Dir Wrestling, 4 teams

By Bob McPhee

DIXFIELD-A common theme in any competition is to never underestimate an opponent because there could be dire straits and Bryce  Whittemore almost experienced exactly how hollow the feeling can be, however, the Dirigo wrestler refocused in order to persevere.

The rest of the Dirigo team also stayed composed and passed the test in a series of Mid State League dual meets, that saw the Cougars easily roll over undermanned Oak Hill 52-9, Monmouth Academy 66-12 and York 63-3 at Defoe Gymnasium.

From the time that Whittemore stepped on the mat, it was a matter of seconds before reality set in. That's because the Cougar sophomore was scrambling back and forth after having been shown the lights.

''I definitely wasn't ready,''Whittemore said, regarding to facing Dempsey Carignan of Maranacook, who had secured a head and arm. ''I knew that I needed to start scoring some points after wasting away the first period.''

Demsey executed the takedown (two points) and exposed Whittemores' back to the mat for a three-point near fall. Whittemore spent the majority of the period turning to avoid being pinned. He attempted two roll-through, but risked having both shoulders touching the mat simultaneous.

"I had never seen (Dempsey) and didn't know what to expect,"Whittemore said, who executed a standing escape late in the first period and followed with an escape, takedown and near fall points in the second period, en route to an 8-5 decision.

''I won't make that mistake again.''       

Whittemore had reached the state finals, as a freshman last year. Older brother Brett also was a state finalist, as a freshman. Dana (father and assistant coach) placed fourth, in the 1988 Class B state meet.

Dirigo current freshman wrestled an inspiring match against Danny Buteau, pulling to with-in one point, before losing a 7-4 decision. The Oak Hill sophomore won a Class B state championship, last season. Wainwright then stuck Emily Levassar of Monmouth.

Gus Smith (126) returned for Dirigo and executed a pin. Griffyn Smith (120), Hunter White (138), Ethan Bryant (160) and Dalton Berry (182) each recorded pins. Spencer Vaughan won a 17-4 major decision and Colin Woodhead (145) a 5-2 decision.

           

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Dirigo wrestle, 1st half

By Bob McPhee

DIXFIELD-It's always important to get going on a positive note in any athletic competition and the season is often considered to be a marathon because its long and full of issues.

  Wrestling is certainly no exception and the Dirigo team has passed the test following the first full month of the schedule. The Cougars along with every other squad still have numerous questions that will need to be addressed, entering the new year.

Dirigo is currently 13 -1 in dual meets (including pre-season) where the team won the Viking Duals - beating Class A power and reining Class B state champion Camden Hills. The Cougars finished a respectable sixth in the McDonald's tournament and the following Saturday finished second at the Atlantic tourney in Wells.

 There was plenty of unanswered questions surrounding the youthful team, the lone senior is a first-year wrestler. The lineup consists of three juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen.

Along the way, surprises have helped steer the Cougars in the right direction. Beginning with Chase Thebarge (Fr.@106), 16-3 who reached the finals at McDonald's and Atlantics and Jon Wainwright (Fr. @113) - 15-6 who wrestled well in a 7-4 loss to Class B state champion Dan Buteau of Oak  Hill. Sophomores Hunter White and Bryce Whittemore each were state finalists as freshmen, but a bump-up three weight classes raised eyebrows. White (15-5 @138) and Whittemore (19-4 @152) have both fared well against more muscular opponents.

 "We need improvements,"Dirigo head coach Doug Gilbert said. ''We're still looking for team leadership especially when we have wrestlers on the mat. Our upper six (160-285) have to step it up if we're going to repeat.''

Dirigo won its fourth Class C state championship, in 2014.

 A major issue that has been derailing the sport, has been the large number of forfeits. In the mid-1990s, the National Federation increased the number of weight classes from 12 to 14; which the state of Maine adopted.

"How do we recruit kids in a sport where weight loss

and giving up every Saturday from dawn to dusk is the norm,''Gilbert has said this for years. "We as coaches have to get creative with our schedules."

* Friday night meets to give kids a weekend off once in while.

* Basketball / Wrestling double headers to promote the sport.

* Limit the amount of tournaments each team is allowed to enter during the regular season.

''Some teams will attend a tournament every week. Later weigh-ins on Saturday. When I wrestled (Rumford state championship teams, 1972-74) there were Saturday afternoon matches, weigh-ins at noon, giving the kids a chance sleep in some.''

A built-in soluation already exists, which could reduce weigh classes back to 12. The MPA sponsors a New England qualifier, so after having 12 weight classes @ the respective state meets, increase to 14 in the qualifying tournament.

On the numerous forfeits, one veteran official stated, ''It's a sad state of affairs with so many forfeits, but it's happening through out the entire state. Gardiner showed up with three wrestlers for a dual meet against Cony.'' This has resulted in a serious drop in the quality of wrestling and the Maine Principal Association needs to address the situation. 

Ellsworth Eagles place third at Christmas wrestling tourney

By Hugh Bowden The Ellsworth American

ELLSWORTH — With four pre-tournament top-seeded wrestlers sidelined, the Ellsworth Eagles turned in a third-place showing at the Penobscot Valley Christmas Tournament on Saturday in Howland.

Trent Goodman had a dominating performance, pinning both of his opponents to claim the 171-pound title.

Goodman pinned Bryce Salsbury of Dexter in 3:17 in the final.

Jeff Weeks also earned the title in the 182-pound class, taking control early to best Billy Brock of Foxcroft Academy 10-3 in the final.

Dagan Berenyi and Peyton Cole lost for the first time this season as each was edged by a single point in their championship finals.

Brooks Law of Foxcroft Academy nipped Berenyi 8-7 and Cole fell 5-4 to Zachary Caron of Dexter.

At 160 pounds, Ellsworth’s Tyler Hardwick wrestled the five-match limit, placing fourth with his only loss coming to Jacob Hesseltine of Dexter in the consolation final.

In earlier action at a six-team meet at Ellsworth on Wednesday, Dec. 17, the host Eagles notched a pair of wins in improving their record to 6-1.

Ellsworth downed the Bucksport Golden Bucks 45-18 with eight of 11 matches decided by forfeit.

