Ellsworth wins PVC wrestling crown; Foxcroft, Dexter and Caribou pleased with performances

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    ELLSWORTH — Many coaches considered the Ellsworth Eagles as the team to beat in Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference championship. But no one was complaining about the level of competition and exposure for some of Maine’s best young grapplers.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    COOL AND COLLECTED — Ethan Cooley of PCHS defeated J.T. Black of FA in a 145 preliminary match at the PVC championships.He brought home a second-place medal in the finals.

    “Our kids saw some of the best wrestlers in the state at one venue,” said Caribou coach James “Chico” Hernandez. “So the four-hour trip was worth it to us.”
    Ellsworth wrestlers won six titles and amassed 238.5 points while Foxcroft Academy (146.5), Dexter Regional High School (121), Caribou (80) and Bucksport (62.5) rounded out the top five schools in the 15-team event.
     “Our job was to wrestle tough in every match, hold our seeding and get some help from other teams. But the last part was the toughest,” said Foxcroft Academy coach Luis Ayala.
    Ellsworth went into the finals with a fairly comfortable lead and the high-flying Eagles eventually won six championships, three second-place medals and four third-place awards.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    SIZING UP — Axios Gerakaris of Caribou (left) sizes up Jacob Hesseltine of Dexter in a 145 preliminary match at the PVC championship. The pair squared off again in the finals with Hesseltine prevailing for a third-place finish.

    In addition, Michael Garland of Ellsworth — who captured the 220-pound title with three straight pins — was voted the outstanding wrestler of the tournament.
    Ayala said that getting five Pony wrestlers into the finals was “a pleasant surprise, especially Devin (Madigan), a first-year wrestler. It was great to see him out there.” Madigan, wrestling in the 285-pound division, defeated Patrick Eastman of Mattanawcook Academy and Adam Ranco of MDI before yielding to eventual champion Luke Potter of Hermon.
    Ayala also praised the performances of Brooks Law, who won the 138-pound title; and Corbyne Bruce, tops in the 195-pound class. “Corbyne went from the 200-pound class to 195 this year, and that kid he beat from Bucksport (K.P Hilaire) is one of the best,” Ayala added. Antonio Ayala of FA kept his unbeaten streak alive by defeating Josh Wright of Ellsworth for the 120-pound title.
    Hernandez joked that since he’s only bringing a handful of 3rd and 4th-place points back to The County, “I feel like I’m coaching the Mighty Ducks this year. But all Disney movies have happy endings, and I’m very proud of my team, no matter what they do.”
    Hernandez said that he’s watched the Ellsworth program “grow considerably over the past four or five years. Today, it’s their turn to shine in the sun.”

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    FLOOR WORK — Isaac Whittemore of FA defeated Elijah Harmon of Stearns in the 132 semi-finals at Saturday’s PVC wrestling tournament.

    The Vikings third-place finishers were Rebecca King (113), Kyle Morris (120) and Jake Bither (170).
    Piscataquis Community High School has a small wrestling squad, but Ethan Cooley advanced to the final round in the 145-pound class. He lost to Jack Weeks of Ellsworth. “The team is all freshmen and sophomores,” said PCHS coach Tom Cyr. “Ethan is a sophomore, very dedicated and a hard worker. It was nice to see him get to the finals.”
    Cyr said that while the Pirates only managed to finish ninth in the standings, the trip to Ellsworth was well worth it. “It gives us a chance to see the teams we’ll face in other tournaments down the road. It was a learning experience for everybody,” Cyr said.
    Dexter Regional High School Coach Brian Salisbury said that the Tigers “had some really good matches and some we could have finished better. I’m impressed with our conditioning. We worked really hard this week,” he added. “Dillon Garnette (113) had a good match, Zach Caron (132) did a nice job, and Seth Blais (152 champion) and Bryce (Salisbury, 160 champion) were outstanding. A lot of these schools aren’t in our class, so we had no way of judging what the competition was going to be like. Overall, it was a great team effort.”

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    GET A GRIP — Michael Pendriss of FA has the upper hand on Matt Mower of Dexter for a moment in a 170 preliminary match, but Mower prevailed on a 2-1 decision.