AUGUSTA—The Bonny Eagle wrestling squad picked a up a first-place finish, a second-place finish and a fourth-place finish at Class A States last Saturday, Feb. 16. That’s three podium finishes – and by three brothers, no less: Colby, Caden and Cam Frost are all standouts in their weight classes, despite being just a sophomore (the former) and a pair of freshman twins (the latter).

The Scots took seventh as a team (of 27 schools). Also battling were Windham/Gray-New Gloucester, who finished in 21st, and Westbrook/Gorham, who finished 19th.

Complete Team Scores
1. Mt. Ararat/Brunswick, 96; 2. Marshwood, 76.5; 3. Camden Hills, 74; 3. Cony, 74; 5. Noble, 72.5; 6. Nokomis, 64; 7. Bonny Eagle, 49; 8. Massabesic, 48.5; 9. Oxford Hills, 45; 10. Portland/South Portland, 40; 11. Kennebunk, 39.5; 12. Scarborough, 33; 13. Erskine, 29; 14. Mt. Blue, 25; 15. Cheverus, 24; 16. Biddeford, 23; 17. Morse, 21.5; 18. York/Traip, 21; 19. Westbrook/Gorham, 16; 20. Sanford, 14; 21. Windham/G-NG, 7; 22. Sacopee Valley, 3; 23. Gardiner, 3; 24. Skowhegan, 0; 25. Messalonskee, 0; 26. Deering, 0

Colby Frost took his crown at 120 lbs. by pinning Sean Moriarty of Marshwood in 5:35. Frost advanced on a bye through the first round, then topped Jalden Blacewicz of Noble in the championship round semis, pinning him in 3:17 to earn his bout with Moriarty.

“(Colby) had a tight finals match against Moriarty,” Bonny Eagle head coach Josh Lund said. “Was 1-0 Colby late in the third period when Colby put Moriarty on his back and pinned him.”

Frost told his tale: “Truthfully, going to States was nothing but revenge,” he said. “I made it into the State Finals and lost (last year), and losing that match was one of the lowest points in my life. I’ve never felt a worse pain of defeat, ever; everything I had worked for wasn’t enough.

“From that point, a fire was lit underneath me, that I would not lose, (the) next year, and that I would succeed in what I fell short of accomplishing last year. And it paid off. Everyday I lifted, everyday I worked and worked to perfect my craft. My coaches’ve told me how much better, stronger and faster I’ve became since last season.”

Asked about his last bout of the day, Frost said: “My biggest match of the day was obviously my finals. It was nerve-wracking, but I’ve been there, done that, so it wasn’t anything new, just had to wrestle my stuff and it paid off.

“It wasn’t easy, because everyone in the State knows I shoot and attack, that’s my style, so my opponent wasn’t going to give into that. He wasn’t shooting; in fact, rather backing up and doing nothing but defensive work. So I had to change my style of attack.”

Frost is the Scots’ first State Champ since 2014.

In the 106 championship final, Caden Frost fell by pin to Noah Dumas of Cony at 1:12, thereby finishing second. Frost earned his shot at Dumas by beating Jagger Bullen (Mt. Blue) 6-4 in the first round and Eric Andrews (Camden Hills) 6-3 in the semis.

Lund remarked on Frost’s mid-tournament bout: “(Caden) had a tough semifinals match against Andrews from Camden Hills. Scored some late points in the third period to win the match.”

In the 113 consolation round finals, Cam Frost fell 9-0 to Cony’s Ahmad Ahmad. Frost lost to Calvin Peck of Nokomis by pin at :49 in the first round, thereby shuffling to the consolation bracket. He then bested Gabriella Taylor of Westbrook/Gorham by pin at :20 to advance to the consolation semis. There, he faced Peck a second time – and came out on top, 4-2.

“(Cam) wrestled really tough and fought back in the consolation rounds to place,” Lund said. “With all the weight he is giving up, I couldn’t be prouder with how he wrestled today.”

So wrestling is apparently in Frost blood. “We’re a wrestling family,” Colby said. “Everyone does it. But we didn’t get it from our dad. We were just born for it. It was our mom that go us to the point we’re at; she gives us everything we need to be successful. She sacrifices everything for us to succeed – all the time, sweat, money and driving she has done. By winning, it meant more to her than it did to me, as it showed that everything she has done for us has paid off. She’s my number one fan and role model. I love my mom so much.”

The Frosts’ success is crucial for Bonny Eagle. The team comprises almost exclusively underclassmen, so it needs talent and determination to build upon.

“I’d like to imagine we’re putting the team on our backs for a little time,” Colby said of himself and his brothers, “only because we’re so young and need leaders by example. Sure, everyone knows the fundamentals of wrestling, but not everyone has the desire and dedication on our team, and that’s what I’m trying to strictly enforce. I know what it means to lose and win, and what it takes to become great, so I’m just trying to spread my knowledge to the team, because I have so much hope that we will win a state title as a team. We’re more than capable.”

Colby, Cam and Caden have an older brother, Caleb, who graduated not too long ago from BE and was himself a standout wrestler. “It sucks that Caleb can’t be here with us like he should be this year,” Colby said. “My mom put him into school early as young kid and he graduated at the age of 17. That didn’t stop him from coming and supporting us every single meet and tournament. He was my first person I went to after I won States. He made me better his year.”

Also on hand for the Scots were Morrison Doucette (160), Andrew Thomas (170) and Jakob Harriman (285). Thomas fell in the first round, but picked up a win in the consolation bracket before falling to Henri Kuntz of Westbrook/Gorham. Harriman also bounced in the first round, picked up a win in the consolations, then succumbed.

Westbrook’s Kuntz ultimately claimed third, besting Mason Hultman of Mt. A/Brunswick 15-7. Kuntz knocked Hultman from championship contention in the first round with a pin at 5:20, then lost to Matt Pooler of Massabesic in the semis, a pin at 1:18. Kuntz then won by decision, 12-6, vs. Thomas, the Bonny Eagler, to end up with Hultman a second time.

Westbrook/Gorham’s Zach Davis (106) and Nicco Pappalardo (120) also competed. Pappalardo lost to Tyler Preble of Nokomis in the first round, then triumphed over Jon Lujan (Messalonskee) in the first consolation round. Pappalardo’s day ended, however, in a loss to Balcewicz.

Over among the Windham/G-NG contingent, DJ Pelletier (126) slid to the consolation bracket on a first-round loss, then picked up a win. He fell 3-1, however, in his next contest. George Butts suffered a similar fate, losing in the first round to David Spinney (Marshwood), winning 3-2 over Keagan Rice (Cheverus) at his next opportunity, then succumbing by pin to Dillon Worster of Oxford Hills. Andrew Martin likewise went 1-2 on the day; his win in the consolation bracket came against Doucette, the Bonny Eagler. Owen McDuffie (138) and Garrett Allen (220) also represented Windham/G-NG at the competition.

Adam Birt can be reached at abirt@keepmecurrent.com. Follow him on Twitter: @CurrentSportsME.

Bonny Eagle’s Caden Frost wrestles at 106.

Photo courtesy of Jen Harriman.

Cam Frost competes at 113 for the Scots.

Photo courtesy of Jen Harriman.

Colby Frost wrestles at 120 for the Scots.

Photo courtesy of Jen Harriman.

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