On the matt for the Eagles, Cole downed Brady Boynton by a technical fall at 138 pounds, Jack Weeks pinned Joseph Mann at 145 pounds and Dagan Berenyi scored a major decision over Matt Stewart at 160 pounds.

For the Eagles in a 38-24 win over the Penobscot Valley Howlers, Joshua Wright scored a major decision over Sophia Carson at 132 pounds and Connor Petros scored a major decision over Dylan Kruger at 152 pounds with other wins coming via foreits.

In other action, the Golden Bucks nipped Penobscot Valley 36-30 with only one match decided on the mat.

Bucksport’s Kanepest Hilaire pinned Justin Ringuette at 220 pounds.

The Mount Desert Island Trojans fell to the Howlers 33-12, with their only two victories coming via forfeits.

Malloy tops in holiday meet

By Liz Graves on Sports, Wrestling



Senior Wilder Young of the Mount Desert Island High School wrestling team gets the advantage last Wednesday in a match against Dylan Kruger of Penobscot Valley High School. Young lost the close match by decision.
PHOTO BY TAYLOR VORTHERMS

HOWLAND — Freshman Abrahm Malloy of the Mount Desert Island High School wrestling team won his weight class Saturday at the Penobscot Valley High School (PVHS) Holiday Classic tournament.

PVHS is MDI Coach Chip Dugans’ alma mater. He wrestled there for former coach Gerald Hutchinson, who now organizes this tournament.

Malloy and sophomore Marcus Parsons were both in the 113 class. Parsons “was winning his whole match,” Dugans said. “When he got himself in a bad position, his opponent got high up and rolled him.”

Senior Wilder Young finished fourth in the very competitive 152 class.

New wrestlers Taner Bickford and Christian Wehrfritz continue to make progress, Dugans said. “The thing about Christian is each time we go out, he’s working on new moves. You can see the improvement. But right now against their opponents, it’s not enough improvement to be winning matches.

“I’m so glad to see them sticking with it,” Dugans said. “In this sport, if you take your lumps, it’ll pay off in the long run. Eventually you’ll earn it, and you’ll appreciate it.”

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, the team competed at a small meet in Ellsworth. Many of their matches were exhibition due to mismatches in team size.

The team is set to host Brewer, Calais, Hampden, Piscataquis Community High School, Penobscot Valley, Washington Academy, Mattanawcook Academy and Woodland Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.

Atlantic Wrestling tournament

By Bob McPhee

WELLS-Griffyn Smith battled to win an individual championship at 120-pounds and helped lead Dirigo score 110.5 points in an impressive second-place finish at the annual Atlantic Invitational wrestling tournament.

Dirigo had started well in the quarterfinals and advanced four to the finals, in the day-long event. Freshman Chase Thebarge 106 was a finalist for the second weekend and sophomores Hunter White 138 and Bryce Whittemore (152).

Caleb Austin (113) repeated an individual championship as Mountain Valley scored 90.5 points to finish fourth.The Falcons who  had five of their seven wrestlers earn medals.

Three-time defending Class A state champion Marshwood 229 points ran away to win the tournament for the third-straight year. The Hawks had eight champions. It was obvious that Marshwood was the superior team, but the Cougars proved to have enough to hold off host Wells 96.5. Biddeford 90 rounded out the top five.

It was a battle of state champions between Smith and Ethan Boucher of Mountain Valley. S Smith, a two-time Class C state champion, was all over the Falcon wrestler and pined in the third period. Boucher won a Class B state crown as a freshman, last year. Boucher had reached the Atlantic finals in 2013, but lost to Bradley Beaulieu of Marshwood. 

                                                                                                                                                  Austin, a sophomore, won for the second-straight year by technical falling 18-3 Danny Buteau of Oak Hill. Austin, a Class B state finalist, beat Buteau who won a Class B state championship as a freshman, last year won at 106. It was a the second-straight Saturday that Austin walked over the Raider wrestler.               

Thebarge was stuck by Kyle Glidden of Marshwood, as was Whitemore who was stuck by Dommick Day of Biddeford. White lost a 12-8 decision in the finals, to Brian Livermore of Biddeford, who was voted  Most Outstanding Wrestler.    

The Cougars Lucas 'Bull' MacDonald wrestled back to place third at 195. Teammate 4 Tucker Barnett  lost 4-3 decision to Isaac Deshrochers, Wells, in consolation finals.

MV other finalists were Ian Austin at 182, who was schooled 18-3 for the second-straight year by three-time state champion Cody Hughes of Marshwood.                  

The Falcons had Nate White and Dakota Jacques each wrestle back to place third at 126 and 145, respectively. White Pinned  0:49 Frank Smith of Oak Hill. Jacques won 8-3 over Conor Smith, Fryeburg Academy.

Marshwood dominates Atlantic Invitational

WELLS — Top wrestlers performed as expected and potential new standouts emerged Saturday at the Atlantic Invitational, hosted by Wells High.

Led by multitime state champions Cody Hughes, Jackson Howarth and Brett Gerry, three-time Class A champion Marshwood rolled to the team title with 229 points and eight weight-class winners.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES

Brian Livermore of Biddeford takes down Hunter White of Dirigo during the 138-pound final Saturday at the Atlantic Invitational in Wells. Livermore won the match, 12-8, and was chosen as the meet’s outstanding wrestler. Photos by Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Sam Hebert, right of Marshwood, right, battles with Charlie Durfee of Wells during the 145-pound final. Hebert earned a 16-3 decision and was one of eight individual champions for Marshwood, which more than doubled the point total of runner-up Dirigo.

“Today everybody wrestled above expectations, from our freshman (Kyle Glidden) at 106 doing awesome right up to our heavyweight (Loukas Coussoule),” said Hughes, a three-time Class A champ who recently signed a letter-of-intent to attend Virginia Tech.

While it was a bit odd to see Hughes, the reigning 160-pound champ, competing at 182 pounds, it was no surprise that Hughes, three-time state champ Howarth (170) and two-time champ Gerry (195) were individual winners.

Nor did it come as a surprise that returning state champs Mike Curtis (220) of Wells and Dominick Day (152) of Biddeford showed they were in good form with first-period pins in their championship matches.

