Cody Hughes has proven he is among the top high school wrestlers not only in Maine but in New England.
With three state titles, a national sophomore championship and three top-six finishes at the New England championships on his resume, the Marshwood High junior also proved he could accept the lone loss of his junior season, learn from it and move on.
All-State Wrestling Team
Cody Craig, Skowhegan, freshman, 106
Craig won the Class A and New England qualifying titles, was undefeated in Maine and finished 50-2 overall.
Peter Del Gallo, Gardiner, sophomore, 113
The New England 106-pound champ as a freshman, Del Gallo ran his career record to 100-0 before suffering his first loss at the New Englands, where he finished fifth.
Tyler Craig, Skowhegan, junior, 120
Won his third Class A title and added the New England qualifier title in a 51-4 season that included two wins at the New England championships.
Tyler Everett, Massabesic, senior, 126
Everett claimed his second Class A title and won the New England qualifier. He was 55-4 this season.
Dagan Berenyi, Ellsworth, sophomore, 132
Berenyi came back from an injury at the Noble Invitational that led to his only in-state loss (by default) to sweep his way through Class B and the New England qualifier in a 25-3 season.
Dominick Day, Biddeford, junior, 138
Day won the Class A and New England qualifier in one of the state’s toughest divisions in a 42-5 season that included two pins and a sixth-place finish at the New Englands.
Kaleb Brown, Skowhegan, junior, 145
After being upset at the Class A state championships, Brown came back to win the New England qualifier and went 2-2 at the New England meet to cap a 44-3 season.
Jackson Howarth, Marshwood, junior, 152
Howarth won his third straight Class A title and the New England qualifier before finishing fifth in New England to complete a 49-3 season. His career record is 142-16.
Cody Hughes, Marshwood, junior, 160
En route to a third straight Class A title, the repeat All-Telegram pick went 49-1, losing in overtime in the New England final, 2-1. Hughes has a 149-9 career record.
Malik Geiger, Oxford Hills, junior, 170
Class A runner-up and Eastern champ, Geiger won the New England qualifier and went 48-5 this season.
Brett Gerry, Marshwood, junior, 182
A repeat All-Telegram choice, Gerry also repeated as the Class A 182-pound champ, going 49-3 overall. His only in-state loss was to Michael Curtis of Wells.
Michael Curtis, Wells, junior, 195
Curtis won every tournament he entered except the New England championships, where he finished third. His only other loss in a 50-2 season was to Gerry.
Michael Garland, Ellsworth, senior, 220
Garland won his first state title and added a win at the New England qualifier. He finished the season 41-2.
Aaron Lint, Winslow, senior, 285
Lint went 54-0 this season. The three-time state champ at 285 pounds did not wrestle at this year’s New England championships. His career record is 160-26.
Coaches of the Year
Brooks Thompson and Tenney Noyes, Skowhegan
Co-coaches for the past five years, Thompson and Noyes took the Indians to another level this season, winning the Eastern A title with seven individual champions and then finishing as runner-up to three-time champ Marshwood at the state meet. Seven Skowhegan wrestlers advanced to the New England qualifier, with six wrestling at the New England championships.
Additional Photos
Hughes was 49-0 this season when he went to the mat for the 160-pound final last Saturday at the New England championships. He competed with the Massachusetts champion, Jonathan Viruet, to a 1-1 tie through regulation and the first 1:56 of overtime. Then, with four seconds left in the second 30-second segment of the second overtime, from a restart, Viruet executed a quick escape for the winning point.
“I’ve watched that finals match already so many times,” Hughes said a few days later. “I have to be honest with myself. The reason I lost the New England title is he did a quick escape and got out. I let go of him and end of story.
“You’ve got to be able to face that and correct it, and not make the same mistake twice.”
Mistakes were few for Hughes this season. He dominated opponents at both 170 and 160 pounds, where he won his third straight Class A title, and rolled through Maine’s top Class B and C wrestlers while winning Maine’s first New England qualifier.
He also won prestigious tournament titles at the Noble Invitational, the Spartan Wrestling Tournament in Sanford and in Essex Junction, Vt.
Hughes’ tactical skill and devotion to his sport make him the Sunday Telegram Wrestler of the Year.
“It means a lot,” Hughes said when told of the honor. “I know how much work I put in, going to practice every day of the week during the season and most days in the offseason. If people are starting to recognize that and seeing me as one of the better individuals, you know what you’re doing is paying off.”
Marshwood Coach Matt Rix pointed to Hughes’ increased work in the weight room as bringing an added strength element to an already sharp game, honed by offseason training and competing.
“He searches out practices and continues to challenge himself,” Rix said.
Other top contenders for the award were Gardiner’s 113-pound sophomore Peter Del Gallo and Wells’ 195-pound junior Michael Curtis.
Del Gallo, like Hughes, was unbeaten in Maine, suffering his first career loss at the New Englands, where he finished fifth. Curtis, the Class B champ, went 50-2 overall and placed third in New England.
Hughes has a career record of 149-9 and has been part of three straight Class A championship teams.
Hughes, fellow three-time champ Jackson Howarth and two-time champion Brett Gerry will be back next season as seniors to lead the quest for a fourth title.
“I can’t say I would do as well without the team,” Hughes said. “Without Jackson and Brett and Justin Stacy, without Coach (Matt) Rix and Coach (Pat) Howard, it wouldn’t be the same. It’s not just an individual or two.”
Rix said Hughes sets the tempo on a daily basis. The veteran coach said on the morning of the Class A state championships, Hughes was the first wrestler to arrive at 6 a.m. As each of his groggy teammates entered, Hughes hit them with high-fives and screams of encouragement.
“I knew by the energy in that locker room the morning of states that it was going to be a great day,” Rix said.
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or at:
scraig@pressherald.com
Twitter: SteveCCraig
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