By Al Pike
Marshwood’s Cody Hughes, top, is on his way to a pin of Biddeford’s Mathieu Gagne at 170 pounds during the Western Maine Class A regional tournament Saturday in South Berwick. (Mike Whaley/Democrat photo)
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — As the Marshwood High School wrestling team celebrated its fourth straight regional title Saturday, something was missing.
The host Hawks fell one short of filling all the weight classes for next week’s state meet at Mt. Ararat where they will also try to make it four in a row.
Although it doesn’t seem like much, that omission can mean the difference between winning and losing.
“We got 13 kids in,” said Marshwood coach Matt Rix. “We were hoping for the 14th. We’ve got our work cut out for us (at states), but it’s definitely within our reach. A couple of our seniors didn’t perform where they should have today.”
As expected, Marshwood captured the Western Maine Class A crown with 242 points to 218 for Noble. Massabesic finished a distant third with 157.5 points.
Marshwood’s Cody Hughes (170 pounds) and Jackson Howarth (160) won individual titles. Hughes collected his 200th career match in the semifinals while Howarth captured his fourth consecutive regional championship. Both are three-time state champs.
Mike Whaley/Democrat photo Noble's Jamal Durrani, top, has control of his 182-pound match with Cheverus's Justin Johnson during the Western Maine Class A regional tournament Saturday in South Berwick.
“It’s a great accomplishment and I’m excited about it,” Hughes said. “I guess it’s time to see how many more I can get.”
Hughes won all three of his matches by fall, including the championship final where he pinned Sanford’s Chase Eldridge at 5 minutes, 8 seconds of the six-minute match. Howarth defeated Sanford’s Sam Anderson by major decision (15-1).
“I think my day went pretty well,” Hughes said. “I went out there and got the job done in each match. I knew I had to go out there and either pin or tech (fall) each kid I wrestled. That’s what I was going for — score a lot of points and help the team out.”
Marshwood’s Kyle Glidden won at 106 pounds as did teammates Bradley Beaulieu at 126 and Brett Gerry at 182. Gerry pinned Deering’s Matt Krusiec in 1:14. Glidden beat Massabesic’s Leo Amabile, 2-0, and Beaulieu took a major decision (12-0) over a bloodied Jake Martel of Noble.
“Everyone from our 106-pounder to 285, we all hate losing a lot,” Hughes said. “We tried to set ourselves up in the best situation for next weekend while winning (the regional). Noble was right behind us. Hopefully, we can extend that lead a little bit sooner next weekend.”
Mike Whaley/Democrat photo Noble's Otto Keisker, top, is in control of Portland's Demetre Profenno at 145 pounds during the Western Maine Class A regional tournament Saturday in South Berwick.
Noble, who qualified 11 wrestlers for states, produced three individual winners Saturday. At 120 pounds sophomore Austin Shorey (120 pounds) pinned Bonny Eagle’s Dustin Chandler in one minute for his 100th career victory. Shorey won all three of his matches by pin.
“I had to practice really hard to get here,” Shorey said, “and it all showed out on the mat. The finals match I just threw him and put him on his back right off the bat. Nothing special.”
Josh Grenier (138) stopped Marshwood’s Eric Glidden at 1:30 and Bailey Coull (132 pounds) pinned Aidan Whitis of Cheverus at 30 seconds.
“Overall I thought we did all right,” said Noble coach Kip DeVoll. “We had a couple of matches I wish we had done a little better in. ... It’s not enough to beat (Marshwood). We’ll see what happens next week.”
Marshwood’s Tyler Fife was second at 195 pounds after dropping a 3-2 decision to Massabesic’s Trevor Walton in three overtimes. Matt Caverly was second at 113 pounds as was Eric Glidden at 138 pounds.
Also qualifying for states for the Hawks were Sam Hebert (3rd, 145 pounds), Killian Murphy (4th 132), Justin Stacy (3rd, 152), Loukas Coussoule (4th, 285), and Connor Lapointe (3rd, 120).
Mike Whaley/Democrat photo Marshwood's Sam Hebert, top, has a foothold on Bonny Eagle's Cody Mains in a 145-pound match during the Western Maine Class A regional tournament Saturday in South Berwick.
“It’s always good to win a tournament that you’re in,” DeVoll said, “but it’s all about the state tournament and getting as many kids qualified that you can. I thought we’d take 12 with two on the bubble. We lost one that we should have won and didn’t, but he’s one of the alternates. So we’ll just work hard all week and hope that something good happens.”
Noble’s Otto Keisker finished second after losing to Massabesic’s Zac Richard, 6-1, in the championship final at 145 pounds. Martel was second at 126 pounds as was Eric Pilcher, who fell to Deering’s Michael darling at 285 pounds, and Zac Schulntz (220), who was pinned by Massabesic’s Mike Risti at one minute.
“I thought it would be a little bit closer to tell you the truth,” DeVoll said. “We lost some matches in the semis that could have gone either way. That would have made a difference. We’ve got some work to do. We’ve got to win some big matches again next week.”
Noble’s Robert Worrell (4th, 195 pounds), Jamal Durrani (4th, 182), Hil Keisker (4th, 113), and Joe Pilecki (3rd, 106) also qualified for states.
“We have a chance to win it this year,” Shorey said, “and that’s what we want to do.”