Day was making just his second appearance on the mat this season. The Class A champion and New England qualifier champ at 138 as a junior, Day was sidelined for more than two weeks because of an infection in his knee.

None of the returning champs walked away as the meet’s outstanding wrestler. That honor went to Biddeford junior Brian Livermore, who beat Dirigo’s Hunter White with a last-second takedown that earned near-fall points for a 12-8 victory.

“He shot in and I scooted off to the side and hit a cradle at the end,” Livermore said, adding he was aware he was trailing by a point. “It was definitely a tough match.”

Livermore made it to the state tournament last season but did not place at 120 pounds.

“I’m going to wrestle like I did today the rest of the season,” Livermore said. “I wrestled smooth. I was able to hit my moves faster.”

Marshwood’s other champions were Glidden, Bradley Beaulieu (126), Sam Hebert (145), Justin Stacy (160) and Coussoule.

Beaulieu and Hebert won by lopsided decisions.

Stacy won an 8-7 battle with York’s Josh Smith, the Class B champ at 145 last season. Stacy spent most of last season on the junior varsity, absorbing practice bruises from Howarth, Hughes and Gerry, before settling into the 170-pound slot.

“Of the three, Jackson was the nicest guy, Cody would just toy with me, and Brett would slam me,” Stacy said. “It’s taught me a lot. (And) I like wrestling at 160. It feels like I’m a lot faster and now I’m stronger than the kids I’m wrestling.”

Marshwood Coach Matt Rix pointed to Glidden as another rising wrestler.

“He was a good little basketball player in middle school and it was a tough choice for him,” Rix said. “Things like winning this tournament reassure him of the decision he made. He’s got great mat sense. I can’t wait to see what he’s like by the time he’s a senior.”

Dirigo finished second among the 13 teams with 110.5 points, followed by Wells (96.5), Mountain Valley (90.5), Biddeford (90), Fryeburg (73.5) and York (68).

Dirigo 195-pounder Lucas MacDonald had to be taken via ambulance, on a backboard, to Maine Medical Center after an injury in the consolation final.

MacDonald sustained a concussion in a match last Saturday. After passing an impact test, he was cleared to wrestle, Dirigo Coach Doug Gilbert said.

“He can move his feet and arms but had some tingling in his arms,” Gilbert said. “It was more precautionary.”

Southern Maine Splits at Grapple at the Garden: Huskies Defeat Muhlenberg 25-17, Fall to No. 19 Stevens 33-9

NEW YORK, N.Y.  – Sophomores Daniel Del Gallo (Gardiner, Maine) and Kevin Moore (Owls Head, Maine/Mt. Blue) each earned a pair of victories as the University of Southern Maine Huskies' wrestling team took to the mats at the world famous Madison Square Garden as part of the 2014 Grapple at the Garden in midtown Manhattan.  Madison Square Garden's event highlighted collegiate wrestling across all NCAA Divisions and had the Huskies' competing alongside of Division I powers Cornell and Lehigh.

            The Huskies' opened their day competing against nationally-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology.  Ranked 19th in NCAA Division III, the Ducks defeated the Huskies 33-9, dropping the Huskies' dual meet record to 7-3.  The Ducks improved their dual meet record to 3-2 (3-1 against NCAA Division III teams).  Facing steep competition, the Huskies battled valiantly and received points from Del Gallo, Moore and senior Sean Fagan (Arlington, Mass.).  Moore posted USM's first points of the match earning a 4-0 decision over SIT's Aaron Wolfgang at 141 pounds.  Del Gallo followed with an 8-1 victory over Ricky Perrine at 149 pounds before Fagan rumbled his way to a 5-0 win over Michael Otsuka at 197 pounds.

            In their second match of the day, Southern Maine battled its way to a 25-17 victory that hinged on the final bout of the day.  With the win over the Mules, Southern Maine improved its dual meet record to 8-3, while Muhlenberg competing in its first dual meet of the season stands at 0-1 with the loss.

            The Huskies fell behind Muhlenberg 11-0 after the 125 and 133-pound matches were decided but bounced back winning the next five bouts to grab a narrow 22-11 advantage.  Moore again started the scoring for the Huskies with a 5-2 decision over Ben Peck at 141 pounds. Del Gallo put together another strong effort for a 16-3 major decision victory at a 149-pounds with a win over Che Chengsupanimit, before sophomore Carl Luth (Milford, Conn./Foran) fought for a 7-2 decision over Sean Kelly at 157 pounds.  Huskies' freshman Daniel DeCarlo (Port Jervis, N.Y.) put his team ahead for good with a key win over Jake Gordon at 165 pounds.  DeCarlo put his opponent to the mat in 6:58, securing the Huskies' first lead of the match at 16-11.  Sophomore Aaron Weiss (East Machias, Maine/St. Paul's School) earned USM's fifth straight win following DeCarlo's pin with one of his own downing Jim Coiley in 6:32 for the win at 174-pounds.

            Ahead 22-11 after Weiss' pin, the Huskies' dropped the next two matches by decision to hold onto a 22-17 lead, putting the pressure on senior captain Michael Frey (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury).  Frey came through for the Huskies in a big way, earning a 7-4 decision to clinch the match with a win over Lenny Smith for the 25-17 final.

            Southern Maine returns to action after the semester break traveling to Western New England University for a tri-meet with Bridgewater State on Saturday, January 4 (1:00 p.m.). 

MV-Dir Wrestling @ Oak Hill

By Bob McPhee

WALES-The opportunity to compete in wrestling matches is extremely greater in this era, however, there is still goals to strive for and Griffyn Smith was able to achieve one by earning his 100th career win.

Dirigo and Mountain Valley wrestlers each saw action in a series of Mid State League dual meets, last week. But, the best was saved for last as the Cougars recorded upset decisions by Tucker Barnett (132-pounds) and Hunter White (138) to beat Mountain Valley 42-39. The intensity was quiet evident with every match, with Dirigo avenging a loss against the Falcons the previous week at Fryeburg Academy.

In other action, both River Valley teams handled Boothbay, Wiscasset and Oak Hill.

The milestone was reached quickly when Smith pinned his Wiscasset oppoent , with a reverse-half nelson.

