BRUNSWICK

The high school wrestling postseason is upon us with the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships Saturday at Cony High School (Morse, Mt. Ararat, Brunswick) and the Mid- States at Mountain Valley (Lisbon).

Mt. Ararat

The Eagles are coming of a strong showing at the Essex Junction (Vt.) Invitational, placing sixth overall out of 33 teams. Damian Grubb at 99 pounds took first, as did Jared Jensen (Brunswick) at 170. Pierce Knorr (285) took fourth, Jacob Kenney (113) fifth and Felipe Gunter (145) sixth.

The team’s dual meet record is 18-8.

Expected to compete for Mt. Ararat (with KVAC record and overall records attached) are Grubb at 106 (19-4, 25-7), Kenney at 113 (22-6, 32-9), George Berry at 120 (8-9, 10- 13), Colin Blake at 126 (7-17, 7- 20), Emory Hudson at 132 (8- 16, 12-24), Adam Ewing at 132 (12-13, 17-19), Felipe Gunter at 145 (24-1, 34-5), Danny Ewing at 152 (18-5, 20-13), John Hetherman at 160 (5-10, 10-11), Jensen at 170 (19-0, 33-0), Brandon Jusseaume at 182 (15-8, 25-10) and Pierce Knorr at 285 (16-8, 24-12).

“We have very small numbers, but fortunately they are scattered in weight,” said Mt. Ararat coach Erick Jensen. “This may be one of my most improved teams in 14 years from the start of the season to the end. We finished the dual meet season at 19-8 and finished sixth in the tough Michael J. Baker Wrestling Classic over the weekend. They are wrestling well right now and hopefully we can keep that momentum going into KVACs, regionals and states.

Jensen sees Skowhegan as the Class A KVAC front-runner.

“It is Skowhegan’s to lose, but there will be some great matches with some individuals,” he said. “If some of those individuals on other teams create upsets you could have a much closer tournament than others may be thinking.

“I want this team to continue to improve and compete regardless of who they may be wrestling. If we can finish in the top four or five for the KVACs and top three for regionals, it will be a success for our young team.”

Illnesses and injury are of no major concern.

“We had it (illness) bad in the early season, but thankfully we are beyond that now, so we look good.”

Morse

The Shipbuilders ended up 11-19 in dual-meet action.

Going into KVACs, look for Kyle Bonti at 106 (34-3), Cody Marenius at 120 (24-10), Hunter Reed at 132 (18-9), De’Andre Dinkins at 138 (20- 9), Chad Bonti at 145 (15-15), Michael Alvarez at 152 (31-9), Sam Coffey at 160 (12-12), Corey Lent at 170 (25-18) and Austin Talgo at 220 (6-14).

“I would say that Camden Hills is probably the choice for winner in Class B. Belfast could challenge,” said Morse coach Shawn Guest.

“This season has been a train wreck. You name it and we have had to deal with it. Sickness, concussions, injuries, grades, deaths in the family, kids skipping practices, meets and tournaments, etc. I don’t ever remember a season like this in 32 years.

“The reason we have so many forfeits is because of injuries and concussions at this point. Doubt we will get those kids back at this point. We had two freshmen kids quit on us early in the year. They would have almost certainly have qualified for states. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. It is very frustrating to win every match wrestled as we did last week with York, but lose because we had to give them 42 points in forfeits and lose by four.

“Things need to change with this generation as the idea of hard work for any success is going by the wayside. Most kids today don’t want to do what it takes to win and the simple fact is that wrestling is hard work.”

Lisbon

The Greyhounds went 1-10, with a lone dual meet win over Mountain Valley.

On the Lisbon roster are Cody Beraunis at 106 (14-10), JD Martin at 113 (15-17), Ashley Patten at 120 (1-6), Zach Stevens at 132 (28-8), Tyler Bard at 138 (21-12), Josh Collier at 145 (8-6) and Ben Kates at 152 (3-8).

“As far as team standings, it’s not looking too good as we only have half a team,” said Lisbon coach Mark Stevens. “We lost six wrestlers to grades, injury or just quit.

“We have to believe we are getting better as the season goes on. We just returned from Vermont, had a day off, and then on Monday we wrestled four dual matches with Class C East teams. Our tough out-of-state and tournament schedule gives us what we need to prepare for Mid-States, regionals and states. We have been to some pretty big tournaments (Noble, Sanford, and Essex), so that when we get to the Augusta Civic Center, our eyes won’t be so wide. It will be just another day to wrestle.”

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.