second period until a late Murphy flurry tied the score at 12-all heading into the third period.
“He’s a goer,” said Rix of Murphy. “You’re out there for six minutes and to be down that far and to not give up, says a lot about his character.”
Marshwood’s wins came from Brett Gerry (195) with a pin at 2:24; freshman Zach Eastman surprising Noble’s Robert Worell at 220, 11-9. Worell was on the verge of pinning Eastman as time ran out.
In a furious match of top-flight freshman at 113, Marshwood’s Brad Beaulieu edged Noble’s Austin Shorey, 3-1.
Marshwood’s Sam Hebert (138), Hughes (170) and Stacy (182) all won by pin, while Shamus McManus (152) beat Noble’s Chris Ziadeh, 5-0.
Noble’s four wins came from Jake Zenga (285) with a pin at 46 seconds; Bill Gagner (120) with a 5-0 decision over Marshwood’s Josh Marks; Otto Keisker (145) pin at 32 seconds, and Bailey Coull (132) a 7-4 win over Marshwood’s Eric Glidden.
“They pushed the pace and we sat back trying to stall out the last minute and a half,” said Noble’s Gagner. “We made mistakes that they didn’t make because they were going. That’s one thing we have to work on in practice and that is to keep going.”
Gagner added: “Marshwood’s gotten a little bit more intimidating. They carry that name that we used to carry. We’re working on getting our name back there. Today we were with them most of the way. You see a couple of matches that could have gone either way. Maybe they should have gone our way. We’re right in it if we get those points.”
Marshwood wrestles in Essex Junction, Vt., this weekend, while Noble is at the Southern Maine Invitational.
The Hawks stacked up pretty well, beating their North Berwick rivals, 45-18.
It was a dual meet that left the Knights wondering what might have been. They forfeited one weight class (106 pounds), and lost two other matches after leading most of the way.
“We made some mistakes and we’ll work on those mistakes at practice,” said veteran Noble coach Kip DeVoll, who was honored before the meet for recently winning his 500th dual meet as a coach. “We had some chances to win a couple of matches that we didn’t. That’s something we’ll learn from.”
Leading 27-18, Marshwood closed out the meet with four straight wins, including pins in the final two matches by Cody Hughes at 170 pounds and Justin Stacy at 182.
The best match of the day came at 160, where Marshwood’s Jackson Howarth rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Noble’s Joe Grenier, 4-3 — avenging a loss to Grenier at the Spartan Invitational in Sanford earlier this month. Howarth’s takedown with 25 seconds to go turned Grenier’s then tenuous 3-2 lead into a shocking 4-3 win.
Whaley/Democrat photo Noble's Otto Keisker, top, is on his way to pinning Marshwood's Owen Foye at 145 pounds during Wednesday's Western Maine Class A dual meet in North Berwick.
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Howarth was a little surprised he was able to pull off the win that late in the match.
“I was holding on as tight as I could, making sure not to let him go, not to let him stand up and give him another chance to take me down,” Howarth said. “I got a body lock and I got behind and dropped him back to the mat and got my two and that was the end of it.”
At 126 pounds, Marshwood’s Killian Murphy beat Noble’s Josh Grenier, 19-15. But Grenier actually led 11-4 in the second period until a late Murphy flurry tied the score at 12-all heading into the third period.
“He’s a goer,” said Rix of Murphy. “You’re out there for six minutes and to be down that far and to not give up, says a lot about his character.”
Marshwood’s wins came from Brett Gerry (195) with a pin at 2:24; freshman Zach Eastman surprising Noble’s Robert Worell at 220, 11-9. Worell was on the verge of pinning Eastman as time ran out.
In a furious match of top-flight freshman at 113, Marshwood’s Brad Beaulieu edged Noble’s Austin Shorey, 3-1.
Marshwood’s Sam Hebert (138), Hughes (170) and Stacy (182) all won by pin, while Shamus McManus (152) beat Noble’s Chris Ziadeh, 5-0.
Noble’s four wins came from Jake Zenga (285) with a pin at 46 seconds; Bill Gagner (120) with a 5-0 decision over Marshwood’s Josh Marks; Otto Keisker (145) pin at 32 seconds, and Bailey Coull (132) a 7-4 win over Marshwood’s Eric Glidden.
“They pushed the pace and we sat back trying to stall out the last minute and a half,” said Noble’s Gagner. “We made mistakes that they didn’t make because they were going. That’s one thing we have to work on in practice and that is to keep going.”
Gagner added: “Marshwood’s gotten a little bit more intimidating. They carry that name that we used to carry. We’re working on getting our name back there. Today we were with them most of the way. You see a couple of matches that could have gone either way. Maybe they should have gone our way. We’re right in it if we get those points.”
Marshwood wrestles in Essex Junction, Vt., this weekend, while Noble is at the Southern Maine Invitational.