SANFORD — Marshwood High surprised the Class A wrestling field and defended its team championship Saturday at Memorial Gym.
It was Marshwood’s sixth Class A title in seven seasons and the 10th state title for Coach Matt Rix, who directed the Hawks to four Class B crowns between 1989-99. But unlike last season when the Hawks dominated all season and won by over 100 points, this victory was far from assured. Marshwood had finished second in the South regional and was down to nine active wrestlers, with seven advancing to the state tournament.
“This one’s pretty special,” Rix said. “Everybody performed. Everybody placed. I told them, if everybody gets a medal, we’ll win this.”
That’s exactly what happened. All seven Hawks placed in the top four to build 117 points. Long-time rival and South regional champ Noble (96) and North champion Nokomis (89) settled for second and third.
Skowhegan’s Samson Sirois won his 200th career match when he beat Ben Laurence of Mt. Ararat/Brunswick, 5-0, in the 132-pound final.
“I knew I was going to get it if I won it and I really wanted to reach 200, that was one of my goals,” said Sirois, a two-time state champ. “And I achieved it.”
Another Skowhegan highlight was undefeated freshman Jake Craig taking the 106-pound title with a decisive 22-7 win against Colby Frost of Bonny Eagle. It is the fifth straight year a Craig brother has won the 106 title and seventh straight year a Craig brother has won a state title. Three-time champ Tyler started the streak his freshman year, then Cody won four straight at 106 from 2014-17.
Other state champions were Kenenbunk junior Alden Shields (113), Camden Hills’ Noah Lang (145), the Nokomis duo of Quinton Richards (152) and James Boyd (220), Zuka Mabior of Oxford Hills (182) and Jakob Peavey of Erskine (285).
The Hawks had two individual champions. Liam Coomey was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. He won the 126-pound title, beating North champ Michael Sprague of Erskine in the semifinal and South champ Sam Martel of Noble in a 15-10 final.
The Hawks had officially clinched the team win one bout earlier when Noble freshman Josh Cote won his match, 7-2. Noble knew entering the championship bouts it needed three pins from its three finalists and for Marshwood’s three finalists to lose.
Coomey’s victory was the exclamation point and David Spinney added to the margin with his overtime win against Caleb Frost of Bonny Eagle at 138.
“I didn’t want it to be some type of excuse that we won just because someone else won for us,” Coomey said. “We wanted to win on our own terms.”
Marshwood went 7-for-7 in the opening round with seven pins. The consolation finals were also important. Sean Moriarty (113) and James Thompson (195) won by pin and Carsen Goodwin (120) got an unexpected injury default victory against Richard Oberg of Skowhegan.
“Coach always says, if we don’t win it’s in the past. That story ends and then it’s time to write a new story and make it a happy ending,” Moriarty said.
Host Sanford helped close the historic Memorial Gym to high school wrestling by placing fifth. Sanford senior Sam Anderson, won his second state title, taking the 170-pound class.
“It just feels like the perfect closing, the perfect ending,” Anderson said. “If you were to write a book, coming out on top, senior season, in front of the home crowd, it would be almost a fairy tale. I never would have thought it would happen as a freshman but as I progressed, and grew and grew up, it was in sight all the way.”
Oxford Hills 160-pound champion Dawson Stevens was another wrestler who appreciated being part of Memorial Gym’s ending.
“My first-ever first place, back in Pee Wees, back in 2008. I was 8 years old and got my first-ever first place here. And my dad got his second state championship here because it was his senior year,” Stevens said. “It’s kind of cool.”
The top four finishers in each weight class advance to next Saturday’s New England Qualifier at Nokomis in Newport.
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