By Mike Whaley
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SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — Unless something drastic happens, the 2014-15 Maine Class A wrestling landscape should once again be dominated by Marshwood High School.
The three-time defending champion Hawks return four state champs, a runners-up, and two third-place finishers to a teams that could be deeper than the previous three teams.
Things, of course, will start with the four state champs. Three are seniors and two, Cody Hughes and Jackson Howarth, are three-time champs. Classmate Brett Gerry is a two-time champion. Sophomore Bradley Beaulieu is going for his second crown.
Hughes and Howarth could wrestle at anywhere from 152 to 182 pounds, while Gerry is poised to grapple at 182 or 195.
Hughes, who recently signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle on partial scholarship at D-I Virginia Tech, went 54-1 last season. Undefeated in Maine over three years, his only loss came in the final seconds of overtime in the New England 160-pound division championship.
Veteran coach Matt Rix said he has nine kids vying for spots in the 145 to 160 weight classes. There are also a handful of wrestlers who played on the Class B state championship football team, and are still settling in. Gerry and Howarth are among that group.
Beaulieu will move up from 113 to 120 or 126. Killian Murphy and Sam Hebert will be in the 132 to 145 range, while Eric Glidden is earmarked for 132 or 138, and Justin Stacy is back at 170.
Two freshman will vie for the 106 spot — Kyle Glidden and Kyle Bonin.
Biruk Moore, Matt Caverly and Connor LaPointe are in the mix for 113 and 120.
The 195 to heavyweight classes will likely be occupied by Tyler Fife, coming off a knee injury, and Zach Eastman and Lucas Coussoulle. The latter two are bigger and stronger after being tossed into the fire last year.
“We’ll struggle the first few weeks,” said Rix. “We have light numbers at 126 and 132. We need to fill those spots. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Last year everything played out pretty much as the Hawks planned. They won the regional title in Sanford with 228.5 points to 199.5 for second-place Noble.
At the state meet in North Berwick, they rolled with 179. Massabesic was second with 127. Noble wobbled to fourth with 84.5.
The Knights hope to do better this year. A strong regional showing was followed by a poor one at the state meet. A nice mix of veteran and young wrestlers could make that happen for the perennial power, which won 11 of 13 state titles from 1998 to 2011.
“Noble’s got some good kids back,’ Rix said. “That’s a school where everyone can wrestle.”
Massabesic will also be in the mix. Skowhegan — third last year — from the East also bears watching.
“Our numbers have dropped,” said Noble coach Kip DeVoll. “We’ve got 25 or 26, but it’s not like it used to be when we had 30 or 40.”
Those numbers, however, should allow the Knights to fill every weight class, which was not the case last season.
“We’ve got some young kids and a good core of seniors,” DeVoll said. “We’ll just try and get better during the year.”
Key returning wrestlers are sophomore Austin Shorey (113, 120), Josh Grenier (138, 145), Otto Keisker (145, 152), and Robert Worell (182, 195).
Shorey was a regional and state runner-up to Marshwood’s Beaulieu at 113, while Keisker was fourth at the state meet at 145 after winning the regional title. Worell was a state runner-up at 195, and Grenier was third at 126.
Two freshmen who should bolster the lighter weight classes are Joe Pilecki (106) and Hil Keisker (113, 120). Another freshman showing promise at heavyweight is Eric Pilcher.
Joel Langley and Jake Martel are working for a spot at 132.
Both teams open up this weekend. Marshwood is at the Westbrook and Goffstown (N.H.) invitationals. Noble travels to Saranac, N.Y.
The three-time defending champion Hawks return four state champs, a runners-up, and two third-place finishers to a teams that could be deeper than the previous three teams.
Things, of course, will start with the four state champs. Three are seniors and two, Cody Hughes and Jackson Howarth, are three-time champs. Classmate Brett Gerry is a two-time champion. Sophomore Bradley Beaulieu is going for his second crown.
Hughes and Howarth could wrestle at anywhere from 152 to 182 pounds, while Gerry is poised to grapple at 182 or 195.
Hughes, who recently signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle on partial scholarship at D-I Virginia Tech, went 54-1 last season. Undefeated in Maine over three years, his only loss came in the final seconds of overtime in the New England 160-pound division championship.
Veteran coach Matt Rix said he has nine kids vying for spots in the 145 to 160 weight classes. There are also a handful of wrestlers who played on the Class B state championship football team, and are still settling in. Gerry and Howarth are among that group.
 Click image to enlarge
Marshwood’s Bradley Beaulieu, right, and Noble’s Austin Shorey had some great battles last season. Marshwood is a favorite to win its fourth straight Class A state title, but Noble should be in the mix. (Democrat file photo)
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Two freshman will vie for the 106 spot — Kyle Glidden and Kyle Bonin.
Biruk Moore, Matt Caverly and Connor LaPointe are in the mix for 113 and 120.
The 195 to heavyweight classes will likely be occupied by Tyler Fife, coming off a knee injury, and Zach Eastman and Lucas Coussoulle. The latter two are bigger and stronger after being tossed into the fire last year.
“We’ll struggle the first few weeks,” said Rix. “We have light numbers at 126 and 132. We need to fill those spots. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Last year everything played out pretty much as the Hawks planned. They won the regional title in Sanford with 228.5 points to 199.5 for second-place Noble.
At the state meet in North Berwick, they rolled with 179. Massabesic was second with 127. Noble wobbled to fourth with 84.5.
The Knights hope to do better this year. A strong regional showing was followed by a poor one at the state meet. A nice mix of veteran and young wrestlers could make that happen for the perennial power, which won 11 of 13 state titles from 1998 to 2011.
“Noble’s got some good kids back,’ Rix said. “That’s a school where everyone can wrestle.”
Massabesic will also be in the mix. Skowhegan — third last year — from the East also bears watching.
“Our numbers have dropped,” said Noble coach Kip DeVoll. “We’ve got 25 or 26, but it’s not like it used to be when we had 30 or 40.”
Those numbers, however, should allow the Knights to fill every weight class, which was not the case last season.
“We’ve got some young kids and a good core of seniors,” DeVoll said. “We’ll just try and get better during the year.”
Key returning wrestlers are sophomore Austin Shorey (113, 120), Josh Grenier (138, 145), Otto Keisker (145, 152), and Robert Worell (182, 195).
Shorey was a regional and state runner-up to Marshwood’s Beaulieu at 113, while Keisker was fourth at the state meet at 145 after winning the regional title. Worell was a state runner-up at 195, and Grenier was third at 126.
Two freshmen who should bolster the lighter weight classes are Joe Pilecki (106) and Hil Keisker (113, 120). Another freshman showing promise at heavyweight is Eric Pilcher.
Joel Langley and Jake Martel are working for a spot at 132.
Both teams open up this weekend. Marshwood is at the Westbrook and Goffstown (N.H.) invitationals. Noble travels to Saranac, N.Y.