DIXFIELD – Chris Cayer and David Smith each remained unbeaten as Mountain Valley won four meets behind several pins. Dirigo also exacted a bit of revenge behind Devin Brann and Josh Ronan in a 40-30 triumph over Lisbon in a Mid-State League dual meet at DeFoe Gymnasium on Friday.
“It was a good day of wrestling,” Mountain Valley coach Gary Dolloff said. “The team is continuing to improve each time on the mat, and we’ve got two tournaments coming up. So that will show the kids where they stand.”
Dirigo (5-3), Lisbon (6-2) and Mountain Valley (5-0) each encountered numerous surprises throughout the day. The three teams easily beat Wiscasset and Old Town, which is coached by former Rumford wrestler Lenny Doiron.
Individual matchups created some added drama, fueled by a come-from-behind 7-6 win by Mark Stambach of Lisbon at 215.
The Greyhound wrestler executed a takedown with seven seconds left against Brenden Bradley of Mountain Valley. Bradley, defending Class B state champion, engineered a reversal to take the lead in the second period.
“(Bradley) was tired and he was backing up,” Stambach said. “So I just (pushed on him) and waited for an opportunity, and then I was able to get underneath him.”
Stambach (9-3) also set a new school record with a three-second pin against Old Town. Stambach’s older brother, Charlie, had set the former mark at five seconds.
Mountain Valley certainly didn’t sit idle and won the meet 40-30. Smith, a two-time Class B state champion, escaped in the second period for a 3-2 decision over Elijah Trefts. The two wrestlers danced through the entire third period.
“It was a tough match,” Smith said. “I’m not in top shape, yet, because of a hamstring injury, so I wanted to keep the score close and turn it up in the third period. I’ll be in better conditioning for the Wells tournament next week.”
The Falcons received major decisions by Cayer and Ernie Mathews and a tech fall by Ben Mathews at 140. Aaron Arsenault pinned Mike Blackwell at 152.
Dirigo utilized wins by Josh Palmer (145), Ronan’s major decision and a pin by Jon Smith (10-0 at 135) against the Greyhounds.
Palmer held off Mike Bolduc 12-10, and Ronan was the clear aggressor in executing two pinning combinations against Dan Cornell. In a rubber match, Brann secured a takedown at the end of the second period and won a 9-3 decision over Nick Adams.
“He had beat me at McDonalds (tournament), so I was a little nervous,” Brann said. “I waited for him to make a mistake. The takedown to go up (4-2) was crucial. I think it hurt his confidence and gave it to me.”
Lisbon wins included Tyler Clark pinning Tom Hines at 125 and Ryan Guisto decisioning Mike Jonaitis 8-3 at 140.
“We beat them on the mat,” Lisbon coach Mark Stevens said. “It’s hard starting in a 24-0 hole, but there were some close matches. We’ll be ready next week.”
Mountain Valley brothers Ernie and Ben Mathews each recorded big wins over Wiscasset. Ernie, a freshman, decisioned C.J. MaGuire 3-2 and Ben stuck Connor Walsh.
Dirigo and Mountain Valley (58-18) used mostly junior varsity wrestlers in the finale.
Chris Brennick decisioned Garrett Flagg 15-5 at 171 and T.J. Burgess struck Brett Staples.
Nate Conley of Dirigo won by injury default over Dave Gerrish (dislocated knee cap) at 215. Bre Mason and Barry Gallant each won by pin for the Cougars.
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