Windham junior Ayden Cofone is a two-time Class A champion. He was 45-2 last season at 120 pounds, his only losses coming at the New England championships. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Marshall Addy, Medomak Valley senior: Coming off a 40-5 season that included the Class B title at 220, Addy has 70 career wins and will compete at 215 this season.
Indi Backman, Cheverus/Falmouth junior: A second-year wrestler, the three-sport athlete was third at 195 at the Class A South regional. One of 12 wrestlers from Falmouth on the co-operative team, he’ll be at 190 this season.
Owen Bourque, Kennebunk senior: The state runner-up and Class A South champion heavyweight last year, Bourque is still trimming down from his football weight of 320 but will be among the best 285-pounders in the state.
Dominic Bubar, Massabesic senior: Bubar was the Varsity Maine All-State pick at 160 last season after going 44-5, winning Class A and New England Qualifier titles, and placing sixth at the New England championships. He will likely wrestle at 165.
Cody Bubier, Marshwood/Traip junior: The Class A South champ and third-place finisher at the state meet at 145 as a sophomore, Bubier will move up to 157 for the Hawks, who have 24 total wrestlers in their new co-op with Traip.
Luke Burns, Scarborough/Gorham senior: The Gorham High student won the Class A 182-pound title after finishing second in the South regional. He’ll move up to 190, and teams with Bryce Jackson-Parise to form a tough 190-215 duo.
Nicholas Chenard, Massabesic junior: A two-time Class A South champion, Chenard is a two-time state runner-up, losing to Ayden Cofone at 113 as a freshman and then at 120 last year when he went on to place third at the NEQ. Chenard will compete at 132.
Ayden Cofone, Windham/Gray-New Gloucester/Westbrook junior: Already a two-time Class A champion and two-time Varsity Maine All-State pick, Cofone was 45-2 last season at 120, his only losses coming at the New England championships. He’ll likely stay at 120.
Kaden Cyr, Bonny Eagle senior: Another returning Varsity Maine All-State pick, Cyr was 33-5 with Class A and NEQ titles at 220 pounds. He’ll be a top contender for another title in the new 215-pound division.
Noble’s Kaden Dustin celebrates after winning the 138-pound division over Bonny Eagle’s Trevor Perkins at the Class A state championships in February. Dustin helped the Knights win their second Class A state title in three seasons. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Kaden Dustin, Noble junior: Dustin got stronger as the season went on last year, finishing 48-7 to earn Varsity Maine All-State honors after sweeping regional, state and NEQ titles. He placed sixth in the 138-pound division at New Englands.
Dash Farrell, Mt. Ararat/Brunswick junior: Farrell was the Class A runner-up at 152, losing to Varsity Maine Wrestler of the Year Derek Cote of Noble in the final. He will be a top competitor at 157.
Canton Hill, Sanford junior: After placing fourth in the Class A meet at 195, Hill finished second at the NEQ meet, beating Class A champ Christopher Levesque of Oxford Hills in the process. Hill, who will start the season at 215, is one of several strong wrestlers back on a deep Spartan squad.
Evan Kowalsky, Mt. Ararat/Brunswick freshman: Coming from a wrestling family, Kowalsky made an immediate impression when he beat Maddie Ripley, 12-0, in the Westlake preseason tourney final at 113 pounds. Kowalsky also won the Belfast Invitational.
Anton Kravchuk, Fryeburg Academy junior: A first-year student at Fryeburg from Ukraine, Kravchuk is an athletic 6-foot-6, 285-pounder with wrestling experience and figures to be in the hunt for Class B heavyweight honors.
Jayden Lafrenaye, Lincoln Academy senior: Lafrenaye won the Class B 145-pound title as a sophomore and placed third at 152 as a junior. He started the season with an impressive 8-2 win at 165 pounds against Mt. Ararat’s Dash Farrell in the final of the Westlake preseason tourney, one of three Lincoln winners on the day.
Hampden’s Brody Simons is taken down at the 2023 Class A championships by Noble’s Brady Ouellette, who won the 106-pound division. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Joseph Lathwood, Biddeford/Thornton junior: A state champion in Hawaii when he was a freshman, Lathwood has competed and fared well in top national competition and is an immediate threat to be the best in Maine at 157 pounds.
Pedro Lombi, Deering senior: In his first season of wrestling, Lombi upset top-seeded Canton Hill of Sanford to win the South 195-pound title, then finished second at states. With the new weight classes, he’ll either drop down to 190 or go up to 215.
Brady Ouellette, Noble sophomore: Wrestling at 106 as a freshman, the aggressive tactician swept the Class A South, state and NEQ titles, then placed fifth at New Englands. He’ll move up to 126 or 132.
Landon Pease, Camden Hills junior: The Class A state champ at 126 pounds, this year-round wrestler and top-level competitor will move up to 132 or 138. Unfortunately for the Windjammers, Pease’s twin brother, Conor, is out for the season after shoulder surgery.
Hannah Perro, Noble sophomore: Perro won the girls’ individual championship at 100 pounds, and this year is projected to be a starter for the defending Class A champions at either 106 or 113 pounds.
Eli Potter, Wells junior: Last season’s Class B South and state champion at 170 pounds, Potter got his season started with a win at the Belfast Invitational at 190, recording three pins. He could end up at 175 by season’s end.
Maddie Ripley smiles while warming up for a match at the girls’ state wrestling championships in February. Ripley was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, three days after winning the 106-pound title at the Class B state championships while wrestling against boys. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Gavin Ripley, Oceanside senior: The two-time Class B champion was 51-3, including a 2-2 record at the New England championships. Last season’s Varsity Maine All-State pick at 132 may stay at that weight.
Maddie Ripley, Oceanside senior: Gavin’s twin sister became the first girl to win a Maine individual state title when she won the Class B 106-pound division. A Varsity Maine All-State pick, she was 44-5 overall, finishing fourth at the New England Qualifier.
Ben Ronca, York senior: The Class B South champ and state runner-up at 195 as a junior after finishing third as a sophomore, Ronca advanced to the New England championships by finishing third at the NEQ. He is expected to wrestle at 190.
Henry Spencer, Portland/South Portland senior: The Class A North champion at 170 pounds, Spencer will trim down a bit to wrestle at 165 and is a leader on an improved 34-wrestler squad.
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