AUGUSTA — Behind three individual championship performances, Mt. Ararat/Brunswick won the program’s first state title Saturday at the Class A wrestling championships at Cony High School.

Freshmen Brycen Kowalsky and Spencer LeClair won the 113- and 132-pound titles, and senior Brady Mitchell Damms capped the effort with a pin win at 195.

“It’s great, because our team’s worked so hard and we never really thought we’d get this far,” Mitchell Damms said. “To take it (as a team), and to individually take it, is great.”

Mt. Ararat, which has had a wrestling team since the 1970s, formed a co-operative program with Brunswick four years ago.

“I thought we had, at the beginning of the season, something really kind of special,” said Eric Jensen, a 19-year head coach. “We’ve taken our lumps over the years, so it’s sort of gratifying to see it come together.”

Mt. Ararat finished with 96 points, pulling away in the consolation and championship finals from a tightly bunched field. Defending champion Marshwood was second with 76.5 points, followed by North champion Camden Hills (74), South champ Noble (72.5) and Cony (72).

Kowalsky won his final match by pin, making the team title likely. LeClair cinched it with his 8-3 win against Dawson Allen of Camden Hills at 132 pounds.

“Our goal today wasn’t really to win on team points, actually. It was to win individually as a person, and the more we won as a person, the more team points we’d score,” LeClair said.

Cony had two highlight victories. Senior Noah Dumas won his first state title when he pinned Bonny Eagle freshman Caden Frost in the 106-pound final. As a junior, Dumas lost by a point in the 113 final to Alden Shields of Kennebunk.

“That kept me hungry, for sure. I felt a lot of pressure, but I was ready to go,” Dumas said. “I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time.”

Aaron Lettre of Cony upset the South champ, Isaac Plante of Sanford, in the semifinals, then earned a 6-5 win in the 182-pound final against Cole Dunham of Oxford Hills.

“I just knew what had to be done and I wanted my name up on that (banner of Cony’s state champions), and I just came to wrestle,” Lettre said.

Noah Lang of Camden Hillls retained his 145-pound title with a quick first-period pin of Devon Whitmore of Biddeford.

Marshwood’s David Spinney, who won the 138-pound championship last year, reversed the outcome of the South final at 152 pounds by earning a 3-1 decision against Noah Beal Hernandez of Massabesic.

Sol Demers of Sanford was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler after winning the 220-pound title. He beat defending champ James Boyd of Nokomis 5-4 in overtime in the final after defeating last year’s 195-pound runner-up, Jeffrey Worster of Oxford Hills, in the semifinals.

The 126-pound final matched two returning state champions, Shields and Joshua Cote of Noble, who won at 120 as a freshman. Cote won 10-4 in a match that featured scrambling moves across the mat. When it was over, the two embraced in a genuine show of respect.

“You can’t not have respect for a kid like Josh. He puts a limitless amount of effort into this sport and he deserves every bit of what he got,” Shields said.

Cote said his goal is to become Noble’s first four-time state champ. He was nearly derailed this year by pneumonia.

“I was out for awhile and I still kind of feel it every now and then. I felt it today. When I breathe heavy, I can hear myself kind of purring like a cat,” Cote said.

Zack Elowitch of Portland, a four-time state placer who was expected to win at 160, captured his first state title with three pins in a total of 4 minutes, 16 seconds.

“It does make it a little more pressured. You feel that you have to win, but really, I just try to wrestle my best, no matter who is favored,” Elowitch said.

Colby Frost of Bonny Eagle (120), Sam Martel of Noble (138), David Wilson of Nokomis (170), and Addison Boisvert of Scarborough (285) also won titles.

 

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