Cony’s Jonny Lettre, left, and Erskine’s Tyreke Burke compete in a 285-pound semifinal match during the KVAC wrestling championships last season at Cony High School in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Central Maine is poised yet again to field strong wrestlers and teams this winter. Several programs are also experiencing growth in numbers.
In Class A, Cony has more than 30 wrestlers out from a team that finished seventh last season.
“It’s a big group that’s returning from last year, a lot of them are sophomores,” Cony coach Shawn Totman said. “They look good, they’re competing (on the mat)… I like what I see. I like the energy; I like the effort. I like what they’re trying to do (in preseason matches), it might not be right all the time. We’re only nine practices in because of Thanksgiving, but this is a talented group out there. It’s going to take some work to where we need to be, but that’s fine. That’s what wrestling is all about.”
Senior Jonny Lettre returns to lead the Rams. A two-time Class A champion in two different weight classes, Lettre is the defending 285-pound champion and will be the favorite entering the new season.
“Jonny loves wrestling, and it’s just contagious,” Totman said. “The other kids see that, I see it. He looks forward to coming to practice and he loves meets and tournaments.”
Joining Lettre is sophomore Kaiden Veilleux, who was third in Class A at 195 pounds last year.
Gardiner has 16 wrestlers this season, one of highest numbers the program has had in the last decade, according to head coach Matt Hanley.
“There’s a lot of new faces in the room, I have about 10 kids that have never even wrestled, before” Hanley said. “They’re hard workers. The combination of working hard, and the new numbers in the room, it’s going to be a good thing for the team. I think we’re a year away. We don’t cover the smaller weight classes and we don’t have (a heavyweight). I’ve both of those down at the junior high. But we can get these kids going, get them to see what wrestling is all about and feed in those other kids from the junior high next year, we should be really strong. This team is going to be competitive.”
Senior Eli Farias returns as Gardiner’s top wrestler. Last season, Farias finished second to Julian Henderson of Camden Hills at both the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and Class A championship meets at 126 pounds.
After a solid season a year ago and with most of its roster returning, Mt. Blue is ready to take the next step as a contender in Class A North this season.
Mt. Blue’s Noah Krysztofiak, left, grapples with Sanford’s James Blood at the Class A wrestling championships last season. Blood won the 113-pound division title. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald
“We’ve got really high hopes for the year, I think we’re going to win a lot,” Mt. Blue head coach Mike Hansen said. “We’re going to be really tough, no matter what competition we’re at, all year long. A lot of my kids put in a lot of work, all through the summer. We put in a pile of work to get to where we’re at. I’m confident we’ll do well.”
Hansen has good reason to be confident. Senior Noah Krysztofiak, a Class A runner-up at 113 pounds, returns, along with sophomore Preston Garland. The Cougars also boast multiple girls champions on its roster, led by Grace Allen, Kendal Foster and Brooklyn Webber.
Skowhegan had, as it normally does, a strong season last winter. The River Hawks graduated four seniors from last year’s team, including top wrestlers Aiden Clark (145 pounds) and Kobe Butters (285 pounds).
“We’re excited to get back in the (practice) room and get working,” Skowhegan co-head coach Tenney Noyes said. “We’ve got a young crew this year. We’re light on numbers, we’re hoping to recruit a few more kids onto the team. But the group we have are a bunch of workhorses. They’re young, they’re green, but they work their tails off, which is awesome.”
Junior Sophie Noyes returns as one of Skowhegan’s top grapplers. A year ago, Noyes was second at the Maine Girls Championship at 100 pounds. Colby Nadeau, who wrestles for Lawrence and practices with Skowhegan, also returns. Nadeau placed third at 132 pounds at the KVAC championships last year.
In Class B, Erskine Academy, which placed second as a team for the KVAC B title last year, will have to recover from major losses, due to graduation and transfers. Class B runner-ups Timber Parlin (182 pounds) and Tyreke Burke (285) have both graduated. Erskine’s top wrestler, Wynn Pooler, the Class B champion at 113 pounds, transferred to The Hill School, a prep school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
Maine Central Institute returns senior Isaac Keresy, coming off a solid campaign last year that ended with a Class B title at 160 pounds.
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