BRUNSWICK — Area wrestling teams are enjoying growth in their programs and after a successful 2017/18. They will look to build on that success and take that increased confidence to the next level this upcoming season.

Mt. Ararat/Brunswick returns a number of strong juniors for another season, while adding a talented group of freshmen to the program. Morse will rely on its youthful roster to fill the gaps from graduating seniors, while Lisbon/Oak Hill looks to be a force in Class B with a number of returning wrestlers. And Richmond continues to grow its young program and is excited about the upcoming season.

Mt. Ararat/Brunswick

Coach Erick Jensen has been around Mt. Ararat wrestling for quite some time. He’s coached a number of talented wrestlers over the years, but as the 2018/19 season approaches, this team is solid from top to bottom.

“On paper, this may be one of the most talented teams I have had in 19 years,” Jensen said. “(We) will see how they perform down the stretch, but this could be really exciting.”

The core group of returning grapplers are juniors Ben Laurence, who was a state runner up last year, Brett Raio, a state qualifier who placed fourth in the New England qualifier, Caden Kowalsky and Cody Holman, who were both state qualifiers last season. Seniors Brady Mitchell, Isaac Ducatt and Mason Hultman are also returning for the Eagles.

“This is a great group of athletes, all working hard to prepare for the upcoming season,” Jensen said. “We also have one of the best group of freshmen that I’ve coached coming in this year.”

The team will compete this weekend at the Westbrook Invitational at Westbrook High School. A Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference meet at home against Camden Hills and Gardiner on Dec. 12 follows. Other tournaments in December include — at Mountain Valley (Dec. 15), at Oxford Hills (Dec. 19), at Cony (Dec. 22) and at Noble (Dec. 28).

The Eagles will host Medomak Valley and Cony on Jan. 2, as well as hosting meets on Jan. 12 and Jan. 25. They will prepare for regionals and states with the KVAC Championships at Cony High School on Feb. 2.

“We should be in the mix for both the KVAC and the northern Maine region with the talent on this team,” Jensen said.

Morse

Finishing in the top five in all of its meets last year, the Morse squad expects to accomplish some of the same success again this season.

Losing top wrestlers Isaiah Cogswell and Sam Strozier, the Shipbuilders are looking at their youthful depth to fill the holes.

“We have some green kids wrestling for the first time,” coach Mike Bennett said. “We have one sophomore and three freshmen that are first-year wrestlers.”

Returning for the ’Builders are sophomores Ben Brewer, Mason Savary, Connor McNish and Isaak Sinclair, as well as seniors Ihsan Myers and Donovan Rector.

“We will use some of the new and younger guys to fill in the gaps,” Bennett said.

As usual, annual competition will come from Skowhegan, Nokomis, Oxford Hills and Cony to name a few according to Bennett.

“It’s always tough to place at regionals,” Bennett said. “We have some young wrestlers that are ready to compete.”

The Shipbuilders will compete in Saturday’s Westbrook Invitational, then host Nokomis, Oceanside and Richmond (Dec. 12), and compete in the Tiger Tourney in Gardiner on Dec. 15. They end the month at the Husky Winter Classic at Maine Central Institute on Dec. 28.

Other notable meets are at Medomak Valley (Jan. 5), at Mt. Ararat (Jan. 9), at Camden Hills (Jan. 12), at Belfast (Jan. 26) and the KVAC Championships (Feb. 2).

Lisbon/Oak Hill

The 2018/19 season is prepping to be an exciting one for the Greyhounds.

Runners-up behind Wells in the Mid-State League Championships and third in Class B South, the Greyhounds will once again compete for a league title, returning a number of wrestlers from co-coaches Ted Albasini and Schyler Gagnon’s team a year ago.

“We have a strong group of core wrestlers returning this year who will look to place in the state meet,” Albasini said, coaching in his sixth season. “Although we lost a few wrestlers from last year, we have a skilled and eager group of freshmen coming into the program who will help to continue improving on the momentum we built last year.”

Albasini and Gagnon were named Coaches of the Year in the league last year.

Zoe Buteau of Oak Hill returns for her senior year after posting a 21-7 record and will likely reach the 100-win plateau during the season. Wrestling in the 120-pound weight class, she captured the Class B South regional championship, becoming only the third girl to win a regional title in Maine. She lost in the first round of the State Class B championships in her attempt to become the first female grappler to win a state championship in a Maine Principal’s Association sanctioned meet.

Also returning is Cam Bourget, who also took home a regional title in the 160 weight-class, Jack Tibbetts and Dan Bolton. Tibbets grabbed the 113 Mid-State League title, while Bolton finished second in the 182.

Newcomers on the team this year are Kylie Burns, Aiden Laviolette, Isaac Potvin, Jeremy Harmon and Evan Gagnon.

After competing in the Westlake Tournament this past weekend in Bath, the Greyhounds host Dirigo, Monmouth and Richmond in a meet on Saturday (10 a.m.). A pair tournaments end December with the Atlantic Invitational at Wells on Dec. 22 and the Noble Tournament on Dec. 28. Other key meets for the ’Hounds are a 20-team meet at Skowhegan on Jan. 12 and out-of-state battles at the Essex Invitational in Essex, Vermont, and a meet with Winnacunnet High School in New Hampshire, preparing them for the Mid-State League Championship, hosted at Lisbon High School this year.

“We are excited to be hosting the Mid-State League tournament this year,” Albasini said. “We will have an opportunity to display our new wrestling mat that was donated to us by the Lisbon Athletic Boosters.”

Richmond

Started as a club five years ago, the wrestling program in Richmond has turned into a varsity sport over the past couple of seasons.

In their second season competing at the varsity level, the Bobcats are still in the “building stages” according to coach Mark Taylor. Taylor, who wrestled at Bonny Eagle, has been a youth wrestling coach for 12 years and still coaches the peewee team.

“Our feeder program is at 40 kids, and this is finally helping to ensure our numbers are solid,” Taylor said. “We had a light season of competing last year as that was just a warm up for all of us. We did not care about records last year, we just wanted the kids to get their feet wet.”

This year, the team is jumping in and Taylor feels they “are a solid team.”

Junior Spencer Soule wrestles at 182 and will be joined by captains Nate Curtis (195) and Cyrus Logan (285) to lead the squad. Curtis is the team’s only senior.

Also returning are Zach York (132) and Kyle Underhill-Titlon (182). Newcomers to the team this year are senior Tehyla Wilson (126), juniors Jake MacMaster (195), Brenden Roberge (170) and Hunter Harris (220), and sophomores Parker Gagnon (220), Makayla Bergeron (145) and Victoria Bergeron (145). Freshmen on the team are Elliot Michaud (138) and Lillianna Riddle (195).

The team opens its season with a meet on Saturday at Lisbon against Dirigo, Lisbon/Oak Hill and Monmouth. The Bobcats will join Morse, Nokomis and Oceanside on Dec. 12 in Bath before the team takes on Monmouth (Dec. 22) heading into the winter break.

Following meets at Madison (Jan. 9) and Mt. Ararat (Jan. 12) the Bobcats travel to Portland for the Cheverus Invitational (Jan. 19). A meet against Lisbon and Mountain Valley (Jan. 23) and the Mid-State League Championship (Feb. 2) round out the season.

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