jpinsonnault@seacoastonline.com
York High School wrestling coach Wally Caldwell and Zach Handley had a hard decision to make midway through the season.
Either keep Handley competing at the 195-pound weight class and have him compete against Wells' Mike Curtis, a competitor who Handley has had some problems with in the past and who Caldwell calls the "real deal."
Or bump Handley up to 220, compete against heavier kids and have a shot at competing for a state championship.
It looks like the decision they made for Handley to compete at 220 was the right one.
Handley, a junior, won the 220-pound weight class with three pins and on Saturday at the Western Maine Class B championship and earned himself a top seed at Saturday's Class B state championship at Morse High School.
"Zach had a tough time matching up with (Curtis) and it looks like it was a very solid move on our part," Caldwell said. "He (Handley) feels good about it and he's in a good place right now. He hasn't lost in a month and that's what you want, to get a streak going into the state tournament. He has 15 consecutive wins against good opponents and he's going into Saturday with the "I am not going to lose" type of attitude. You have all these great wrestlers at the state tournament, many of these kids are undefeated or have only two or three losses."
Handley is one of six Wildcats who will compete in Saturday's state championship. Josh Smith (145 pounds) and Andrew Boisvert (152) each placed second at the regional championship, while Connor Elsemore (160) finished third and John Mackaman (106) and Mark Slusher (182) each placed fourth. The top four in each weight class qualified for the state tournament.
Senior Cody Spicer who advanced to the Mid-State league championship a week prior, was injured and didn't compete at the regional and his season is over.
The Wildcats. after placing second at the Mid-State league championship, placed fifth as a team with 90 points, trailing Mountain Valley, Wells, Fryeburg Academy and Erskine Academy.
"We were coming off a really good showing last week," Caldwell said. "We weren't quite there today. It's great to have six kids moving on to states though."
The top four in each weight class at Saturday's Class B state championship will advance to next Thursday's New England qualifier at Nokomis. All three classes in Maine will send their top four in each weight class and the top three will advance to the New England championships in Providence, R.I. on March 8-9.
Caldwell said Boisvert, at 152 pounds, had a "great day" at the regional.
"He placed second and lost to the top seed from Morse, 3-1 in the finals," Caldwell said. "He was phenomenal, it was a great match in the finals. He didn't make many mistakes. The kid he was competing against was very, very tough. He'll take into this weekend a real positive. Yes, he lost, but you can lose in this sport and still get something from it and I think Andrew did. We'll see what happens."