''It feels really good,''Smith said, regarding reaching the century mark. ''I didn't think that I would do it, when I was a freshman.''

The junior has won two Class C state championships and has already   determined his short and long-term goals.

''I feel good at this weight,''Smith said, who bumped up to 120. ''I knew going up would be a little difficult, but I'm (not pulling) any and weighing out around 121. The goal is to win a third and fourth state championship and then break the school record for (career) wins.''

Former Cougars Jon Smith holds the mark with 153 wins and Derek Daley with 146. Each had reached 100 wins as juniors, later during the season.

Tahe rivals had reached a pivotal point with three matches left, and in a battle of sophomores it was Barnett who remained composed and held off Eddie DeRoche, 6-4. Barnet had been penalized for an improper starting position, but the momentum shifted when the Cougar wrestler tied the score 4-4. In the third period, DeRoche was dinged for an illegal full nelson and later for unsportsmanlike conduct. The latter resulted in the deduction of Falcon team points.

I the next match, White utilized his speed in a 7-3 win against Mike Provencher. It was White's victory that clinched the Dirigo win.

''Those matches by Tucker and Hunter were keys,''Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert said, because both had lost to the Falcon wrestlers. ''We had felt the meet had been determined     right off.''

Prior to each meet, an official flips a coin to determine which team has 'even or odd matches.' This sets which team must send its wrestler out on the mat, which allows the opposing coach time to strategize.

"( Mountain Valley coach ) Gary (Dolloff) made a mistake (during coin flip),''Gilbert said. ''Gary had used it to his advantage to beat us at Fryeburg. This time he sent (Isaac Therrian) out against Bryce Whittemore, but last he had forfeited 152 and then bumped others up.''

Whittemore stuck Therrian. Mountain Valley then won the next five-contested matches, each by pin.

Mike Arsenault over Ethan Bryant; Ian Austin (182) over Dalton Berry; Caleb Austin over Smith and Ethan Boucher over Jesse Piper. Mountain Valley had Dakota Jacques stuck Colin Woodhead at 145.

The meet at Oak Hill was dotted by numerous forfeits, which has become the norm through out the entire. This has resulted in a serious drop in the quality of wrestling and the Maine Principal Association needs to address the situation.

The two RSU10 teams then loaded on to the same bus and drove home.

Westbrook wrestlers off to a blazing start

By Adam Birt abirt@keepmecurrent.com @CurrentSportsME

The Blue Blazes wrestling team is looking particularly strong this season, having kicked off their schedule with six straight wins (including preseason).

Most recently, reports coach John Nicholas, Westbrook won the Gardiner Tiger Tourney, scoring 130 to edge past Nokomis. Max Storm took second in his weight class (132), Kyle Hanson second (152), Andrew Rogers (126) third, Jon Jacques third, Brandon Conley third (160), Brandon Lajoie third (195), Mikiel Lepage third, and Chris Kennie fourth (285). Abraham Eaton, a Gorham student who wrestles with the Blazes, took second.

The Blazes have also logged victories over Biddeford (43-42 in a tiebreak), Windham (48-18), Bonny Eagle (52-24), Cheverus (59-9) and Deering (48-21).

A related note: Jan. 24 is on the table as the potential date for the Westbrook Invitational Wrestling Tournament, originally scheduled for Dec. 6, but postponed due to inclement weather.

Cony duals wrestling tournament draws crowd

The annual grappling tournament is set for Saturday in Augusta.

BY TERRY DEVEREAUX SPECIAL TO THE KENNEBEC JOURNAL

The annual Cony Duals tournament is drawing quite a crowd.

Cony, Morse, Gardiner, Skowhegan, Erskine Academy, Mt. Ararat, Winslow, Madison, Westbrook, Oxford Hills and Mt. Blue are scheduled to compete in the event, which is Saturday.

Teams are divided into three pools of four teams each. Each team wrestles the other teams in the pool. The teams are then ranked based on the results of pool competition before they advance to a championship round against teams in the other pools.

There will also be a “composite” team formed from junior varsity wrestlers of teams involved due to a school withdrawing from the competition, according to Cony coach Shawn Totman. This will allow for the 12-team format to remain intact.

“I would say Skowhegan is the favorite to win,” said Totman. “They have a team that has a number of high quality wrestlers. However, Cony, Erskine, Westbrook, Mt. Ararat and Oxford Hills all have competitive teams that could rise to the challenge. I think the pool part of the tournament is going to be exceptional this year. It should be interesting with so many teams that are pretty much equal in talent and numbers.”

Wrestling will start at 9 a.m. and will continue throughout the day on four mats.

• • •

Skowhegan’s senior standout, Tyler Craig, became the first wrestler in the program’s history to win 100 matches by pin. With the two wins, Craig raised his overall career win total to 156.

Julian Sirois and Kam Doucette, both juniors, each earned their 100th career victory during the evening.

The three will lead the Indians into Saturday’s Cony Duals. Skowhegan is the favorite to win the team trophy.

• • •

Tristen Ripley was a tenacious wrestler while at Mount View High School. Ripley was a three-time state place-winner and was the first wrestler in school history to eclipse the 100-career win benchmark, according to coach Hamilton Richards. Now Ripley is using that same tenacity in the pursuit of a medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine.

“Tristen is a hard worker,” said Richards. “He always put in the effort on the mat and in the classroom. He also did the extra work to give him the edge as well. Tristen has always had the ability to juggle multiple things at once and do well in most all of them. He’s disciplined and capable of developing the necessary regimens to achieve success.”

Ripley says he set his sights on becoming a doctor at an early age.

“I knew I wanted to become an MD since about junior year of high school,” said Ripley. “I had always loved the medical aspect of things when it came to science and biology, so I figured medicine would be a good fit for me.”

While his vision of his future was crystal clear, his journey has been anything but typical. Ripley opted to attend University of Maine at Augusta and praised his experience at the school.

“At UMA, I made it known that I wanted to go to medical school and the faculty, in particularly my Biology professor, worked extremely hard to get me into a great diversity of classes to strengthen my application,” Ripley said. “During the latter end of my freshman year, I got selected to go to Haiti as part of UMA’s global health program, where I worked at an orphanage and clinic for a week and got to know a lot about treating patients in a rural setting. With this and many other unique classes, I applied my sophomore year for the Tufts Maine Track Early Assurance Program. I interviewed the spring of my sophomore year and after a summer of organic chemistry got the notification that I had been selected as one of three people to get into the program.”

