Seven other Midcoast grapplers participate in qualifier
By Staff
Courtesy of: Kaylo LittlejohnCamden Hills' Kaylo Littlejohn.
SANFORD — Fourteen Midcoast high school wrestlers turned in top-four finishes at the state Class B championships on Saturday, Feb. 14 at Fryeburg Academy, and those student-athletes had the opportunity to take their mat prowess a step further in the New England qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Sanford High School.
Of the 14 that qualified, eight made the trek to the competition and one — Camden Hills' Kaylo Littlejohn — qualified for the New England championships by virtue of his top-three finish in his weight class.
The New England championships will take be Friday and Saturday, March 6-7 in North Andover, Mass.
Seven grapplers from Camden Hills, five from Belfast and one from Medomak Valley and Mount View of Thorndike qualified to participate in the New England qualifier due to top-four finishes at the state Class B championships.
In addition to Littlejohn, Camden Hills' Eli Smith, Belfast's Austin Merando, Chase Curry, Brandon Waterman and Jared Hansen, Medomak Valley's Steven Thompson and Mount View's Anthony Barnard participated in the qualifier.
The individual results for Midcoast grapplers at the qualifier were:
113 pounds — Austin Merando (36-16 second record), Bel, was pinned by Samson Sirois, Skowhegan, at 1:35; and lost to Calvin Thompson, Monmout Academy, 9-2.
120 pounds — Chase Curry (39-15), Bel, lost to Jon Bell, Skowhegan, 4-2; and was pinned by Taylor Alleano, Oxford Hills, at 5:36.
132 pounds — Steven Thompson (35-9), Med, lost to Max Storm, Westbrook, 22-11; pinned Kurtis Bolton, Lisbon, at 1:34; beat Killian Murphy, Marshwood, 9-6; and was pinned by Max Storm, Westbrook, at 2:48 to finish fourth.
138 pounds — Brandon Waterman (40-14), Bel, was pinned by Eric Glidden, Marshwood, at 3:40; and was pinned by Joshua Grenier, Noble, at 2:59.
145 pounds — Anthony Barnard (36-14), MtV, was pinned by Zac Richard, Massabesic, at 0:59; pinned Colin Woodhead, Dirigo, at 2:25; and lost by injury default to Otto Keisker, Noble.
160 pounds — Eli Smith (15-7), CH, pinned Brad Harriman, Lisbon, at 2:13; was pinned by Jackson Howarth, Marshwood, at 5:25; beat Sam Anderson, Sanford, 7-3; and was pinned by Logan Stevens, Skowhegan, at 4:58 to finish fourth.
195 pounds — Kaylo Littlejohn (29-6) beat Robert Worell, Noble, 16-3; beat Christopher Wilson, Nokomis, 7-5; and was pinned by Trevor Henschel, Foxcroft Acdemy, at 3:40 to finish second.
285 pounds — Jared Hansen (36-9) pinned Vincent Tzeo, Washington Academy, at 1:00; was pinned by Pierce Knorr, Mount Ararat, at 3:30; and was pinned by Colin Higgins, Lisbon, at 2:20.
The following is a list of Midcoast athletes who earned the right to participate in Saturday's qualifier, with weight classes and records prior to the qualifier in parentheses:
Camden Hills — Kaylo Littlejohn (first at 285 pounds, 27-5), Zac Annis (second at 113, 18-2), Eli Smith (second at 160, 13-5), Hilary Merrifield (third at 106, 30-8), Taylor Crosby (third at 145, 23-7), Jared Gilbert (third at 220, 28-4) and John Underhill (fourth at 138, 28-6).
Belfast — Jared Hansen (first at 195, 35-7), Brendan Bruns (second at 106, 35-4), Brandon Waterman (third at 138, 40-12), Chase Curry (3rd at 120, 39-13) and Austin Merando (fourth at 113, 36-14).
Medomak Valley — Steven Thompson (second at 132, 33-7).
Mount View — Anthony Barnard (fourth at 145, 35-12).