Foxcroft wrestling finishes third at Class B East finals

    BELFAST — Five individual champions, in all five of the team’s finals matches, helped the Foxcroft Academy wrestling team earn a third-place finish at the 2014 Class B East championship on Feb. 8 at Belfast Area High School.
    Moving up to Class B after winning the last three Class C state crowns, the Ponies scored 159 points to finish third out of 10 teams. Foxcroft trailed only the 195.5 points picked up by Ellsworth High School and 203 for Camden Hills Regional High School. The Windjammers won the program’s fifth consecutive regional title.

    Antonio Ayala won the first of Foxcroft’s five individual championships. In the finals at 120 pounds, Ayala won by a score of 14-12 over James Archer of Camden Hills.
    In the 138-pound division, Brooks Law recorded an 11-3 major decision victory over Walker Roberts of Belfast in their finals match.
    Todd Francis pinned Camden Hills’ Connor Petros at the 4:37-mark of the 160-pound championship contest, giving Foxcroft its third first-place wrestler.
    Brandon Brock squared off with Brian Jones of Camden Hills in the last match at 182 pounds. Brock recorded a 13-3  major decision victory over the Windjammer.
    Corbyn Bruce made the Ponies five for five in the finals as he earned a 6-3 victory over Jared Gilbert of Camden Hills to become the regional 195-pound champion.
    The five Foxcroft champions will all move on the Class B state championship, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 15 at Morse High School in Bath. The top four wrestlers from eastern and western Maine qualify for the state meet, and three other Ponies will go after they won their matches in the consolation finals.
    Eli Olson finished in third place at 126 pounds as he recorded a pin fall victory at the 3:55-mark over Camden Hills’ Zachary Collins in the consolation championship.
    Michael Pendriss pinned Jacob Bither of Caribou High School at the 5:40 mark in the last consolation match at 170 pounds.
    The third third-place Pony was Craig Chambers at 220 pounds, In the consolation finals Chambers won by default over Caribou’s Colton Conley.
    Wrestlers placing fifth at the regional finals serve as the alternates for the state championship. For Foxcroft Isaac Whittemore will be the 132-pound alternate from eastern Maine.