Ripley, currently a freshman, says he is planning on entering internal medicine, general surgery or family medicine.

USM's Dan DeCarlo Named NEWA Rookie Wrestler of the Week

Freshman wrestler Dan DeCarlo Earned NEWA Rookie of the Week Honors

GORHAM, Maine  – Freshman Dan DeCarlo (Port Jervis, N.Y.) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' wrestling team has been named the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Rookie Wrestler of the Week.  It is the first honor of the season for a Husky wrestler and the first of DeCarlo's career.

            Grappling at 165-pounds, DeCarlo continued his strong start to his intercollegiate career posting a 2-0 record over the weekend, as the Huskies split a pair of dual matches with Rhode Island College and Plymouth State.  DeCarlo helped leads the Huskies to a resounding 40-9 win over PSU with a 4-2 win over the Panthers' Clay Callahan.  In his second match of the day, DeCarlo then battled his way to a thrilling 7-5 decision against Rhode Island College's Vincent Drago.

            With the two wins, DeCarlo improved his overall record to 10-4.  He has won his last four matches consecutively and is among the team leaders in wins by fall with seven.

            Southern Maine, ranked ninth in the latest New England Division III Poll, is 7-3 on the season in dual meet action.  Off for Finals Week, Southern Maine returns to action on Sunday, December 21 at Grapple at the Garden.  USM will face two nationally-ranked opponents while competing at New York City's Madison Square Garden.  The Huskies will face Stevens Institute (8:00 a.m.) and Muhlenberg (10:00 a.m.).   

Ellsworth wrestlers collect three titles at McDonald’s Tournament

By Taylor Vortherms The Ellsworth American

Ellsworth’s Dagan Berenyi wrestles Robert Heatherman of Mount Ararat for the championship in the 170-pound weight class at the 30th annual McDonald’s Tournament on Saturday at Mountain Valley. Berenyi won by pin.
PHOTO BY KAYLA HARDISON

MOUNTAIN VALLEY — While the depleted Ellsworth wrestling team could only place wrestlers in eight of 14 weight classes at the 30th annual McDonald’s Tournament on Saturday, six Eagles competed in the tournament finals, and three came away with championships.

Ellsworth’s Peyton Cole, Dagan Berenyi and Trent Goodman all collected first place medals in their weight classes.

As a team, Ellsworth placed second of 17 teams with 128.5 points. Noble, which lost to Ellsworth last year by half a point, took first with 168.5 points.

At 138 pounds, Cole — a freshman — came out of the sixth seed to win the championship with a pin over Noble’s Devin Bourque in 59 seconds. Cole finished the day with pins in all three of his matches.

At 160 pounds, Berenyi captured the title by beating Robert Heatherman of Mount Ararat, one of the top wrestlers in the state. This performance earned Berenyi the Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet Award.

At 170 pounds, Goodman proved his No. 1-seed with a controlled 7-2 victory over Billy Brock of Foxcroft Academy.

Ellsworth captain Jack Weeks fell short in the 145-pound championship to Josh Grenier of Noble by a 3-1 score.

Ellsworth’s Josh Wright, who is seeded No. 4, also made it to the finals in his 132-pound weight class, but was pinned in the first period by Ed DeRoche of Mountain Valley.

Jeff Weeks lost to Malik Geiger of Oxford Hills in the 182-pound championship by a score of 12-2. Jeff Weeks was the first of Geiger’s opponents to not lose to him by pin this year.

After a last-second loss in the semifinals, Connor Petros came back and pinned Bryce Whitmore of Dirigo at 1:16 in the consolation finals.

An even more depleted Bucksport team placed last with two points, with only two wrestlers competing for the day. Matthew Stewart got the Golden Bucks their only win with a 5-0 decision over Spencer Vaughan of Dirigo in the 170-pound class. Stewart lost his next match to Brock, who placed second, and his third to Jacob Waterman of Belfast, who placed fourth.

Ellsworth is scheduled to host Bucksport, Mount Desert Island, Penobscot Valley, Calais and Washington Academy in a tournament Wednesday.


Ellsworth wrestlers (from left to right) Trent Goodman, Peyton Cole and Dagan Berenyi pose with their brackets after the three won their weight classes at the 30th annual McDonald’s Tournament on Saturday at Mountain Valley.
PHOTO BY KAYLA HARDISON

Westbrook edges Nokomis for Tiger Invitational title

Warriors go 5 - for - 5 in championship round.

BY RANDY WHITEHOUSE STAFF WRITER

GARDINER — Both Jacob Booth and Jacob Richards picked up their first tournament championships for Nokomis at Saturday’s Tiger Invitational, and reacted to the milestone in very different ways.

Booth, a freshman, acted as if his title in the 106-pound weight class was pre-ordained. Richards, a senior, celebrated his first as if he’d won a state championship.

Booth and Roberts were two of five Nokomis wrestlers to make the championship round at Gardiner High School’s 41st annual early-season tournament. While all five won, it still wasn’t quite enough for the Warriors to catch Westbrook, which didn’t have a wrestler take home gold but used its depth to eek out the 2.5-point win.

“We had a very good day,” Nokomis coach Scott Preble said. “I’ve got some young, first-year wrestlers I expected a little more out of. But other than that, the boys wrestled about where I expected them to be.”

Josh Brown (113), Christopher Wilson (195) and Jacob Nichols (285) also won their brackets for the Warriors. Erskine got championships from Cameron Grass (120) and Zach Isbell (160). Cony’s Zeko Caudill (145) and Max Storey (220) won their weight classes. Maine Central Institute’s Dylan Dahlbergh won the 132 title.

Richards pinned Gardiner’s Andrew Doody Veilleux at 3:22 of their 182-pound championship match, which he punctuated with a leap into the air and some celebratory fist pumps.

“I just kept moving, kept wrestling and made him make mistakes,” Richards said. “I’ve been wrestling really sloppy lately and been getting beat by kids that I should beat, so this is a pretty big boost to win a tournament.”

