The Wells wrestling team celebrates with the Class B state championship trophy on Saturday. DAVE CASH PHOTOGRAPHY
The Warriors quickly lost two of their wrestlers to injury on Saturday, but the rest of the squad would step up in their absence and did enough to capture the team championship in their home gym.
Wells would win the title with seven wrestlers getting on the podium, including state champions Mike Wrigley and Nolan Potter and silver medalists Ryan Norton, Jonah Potter and Sean McCormack-Kuhman.
“It’s the first time that we’ve ever been back-to-back state champs. It was a 29-year spread between the years that we were state champs,” said Wells coach Scott Lewia, who saw his team beat second-place Foxcroft Academy by 15 1/2 points.
What made it extra special was the fact that the tournament was held in the Warriors’ home gym.
“It was an unbelievable atmosphere really,” said Lewia. “In Ryan Norton’s finals match, he got taken down and then he reversed the kid and the whole place erupted. It was just an awesome atmosphere.”
The five wrestlers who made the finals will get a lot of the credit, but third-place finisher Drew Peters and fourth-place finisher Nathan Curtis were also key to the Warriors’ team title.
“Those were big matches. Drew Peters in his consolation semifinals match, pinned to get into the (third-place match), and that was kind of a big boost for our kids,” said Lewia. “Nathan Curtis in his consolation semifinals was down by five with probably 20 seconds left and reversed a kid to his back, tied it up and then took him down in overtime. That was huge, too.”
Norton would drop a 12-6 decision to Penobscot Valley’s Codi Sirois in the 113-pound final.
“Ryan had a real big semifinal match against (Enrico) Ayala from Foxcroft and he beat him pretty soundly, I think it was 9-3. He has had a good year,” said Lewia. “It was a good finals match, he made a couple mistakes but he was pretty happy with his bettering last year’s third.”
Jonah Potter would make an impressive run to the finals, but he would meet up with now four-time champ Ryan Fredette of Winslow in the 182-pound title bout.
“Jonah, for a freshman, obviously he had a real tough finals match against Fredette. I was just hoping that he would get there. I knew he was going to be key and I knew Ryan was going to be key for us,” said Lewia of the younger Potter.
McCormack-Kuhman had a rematch with Madison’s Seth Padelford in the 285-pound final, and just like last week the Wells senior would drop a heartbreaker.
“Sean had a tough finals match, he lost 1-0. He almost got an escape in the third period but he just couldn’t get away,” Lewia said.
Lewia was thrilled to get seven wrestlers through to this weekend’s New England Qualifier.
“We’re just going to go and the pressure is kind of off now. They can just go out and wrestle, have fun and see where that takes them,” said Lewia.
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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