Foxcroft wrestling finishes second at Ryan Detour Tournament

BUCKSPORT — On Saturday, Dec. 9 the Foxcroft Academy wrestling team traveled to Bucksport High School for the annual Ryan Detour Tournament. This event was the regular season opener for all 12 Penobscot Valley Conference teams attending.

Dexter took an early after three rounds and were ahead of Foxcroft by 49 points. The Ponies were in third place at this time, as a couple of early loses by some high seeded wrestles set Foxcroft back. “Our team showed a lot of character today,” head coach Luis Ayala said. “Things did not go as planned, but I was very proud of them and how they fought back from this adversity to still place in their weight class and help the team.”

Photo courtesy of Angela Ayala
BUCKSPORT TOURNEY RUNNERS-UP — The Foxcroft Academy wrestling team came in second at the annual Ryan Detour Tournament at Bucksport High School on Dec. 9. The Ponies were behind Dexter Regional High School by a mere half point at 175 to 174.5

As the consolation and championship began Foxcroft was in second place, 20 points behind Dexter. The Ponies had six wrestlers competing for third place compared to Dexter’s two wrestlers. Thanks to a good round, going into the finals, the Ponies stood 11 points behind. This was going to be a tough task to overcome as Dexter had seven wrestlers in the finals compared to Foxcroft’s four.

Dexter’s first wrestler in the finals was at 132 pounds, the team’s state champion Caleb Weeks. He pinned his opponent and extended Dexter’s lead.

At 138 pounds Foxcroft received a win from senior Josh Tatlock. He was dominating his opponent when he was illegally slammed and received the win by DQ.

At 145 pounds it was a battle between Dexter and Foxcroft. Jacob Diamond avenged last week’s lost to Dexter’s Justin Wing by a tech fall win and helped his team cut Dexter’s lead to 4.5 points.

Another Dexter vs Foxcroft battle came at 152 pounds. AJ Atkinson pinned Nathan Schobel, and helped Foxcroft take the lead by a half point.

Photo courtesy of Angela Ayala
152-POUND WINNER — Foxcroft head coach Luis Ayala and AJ Atkinson celebrate his tournament victory in the 152-pound division on Dec. 9 in Bucksport.

At 160 pounds Dexter’s Gage Stone did his job and pinned his Bucksport opponent to put the ahead again.

Foxcroft’s last chance to take the lead came at 170 pounds, where Dustin Simmons faced Dexter’s Isaiah Hesseltine. These two wrestlers have wrestled each other many times in the past and knew what was at stake this time. Simmons came out on fire as he was able to catch his Dexter opponent twice on his back and built a 14-1 lead going in to the third period. But Hesseltine knew that he could not get pinned and was very active in the last period to avoid the pinfall. This great effort by Hesseltine sealed the tournament victory for the Tigers at 175 to 174. 5.

“This is going to be a great battle all year between us, the Dexter vs Dover rivalry is always intense no matter what sport,” Ayala said.

Photo courtesy of Angela Ayala
FIRST-PLACE GRAPPLERS — Coaches and first-place wrestlers for the Ponies on Dec. 9 at the Ryan Detour Tournament are, from left, head coach Luis Ayala, Josh Tatlock, Dustin Simmons, coach Terry Whittemore, Jacob Diamond, AJ Atkinson, and coach Ryan Reardon.

Photo courtesy of Angela Ayala
PAIR OF TOURNAMENT WINS — Foxcroft seniors Jacob Diamond, left, and Josh Tatlock earned top honors at 145 and 138 pounds respectively.