“He’ a good, solid wrestler. He’s just been having a little bit of a hard time,” Preble said. “He really showed what he’s capable of today.”

Booth pinned Dylan Trevino of Cony at 2:30 of the 106 final.

“I had to struggle in the beginning to get it, but after a while I was able to tire him out,” said Booth, who has been wrestling for nine years. “I kind of expected (the championship). I’ve had a lot harder matches this year than I’ve had here today.”

Conditioning and discipline often make the difference early in the season. Isbell needed both to outlast Portland’s Clautel Buba, 9-8, in overtime. The senior picked up five points from technical fouls levied at Buba.

“I was happy with my cardio. I think I lasted all three rounds pretty well and kept my strength up,” Isbell said. “I was nervous going into the final. I knew he was real tough. He was very strong. (The fouls) helped me out. It wasn’t really my strength. It was more my discipline that helped me win.”

Caudill was making his 2014 debut after missing the Rams’ first two meets. He needed just 15 seconds to pin Erskine’s Justin Studholme to follow up his championship at 138 in last year’s Invitational.

“It’s really all about explosiveness. I just got in his grill right at the whistle, took him by his arm and got his leg in a single-leg (takedown),” said Caudill, a senior. “Going into the match I was going to let him make the first move, but then my coach (Shawn Totman) said I needed to pin him, and it turned out good.”

Defending champion Cony had a tournament-high six wrestlers claim top three spots — including runners-up Tre Caudill (138) and Elian Younes (285) — and consolation round winner Victor Tapia-Smith (170) to finish third in the team standings with 119 points, Portland (106.5) and Erskine (94) rounded out the top five.

“We just kind of came out flat in that consolation semifinal round where we had a chance to pick up some points, not just wins but some bonus points, and we just weren’t able to do it. I think that ended up costing us in the long run,” Totman said. “But our experienced did what they’re supposed to do. I couldn’t be more proud of Dylan Trevino. He’s only a freshman and only weighs 92 pounds and got in the finals at 106.”

Emily Levasseur of Monmouth (113) and Isaac Taylor of Erskine (126) also reached the final round. Local consolation winners were: Ian Land (106) and Jake Truman (195) of Gardiner, Chris Watrous of MCI (120), Nokomis’ Kolin Fraser (122) and Hunter Glidden (285), and Dempsey Carignan of Maranacook (152). MCI’s ZyAnthony Moss, Erskine’s Michaela Sprague and Gabe Solorzano and Monmouth’s Calvin Thompson and Tyler Lewandowski finished fourth in their weight classes.

Westbrook had only two wrestlers — Max Storm (132) and Kyle Hanson (152) — reach the finals. But consolation round wins by Andrew Rogers, Jon Jaques, Brandon Conley, Brandon Lajoie and Mikeil LePage, and some solid work earlier in the day by the rest of the squad, put the Blue Blazes over the top.

“Today was a total team effort. I think everyone on our team had at least one win,” Westbrook co-coach John Nicholas said. “We got a lot of pins, which really added up point-wise. We’d been talking in practice during the week that we thought we had shot at winning the title as long as everyone came ready to wrestle.”

Randy Whitehouse 

Noble wins championship at the 30th annual McDonalds

By Bob McPhee
RUMFORD-In wrestling a great emphasis is placed on individual’s, however, in a tournament setting it still requires a team effort and that was evident, once again. Noble scored 168.5 points in winning championship at the 30th annual McDonalds-Mountain Valley Invitational by easily outdistancing Ellsworth (128.5 points). It was sweet redemption for Noble because Ellsworth edged out the Knights by half a point to win the tournament, last year. Mountain Valley- led by individual champions Caleb Austin (113-pounds) and Ed DeRoche (132)- scored 109 points to finish third for the second-straight year. Foxcroft Academy  91, Fryeburg Academy 75 and Dirigo 74 rounded out the top six; there was 17 teams represented.  "We knew that we needed to put it all out there,''Noble assistant coach Kevin Gray said, who was filling in for head coach Kip DeVoll, whos wife was having surgery. ''Ellsworth was going to be competitive, plus other teams each have (quality) wrestlers who are just as strong.'' The action was very heated on the mats and in Puiia Gymnasium through out the event, but  Noble proved to be superior and won four individual championships,  including Andy Shorey (120) who recorded an 11-3 major decision against Griffyn Smith of Dirigo. Smith, a two-time Class C state champion. The front running teams spilt in two head-to-head matches in the finals. ''We have to be ready to go all out and continue to improve every day. We certainly can not afford to take things for granted.'' Austin won for the second-straight year by technical falling Danny Buteau of Oak Hill, 21-6. Austin, a Class B state finalist, utilized his skills and five takedowns. ''Danny and I are  friends,''Austin said, of Buteau who won a Class B state championship as a freshman, last year won at 106. ''We trained together last summer and he stayed over my house. But, the friendship part ends when we step on the mat.''  Moments later, DeRouche (who competed for the Falcons ''B team last year" repeated as champion by executing a 42-second pin against Josh Wright of Ellsworth. ''I'm excited,''DeRoche said, who used a far-side cradle to stick the Eagle wrestler. ''When we  tied up, I noticed that he had crossed his feet So, I went right at him for the takedown.'' Oxford Hills (68.5, eighth), was led by Malik Geiger who recorded a 12-2 major decision over Jeff Weeks of Ellsworth to win at 182. Teammates Taylor Guedeahn-Aleano (120), Zack Harris (170) and Creighton Medeiros (220) each placed third. ''I really need to do a better job at finishing matches,''Geiger said, who also won McDonalds, last year. ''Technically, I need to make my moves more crisp and precise.'' In a rematch of the 2013 final, Trevor Henchesel (100 career win) of Fryeburg rallied for a 9-7 decision against Ian Austin of Mountain Valley. ''It feels good to get back to the finals,''the elder Austin brother said, who stuck Lucas MacDonald, in semi-final. ''Especially after being injured (concussions) that kept me off the mat last season.'' ''We finished where I expected us to be,''Mountain Valley coach Gary Dolloff said. ''This was extremely competitive, although I didn't think Noble would pull away like they did. We haven't wrestled any teams like this and it's a good test. It shows our wrestlers that they need to work on some things.'' Mountain Valley had Dakota Jacques (third, 145), while Ethan Boucher, who won a Class B state championship last year as a freshman, placed fourth, along with Mike Provencher and Coyote Freeman at 138 and 285, respectively. Dirigo displayed its youth, but was the top-finishing Class C team, again. Freshma Chase Thebarge was a finalist (106) and Tucker Barnett was third at 132. ''It was a tough tournament,''Dirigo assistant coach Dana Whittemore  said. ''We scored more points than last year and we met up against some studs in the semi-finals, like Bryce Whittemore (152) against (Foxcrofth state champion) Brooks Law. But, I am  not disappointed because it's still early and kids are adjusting, we'll be there by the end of the season.''  Dagan Berenyi of Ellsworth (eight wrestlers) won the Jerry Perkins award as most outstanding wrestler, after decisioning Robert Heatherman of Mount Ararat in finals. Christian Jensen (126) of Brunswick lost 9-5 to Jake Martel of Noble, in the finals.

