Defending Class B state champion Camden Hills turned back a stiff challenge from arch-rival Belfast to capture the Eastern Class B wrestling championship Saturday at Bar Harbor.

The Windjammers, who amassed 239 points, finished 30 points ahead of the Lions in the 12-team tourney.

In the process, Camden Hills qualified 13 of 14 wrestlers for the state meet, which will be held Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.

“I expected all those kids to be going to the states,” Camden Hills Coach Levi Rollins said. “We’re going to need all of them to bring home a championship.”

Winning individual titles for the Windjammers were Tom Cassidy at 130, Max Bragg at 135, Jacob Powers at 160, Rhett Chase at 215 and Jacob Halberg at 285.

The Class B state meet shapes up as a three-way battle. Belfast, which had 11 wrestlers qualify, and Mountain Valley, which had 10 wrestlers qualify while finishing first in the Western regional at Fryeburg, are expected to challenge Camden Hills.

THE GIRLS’ HOCKEY regular season ended Saturday. Eight teams made the playoffs, which begin this weekend with regional semifinals.

The Maine Principal Association will not announce the official playoff pairings until today, and the MPA’s Heal point standings were not complete Sunday night.

It appears Scarborough (12-4-2) may have held off York (13-3-2) for the No. 1 seed in the West, and Biddeford (7-10-1) may have sneaked past Falmouth (8-10) for the fourth seed.

If so, Scarborough would host Biddeford this weekend, and York would play host to No. 3 Cheverus (11-6-1).

In the East, St. Dom’s (17-1) is the No. 1 seed and the favorite to win the state championship. The Saints will host Leavitt/Edward Little (10-7-1) in the semifinals, while Winslow (10-3-3) appears to have the No. 2 seed and would host Greely (11-6-1).

The regional finals are Feb. 16 at the Portland Ice Arena. The state title game is Feb. 19 at the Colisee in Lewiston.

BIDDEFORD HIGH remains unbeaten in boys’ hockey, but the Tigers got a scare Friday night when leading scorer Brady Fleurent went down at the end of the first period. Fleurent slid on the ice to stop a slap shot. The puck hit him just above his skate and he stayed down. Once up, Fleurent skated off and came back for the second period.

“He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve seen,” Tigers Coach Rich Reissfelder said. “Once he got up, I knew he’d be OK.”

Biddeford is already missing another member of its top line. Bryan Dallaire is out with a thigh bruise but hopes to return this weekend.

THE PORTLAND HIGH boys’ basketball team has received an unexpected boost this season from freshmen guards Justin Zukowski and Jayvon Pitts-Young. Zukowski, whose brother Joe played for the Bulldogs before graduating last year, has been the starting point guard in recent games. Pitts-Young has become the sixth man, giving the Bulldogs (9-7) a lift with his energetic play.

The Bulldogs also have another talented freshman in Matt Talbot, a 6-foot-4 center who hasn’t played since breaking his hand in a junior varsity game against Cheverus. Coach Joe Russo likes what Zukowski and Pitts-Young have done so far and what Talbot could do in the future.

“I think they’re pretty good players as freshmen,” said Russo.

“Injuries made us bring all three of them up to the varsity. Zukowski and Pitts-Young are playing sooner that I expected. When we go with a small lineup, they’re on the floor. Talbot has played very little, but we’re looking at him down the road.”

All three players went to Lyman Moore Middle School, so familiarity is there when they’re on the floor.

“Justin had no turnovers against Scarborough,” Russo said. “He brings a calming effect to the offense. He stays in control. I love Jayvon’s defense and his ability to slash to the basket and score.”

Sophomore guard Nick Volger has also started at point guard. When Zukowski is at the point, Volger moves to off guard.

“Nick works so darn hard out there, we like to give him a break at point guard,” said Russo.

The Bulldogs’ recent surge has moved them into the top eight in the Heal point standings. They close with Deering and South Portland this week.

AFTER CHEVERUS beat Sanford 50-47 Saturday in an SMAA girls’ basketball game, Stags Coach Richie Ashley was quick to point out the contributions of junior guard Alexandra Palazzi-Leahy.

She scored 14 points — 12 in the second half, including her two 3-pointers, to rally the Stags. But her biggest contributions may have been on defense and as a playmaker.

Twice she stole passes and went in for layups. Then, with the game on the line, she found 6-foot junior center Morgan Cahill inside for the basket that put the Stags ahead.

“That’s Alexandra,” said Ashley. “She deserves a lot of credit for what she’s doing this year. She went from being a 20-point scorer last year to being a complete team player, and I don’t know if a lot of girls could do that.

“She looks to pass to the open player all the time. She believes that the name on the front of the jersey means more than the name on the back.”

Palazzi-Leahy averaged 18.7 points as a sophomore and is around 13 points this season.

Cahill, who transferred from Yarmouth, is the Stags’ chief threat now, along with sophomore forward Brooke Flaherty. They give Cheverus a strong 1-2 inside punch.

REBECCA KNIGHT, the UMaine-bound senior guard at McAuley, laughed when she was informed she scored 26 points in McAuley’s 47-43 overtime win over Deering. She looked stunned when she was informed she scored every one of McAuley’s points in the second and third quarters.

“I thought I had maybe five baskets the whole game,” she said.

That’s because she was concentrating on her defensive challenge — guarding Deering’s 1,000-point scorer, Kayla Burchill.

Burchill scored 22 points, but she had to work at it. Thirteen came at the foul line, where she missed only once.

“I wasn’t concerned with my offense,” said Knight. “I just wanted to stop her for the team.”

— Staff Writers Paul Betit, Tom Chard, Mike Lowe and Kevin Thomas contributed to this report.

 

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