NORTH BERWICK — State championships are not handed out at the two-day Noble Invitational wrestling tournament, but Wednesday’s final results showed there could be changes at the top this year.

Skowhegan, the top team in the north the past few seasons, clinched the team title when Kam Doucette came from a 5-1 third-period deficit to defeat Chris Francis, a Rhode Island state champion from La Salle Academy, 6-5.

“This is probably one of my favorite memories so far,” Doucette said. “It’s always good beating teams like Noble and Marshwood.”

Doucette was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. Two-time state champion Cody Craig (106 pounds) and Julian Sirois (152) also won individual titles for Skowhegan, which did not bring its full team.

Skowhegan appears to be the slight favorite to unseat four-time Class A champ Marshwood, with Noble also a title threat.

“It’s the hard work we’re putting in,” Doucette said. “I guess we’re just motivated. We know this can be our best year. We have four good seniors and good wrestlers in the younger classes.”

Skowhegan finished with 180.5 points. Host Noble was second with 170, followed by Foxcroft Academy (162) and Marshwood (154). Twenty-three teams scored points.

Noble put six wrestlers into the finals with Jake Martel winning at 126 pounds with an emphatic third-period pin against Greg Waterbury of Plymouth, New Hampshire.

“We just have to keep working hard and keep doing what we’re doing,” Martel said. “I feel like since Marshwood (graduated) some of their veteran wrestlers it’s opened up the playing field. Honestly I feel that we’re all really close.”

Foxcroft Academy, a Class B school, had three individual champions: Zach Caron (145), Michael Pendriss (220) and Connor Holmes (285).

Marshwood’s Brad Beaulieu (132) and Aidan Whitis (138) won their weight classes.

“We had a few kids out with injuries,” Marshwood Coach Matt Rix said. “I don’t think any of our kids underperformed.”

Noble was also missing regulars, Coach Kip DeVoll said.

New individual standouts are also emerging. One of the brightest is Mt. Ararat/Brunswick junior Robert Hetherman. He improved his career record to 120-17 and is 18-0 this season after a convincing 7-0 win in the 170-pound final against stout Noble senior Otto Keisker, who bumped up a weight class to cover a missing teammate.

Hetherman used his strength and long arms to engulf Keisker throughout the match.

Hetherman finished second to four-time state champ Jackson Howarth of Marshwood at last year’s Class A and New England qualifier tournaments.

“Last year I felt like it was going to be my time but then I ran into Jackson,” Hetherman said. “The way he wrestled, he was able to stop me. He knew my moves before I did and he controlled the match.”

Now it’s Hetherman controlling the action.

The 120- and 132-pound finals were marquee matches.

At 120 pounds, Gardiner senior Peter Del Gallo, a three-time Class B champion and former New England champ, edged Noble junior Austin Shorey, 3-0. Shorey is the defending Class A champ at 120 and Gardiner is now in Class A. After two scoreless periods, Del Gallo worked his escape quickly to start the third and then worked the match’s only takedown.

“He wanted to keep it close and try to make a big move at the end,” Del Gallo said. “I need to get a better offense going and prevent him from slowing the match down.”

In the 132-pound match, Beaulieu edged Mountain Valley’s Caleb Austin 5-3 in a matchup of longtime friends but infrequent high school foes. Beaulieu got the edge with two good double-leg takedowns. The two wrestled “hundreds of times” as youth wrestlers, Beaulieu said, but had not met since splitting two matches as freshmen.

Also winning individual championships were James Mountain of La Salle (113), Brandon Cousino of Vergennes, Vermont (182) and Christopher Wilson of Nokomis (195).

Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:

scraig@pressherald.com

Twitter: SteveCCraig