Six Ellsworth wrestlers go undefeated at Belfast meet

BELFAST — Six Ellsworth wrestlers went undefeated on Saturday in a meet at Belfast Area High School. Josh Wright, Peyton Cole, Connor Petros, Dagan Berenyi and Trent Goodman all went 5-0, and Robert Banner finished 2-0. “We had a great meet,” said Ellsworth coach JF Burns. Ellsworth went 4-1, with wins against Camden Hills, Mount Desert Island, Medomak and Belfast and a loss to Foxcroft. Ellsworth will wrestle next on Saturday at Mountain Valley.

Southern Maine Splits: Defeats PSU, Falls to RIC

GORHAM, Maine  – Freshman Dan DeCarlo (Port Jervis, N.Y.), sophomores Daniel Del Gallo (Gardiner, Maine), Carl Luth (Milford, Conn./Foran) and junior Michael Arangio (Wakefield, Mass.) each earned all-tournament honors as the University of Southern Maine Huskies' posted a 1-1 record at the 2014 RIC-PSU-USM Challenge Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.

Rhode Island College, which defeated Plymouth State 42-9 and Southern Maine 27-18 earned the cup with a 2-0 record. 

USM placed second with a 1-1 record defeating Plymouth State 40-9.  PSU closed the day with an 0-2 record.

Wrestlers who posted a 2-0 record on the day earned all-tournament honors.  Joining the Husky contingent were Rhode Island College's Ricondo Cole (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) and Terrance Jean-Jacques (Haverhill, Mass.) at 141 and 285 pounds respectively, and Plymouth State's 184-pound grappler Chris Perrault (Saint Johnsbury, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy). Pearault earned a key win over the Huskies' Jonathan Deupree (Ozona, Fla./Countryside). Ranked fourth in New England, Perreault downed Deupree – ranked sixth nationally and second in New England – 11-6.

Wrestling at 125, Arangio earned two wins by fall, pinning PSU's Alex Otis (North Andover, Mass.) and RIC's Brennen Liebel (Feeding Hills, Mass.) in 1:29 and 2:21 respectively.  Competing at 149, Del Gallo pinned PSU's Alexander Gerhold (Derry, N.H.) in 2:03, before earning a 5-1 decision over RIC's Shawn Giblin (Cranston, R.I./La Salle). 

Luth picked up a win by forfeit at 157 pounds and then defeated RIC's Joe Slane 9-3, while DeCarlo had two wins by decision downing PSU's Clay Callahan (Milford, Conn./Foran) 4-2 and RIC's Vincent Drago (Hauppauge, N.Y.) 7-5.

Southern Maine is off until it competes at the 2014 Grapple at the Garden.  USM will face Stevens Institute at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 21 (8:00 a.m.) and then will face Muhlenburg (10:00 a.m.). 

Rhode Island College  42, Plymouth State 9

125 Brennen Liebel (RIC) pinned Alex Otis (PSU) 1:28
133 Jake Dorman (RIC) pinned Mike Allen (PSU) Fall 4:25
141 Ricondo Cole (RIC) pinned Tristan Leek (PSU) Fall 1:54
149 Michael Murphy (RIC) major dec. Alexander Gerhold (PSU) 10-2
157 Joe Slane (RIC) wins by forfeit
165 Matthew Libby (RIC) over Ray Welch (PSU) DQ
174 Moises Diaz (PSU) pinned Ryan Forestier (RIC)  4:54
184 Nick Pacheco (PSU) dec.  Brandon Conrad (RIC) 5-3
197 Imran Gholizadeh (RIC) dec.  Cody Carrillo (PSU) Dec 8-6
285 Terrance Jean-Jacques (RIC) tech. fall  Zack Stewart (PSU) TF 25-10 4:11

Matches started at 141

Southern Maine 40, PSU 9

125 Michael Arangio (SM) pinned Alex Otis (PSU)  Fall 1:29
133 Mike Allen (PSU) wins by forfeit
141 Kevin Moore (SM) dec. Tristan Leek (PSU)  8-4
149 Daniel Del Gallo (SM) pinned Alexander Gerhold (PSU) 2:03
157 CJ Luth (SM) wins by forfeit
165 Dan DeCarlo (SM) dec. Callahan (PSU) 4-2
174 Aaron Weiss (SM) pinned Moises Diaz (PSU) 2:20
184 Chris Perreault (PSU) dec. Jon Deupree (SM) 11-6
197 Sean Fagan (SM) major dec. Cody Carillo (PSU) 11-3
285 Michael Frey (SM) pinned Zack Stewart (PSU) 2:09

Matches started at 141

Rhode Island College 27, Southern Maine 18

125 Michael Arangio (Southern Maine) pinned Brennen Liebel (RIC) 2:21
133 Damen Patisaul (RIC) won by forfeit
141 Ricondo Cole (RIC) pinned Kevin Moore (Southern Maine) 6:15
149 Daniel Del Gallo (Southern Maine) dec. Shawn Giblin (RIC) Dec 5-1
157 Carl Luth (Southern Maine) dec. Joe Slane (RIC) 9-3          
165 Daniel DeCarlo (Southern Maine) dec. Vincent Drago (RIC) 7-5
174 Aaron Weiss (Southern Maine) dec. Ryan Forestier (RIC) 8-4
184 Brandon Conrad (RIC) won by forfeit
197 John Georges (RIC) dec Sean Fagan (Southern Maine) 2-2, riding time
285 Terrance Jean-Jacques (RIC) pinned Mike Frey (Southern Maine) 1:17

