Sometimes dreams do come true. Just ask Westbrook High senior Andrew Howe. The Blazes talented wrestler won his first ever state championship in the final tournament of his high school career.

“I’ve been looking forward to it all year,” Howe said about the Class A state championship meet in Augusta last Saturday. “It’s been my goal to win a state title since my freshman year.”

Howe’s dominating 22-7 technical fall win over Noble’s Kevin Valliere in the championship final earned him the state title at 145 pounds.

“I get a lot of single leg takedowns,” said Howe. “And that’s what I used on Valliere.”

Howe marched to the championship with a victory over Adam Edgerton of Oxford Hills in the quarterfinal round followed by a semifinal win against Josh Scott of Biddeford. He had beaten Scott in the West A regional final one week earlier and their re-match produced the same result with Howe moving into the final.

Quickness, tenacity and skill all helped Howe achieve a 43-4 record this season. He’ll now prepare for the New England Championships on March 2-3 in New Haven, Conn.

Howe is the first Westbrook wrestler to win a state championship since 2003.

Bonny Eagle wrestlers place third

Bonny Eagle had a fine showing at Saturday’s Class A state championship tournament. The Scots finished behind only Massabesic and Noble in the 20-team event.

The Scots had two wrestlers reach the championship finals with Dalton Groeger winning the 103-pound weight division and Bobby Dedovic finishing second at 130.

Four other Bonny Eagle wrestlers made it into the consolation finals. Max Dunzik took third at 135 pounds with a 5-4 win over Ben Schutt of Morse. Jared Stiles placed third at 140 pounds with a pin against Theo Marshall of Mt. Ararat. Steve Martin finished third at 152 thanks to a 10-5 win over Alex Holland of Massabesic. And Dan Avery took fourth following a 3-2 overtime loss to Ron Packard of Oxford Hills.

New team at top of the heap

A defending state champion in any sport doesn’t give up its crown very easily. When you’re the eight-time defending state wrestling champions from Noble, you fight, claw and scratch in order to retain the title that’s been yours since 1999.

And that’s exactly what happened on Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center as a talented and determined Massabesic High wrestling team overcame those proud Knight wrestlers to win their first Class A state championship since 1998. Massabesic and their 11 qualifiers scored 145.5 points to outlast Noble and their seven-wrestler total of 130.5.

The other teams in the top 10 included third-place Bonny Eagle (82), Oxford Hills (68.5), Biddeford (65), Sanford (61), Marshwood (59), Morse (49), Kennebunk (47), and Deering (44).