As the wrestling season approaches its peak – Regionals and States – teams are getting their last regular looks at the competition, their last opportunities to hone their skills.
Scarborough, Westbrook, Biddeford, Cheverus and Deering all collided on Stevens Avenue in Portland on Saturday evening for a five-way showdown, a fine way to close out their respective schedules.
“They’re doing good,” Scarborough head coach Shane Stephenson said of his team, mid-meet. “Some guys are really stepping it up; they've progressed a lot this year. Just in a season, it’s amazing to see some of the guys, how well they’re doing.”
At left, Scarborough’s Joseph Brown weighs down Deering’s Jonah Rogers in a 220-pound battle. Rogers won the match by fall at 2:20.
Stephenson highlighted some of his key players: “John Stolz, specifically, is really stepping it up … He was getting beat a lot in the beginning of the year, and now he’s beating all these kids that beat him at the beginning of the year, so for him to just turn the corner, is amazing.
At left, The Red Storm’s Mike Libby gets set against Westbrook’s Noah Featherson.
“He’s shown a lot of dedication. He’s been on the team for a long time. I knew from his freshman year, wrestling at the Noble tournament, when he smashed his face up and couldn't stop his nosebleed and he kept wrestling, that he had the drive to do well. So it’s good for him to see the success he deserves.”
Other wrestlers are gaining the coach’s attention.
“Mike Libby’s also doing well. He’s starting to pin a bunch of kids. I think 160’s a little tough; he was at 145 last year – and he still shouldn’t be at 160. It’s a little high for him.”
Stolz and Libby won key bouts, for instance, against Deering and Cheverus opponents. Stolz bested the Rams’ Benjamin Jones by fall at 39 seconds, then the Stags’ Mike Macaluso by decision, 13-7. Libby took down his Deering opponent by fall, needing just over a minute to do so, and his Cheverus opponent by fall as well, this time in just 45 seconds.
In the end, the Red Storm as a team trumped Deering 42-39, though such numbers require qualification: Scarborough earned quite a few points by forfeit, and Deering won a number of matchups in other weight classes. Scarborough and Cheverus were likewise closely matched.
Not all of Stephenson’s athletes were laying down their best moves on Saturday. More than once, he could be heard yelling simply from his corner: “You’ve got to wrestle!”
Hopefully, his entire roster is ready to wrestle in the coming weeks.