By Mike Whaley
Noble coach Kip DeVoll, left, makes a point to disconsolate heavyweight wrestler, Eric Pilcher, after a consolation semifinal loss at the Class A states Saturday. (Whaley/ Democrat photo)
TOPSHAM, Maine — Noble High School finished second at Saturday’s Class A wrestling championship, its best showing since winning the 2011 title.
Veteran coach Kip DeVoll said this could be his last season.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” said DeVoll, now in his 34th season and 30th as head coach. “I don’t even know if I’ll be back next year. It’s getting close. I have to take some time off to give it some thought.”
Last year DeVoll intimated he would stay on to coach his youngest son, Jack, who will be a freshman next year, and then call it a day. Saturday he backed off that somewhat, leaving the door open for a more immediate exit from coaching.
DeVoll, a 1979 Noble graduate, has coached the Knights to 12 Class A titles, including 11 during a 13-year stretch from 1998 to 2011, and eight straight at one point.
He had mixed feelings about his team’s effort on Saturday.
“We’re getting there,” he said. “I think the freshmen got a little overwhelmed when they got in there. ... It’s one of those things you don’t know about until you get them into this atmosphere. It was a good start for these young kids. It’s something to look forward to.”
Noble junior Otto Keisker holds the Maine Class A wrestling runners-up plaque Saturday in Topsham. (Whaley/Democrat photo)
Eight of Noble’s 11 wrestlers placed, and six were underclassmen.
Sophomore Austin Shorey went 3-0 to win the 120 state crown, Noble’s first since Ben Valencia captured the old 140 title in 2011. Shorey had three wins by pin. In the final he pinned Brunswick’s Christian Jensen at 3:26.
Josh Grenier (138), Otto Keisker (145) and Zac Schluntz (220) each took second.
Schluntz was unable to wrestle in his final after his opponent in the semis, Max Story of Cony, drove his teeth into Schluntz’s cheek, opening a sizeable cut. Schluntz went onto win by pin, but he was unable to wrestle in the final.
“We didn’t want to open it up again” DeVoll said. “It’s too bad. He worked hard to get to the final. But he had a heck of a year. This is his first year at the state tournament placing.”
Jake Martel (126) and Bailey Coull (132) were third, and Joe Pilecki (106) and Robert Worell (195) were fourth.
“It was disappointing in terms of you get your hopes up to do a little better,” DeVoll said. “I think we could have done a little bit better. I don’t think we could have caught Marshwood, not without help from other schools. On our own, it wasn’t going to happen.”
While Marshwood loses six seniors who scored Saturday, Noble departs only two.
“We have a lot of underclassmen,” DeVoll added. “Now that they’ve been here, they know what it’s like. They’ll get that shot again next year, hopefully. That makes the biggest difference, when you’ve got that experience.”