By Mike Whaley
Foster's Daily Democrat
Mike Whaley/foster’s daily democrat Marshwood High School’s
Bradley Beaulieu (top) outdueled Noble’s Austin Shorey for the 113-pound state
title during the Class A championship Saturday in North Berwick, Maine.
NORTH BERWICK, Maine — Marshwood High School's Class A wrestling three-peat was pretty much what everyone expected Saturday at Noble High School.
What Marshwood senior Shamus McManus accomplished, well, nobody expected that — not even McManus. A junior-varsity wrestler last year and a runner-up last week at the regional by a pin 42 seconds into the final, McManus was just hoping to take fourth at the state meet. Instead he went 3-0 at 145 pounds, winning his final two matches with dramatic come-from-behind wins.
McManus beat Eastern champ Kaleb Brown of Skowhegan in the semis, 7-6, after trailing 5-0. In the final vs. Massabesic's Zac Richard, he overcame a 3-1 deficit to score an emotional 5-3 win in overtime. McManus was named the meet's most outstanding wrestler.
"I kept working and the opportunities to score were there," McManus said. "I took them."
McManus said he didn't remember much of the overtime.
"I went in for a leg shot, we kind of scrambled around a bit and I then ended up on top," McManus said. "It was kind of surreal."
It was the first tournament win for the senior.
"They were joking earlier in the locker room, Shamus and Richard," Marshwood coach Matt Rix said. "'You beat Brown (said Richards) but I hope you're going to be happy with second.' He wasn't happy with second."
Pretty happy with first though, as were the Hawks.
Marshwood dominated the meet with five state champs and placed 10 of the 12 wrestlers it sent in the top four. The Hawks had 179 points. Massabesic was a distant second with 127, Skowhegan was third (117.5) and Noble was a disappointing fourth with 84.5.
Marshwood's four other champs were freshman Bradley Beaulieu (113), and the standout junior trio of Jackson Howarth (152), Cody Hughes (160) and Brett Gerry (182) — all state champs in 2013.
The Hawks received surprise seconds from Josh Marks (120) and Eric Glidden (126). Killian Murphy (132) and Sam Hebert (138) were third and Darren LaPointe (106) was fourth.
Marks was able to advance via injury default when Western No. 1, Noble senior Billy Gagner, dislocated his elbow early in the match, while Glidden upset the Eastern No. 1 with a pin in overtime.
For Noble, Austin Shorey (113), Joseph Grenier (152) and Robert Worell (195) were each second. Joshua Grenier (126) took third, and Otto Keisker (145) was fourth.
Marshwood had a healthy lead going into the consolation and championship finals, which ran simultaneously on two separate mats to move the meet along in the early evening. That took some of the pressure off, knowing the championship was in hand regardless of how each wrestler did.
"Now you don't have to force anything," Rix said. "You can just go out and get the job done."
Two other key matches were rivalry battles between freshman Beaulieu and Noble's Shorey at 113, and Howarth and Noble's Joseph Grenier at 152. Beaulieu beat Shorey for the third time, 3-0, finally scoring in the third period with a takedown for his first points after it had been scoreless through two.
"Takedown," coach Rix said. "Whoever gets a takedown is usually going to win. That's a scenario going through both their minds: 'I need to get a takedown.'"
Howarth was able to turn a 2-2 match in the third to his advantage with two takedowns to win, 7-4. He is 3-1 against Grenier, having won the previous two matches by one point each, 2-1 and 4-3. The loss is Howarth's only one this season.
"Once I got my first takedown, I knew he was wrestling to catch back up and he made mistakes and that's when I capitalized on them," Howarth said.
Hughes stayed undefeated with three wins, two by pin, and is now 46-0. He pinned Skowhegan's Logan Stevens in the final in 1:06.
"He did what we expected him to do," Rix said. "We try to get him to pin his way through, to maximize his amount points. Cody's looking to the New Englands."
Brett Gerry was also dominant, controlling Skowhegan's Mikal Federici, 7-0, in the 182 final. He led 2-0 after the first period and 5-0 after two. Gerry won his previous two matches by pin (1:00) and major decision, 15-2.
Things did not go well for Noble, which was runner-up at the regional meet the previous Saturday in Sanford.
"We had some tough matches that we lost and were close," said Noble coach Kip DeVoll. "We didn't wrestle well today overall. It happens. We've been on the other end of it before, too. When things are going good, everything else seems to go good. It is what it is. Marshwood, they're tough to beat. They're where we were. So we're chasing."