Matches started at 141


RIC-PSU-USM Challenge All-Tournament Team

125 Michael Arangio, USM
141 Ricondo Cole, RIC
149 Daniel Del Gallo, USM
157 Carl CJ Luth, USM
165 Dan DeCarlo, USM
184 Chris Perrault, PSU
285 Terrance Jean-Jacques, RIC

McDonalds Tornament 2014

Team Standings

Noble                     168.5
Ellsworth               128.5
Mountain Valley    109.0
Foxcroft Academy   91.0
Fryeburg Academy  75.0
Dirigo                       74.0
Belfast                      69.0
Oxford Hills             68.5
Mt. Ararat                45.0
Boothbay                 38.0
Windham                 24.0
Oak Hill                   17.5
Brunswick               16.0
John Bapst               15.0
Lisbon                      13.0
Madison                     3.0
Bucksport                   2.0

Click to view MacDonalds Tourney Brackets as PDF

Championship Finals

 106    Brenden Bruns (Belfast) def. Chase Thebarge (Dirigo)   Pin at 0:51

 113    Caleb Austin (Mountain Valley) def. Danny Buteau (Oak Hill)   Tech Fall 21-6

 120    Austin Shorey (Noble) def. Griffyn Smith (Dirigo)   Major Dec. 11-3

 126    Jake Martel (Noble) def. Christian Jensen (Brunswick)   9-5

 132    Ed DeRoche (Mountain Valley) def. Josh Wright (Ellsworth)   Pin at 0:42

 138    Peyton Cole (Ellsworth) def. Devin Bourque (Noble)   Pin at 0:59

 145    Josh Grenier (Noble) def. Jack Weeks (Ellsworth)   3-1

 152    Otto Keisker (Noble) def. Brooks Law (Foxcroft )   11-5

 160    Dagan Berenyi (Ellsworth) def. Robert Heatherman (Mt. Ararat)   13-8

 170    Trent Goodman (Ellsworth) def. Billy Brock (Foxcroft )   7-2

 182    Malik Geiger (Oxford Hills) def. Jeff Weeks (Ellsworth)   Major Dec. 12-2

 195    Trevor Henchesel (Fryeburg Academy) def. Ian Austin (Mtn Valley)   9-7

 220    Antonio Maulolo (Boothbay) def. Michael Prendriss (Foxcroft)   Pin at 1:24

 285    Pierce Knorr (Mt. Ararat) def. Angel Escalante (Fryeburg)   Pin at 3:15

Consolation Finals

 106    Jacob Emery (John Bapst) def. Esau Olson (Foxcroft )   Major Dec. 15-3

 113    Hil Keisker (Noble) def. Austin Merando (Belfast)   10-5

 120    Taylor Guedeahn-Alleano (Oxford Hills) def. R.J. Nelson (Foxcroft)   Pin at 3:59

 126    Jesse Mailer (Windham) def. Ethan Boucher (Mountain Valley)   4-2 (3OT)

 132    Tucker Barnett (Dirigo) def. John Grenier (Noble)   Pin at 2:06

 138    Brandon Waterman (Belfast) def. Mike Provencher (Mountain Valley)   Pin at 1:49

 145    Dakota Jacques (Mtn Valley) def. Conor Smith (Fryeburg)   Major Dec. 15-1

 152    Connor Petros (Ellsworth) def. Bryce Whittemore (Dirigo)   Pin at 1:16

 160    Howie Carter (Boothbay) def. Hunter Day (Fryeburg )   Win by Inj Def

 170    Zack Harris (Oxford Hills) def. Jacob Waterman (Belfast)   Pin at 2:45

 182    Hunter Smith (Noble) def. Matt Smith (Belfast)   11-4

 195    Brandon Brock (Foxcroft Academy) def. Zac Schluntz (Noble)   Pin at 0:48

 220    Creighton Medeiros (Oxford Hills) def. Colby Valliere (Windham)   Pin at 0:29

 285    Eric Pilcher (Noble) def. Coyote Freeman (Mountain Valley)   Pin at 0:41

Outstanding Wrestler:  
Dagan Berenyi – 160# Ellsworth

Hyde School wrestler to compete for Team USA

Jake Deutschlander (bottom) of the Hyde School in Bath is preparing to depart this week for Riga, Latvia, where the Minnesota native will represent Team USA as a Greco-Roman wrestler at the Latvian National Championships.

BATH, Maine — Jake Deutschlander of Hyde School has been selected to wrestle for Team USA at the Latvian National Championships.

The senior from Minnesota will compete in the Greco-Roman wrestling tournament Dec. 14-21 in Riga, Latvia.

According to a Hyde School press release, Deutschlander is the first student-athlete from the private school to be selected for a USA national team in any sport.

“I am just really grateful to have been selected, proud to represent my country, and just hoping to do my best against this level of competition,” Deutschlander said.

Deutschlander, who is the youngest American to qualify for the tournament, earned his place on the team by virtue of his extensive experience competing in Greco-Roman wrestling. Most recently, he finished as the national runner-up in his weight class (160 pounds) at the USA Wrestling ASICS Vaughan Junior National Championships last July in Fargo, North Dakota.

The Latvian tournament includes an international training camp prior to the event and will bring together Junior (ages 16-19) and Senior level wrestlers from all over Europe, the traditional hotbed of Greco-Roman wrestling.

Past participants have included the national teams of Germany, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Austria, Belarus, Finland, France and Uzbekistan.

Hyde coach Logan Kidwell had high praise for Deutschlander for his dedication and unselfishness as a member of the team.

“Jake is an incredibly coachable student of the sport who will not be outworked,” he said. “His success has been inspirational and his leadership on our team has been instrumental to the development of our younger wrestlers, and I am proud to wish him our best and I know that he and we will gain tremendously from this experience on the USA National Wrestling Team.”