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It’s rare enough when two wrestlers on the same team earn their 100th match victories the same year, but three?
That’s how many members of wrestling’s century club Dexter has contributed this season.
After having two kids do it two years ago, another accomplish the feat last year, and seniors Adam Paige, Joey Turner, and Phil Mosley become the first trio in Dexter history to do it this year, the Tigers may want to think about changing their name to the “Tri-gers.”
“This is the best year we’ve had for individual wins,” said Dexter coach Dave Gudroe. “Who knows? With the good young guys we’ve got coming up, I’d like to think we could see four guys do it some time.”
Paige was the first to accomplish the feat much earlier this season. Turner followed suit last Wednesday in the team’s last regular-season meet. Mosley waited for a grander setting and notched win No. 100 in his second match at the Penobscot Valley Conference Championship in Bucksport Saturday.
“My stomach was in a million knots out there,” Mosley said about the semifinal victory via a pin that made him the sixth wrester in Dexter history to win 100.
But that was just the start of good things for Mosley as he went on to win the 171-pound weight class championship with two pins and an 11-3 major decision in the title match.
Which win was more exciting?
“Ohhhh… both. I mean, this is the first individual tournament title I’ve won since seventh grade in middle school,” Mosley said.
For their part, neither Mosley, Turner, or Paige appear to be too fazed by their rare accomplishment.
“Right now, it seems more like an everyday type of thing to me,” Paige said. “It’ll probably hit me once the season’s over.”
“It’s great because it’s really unheard for teams to have three guys do it, but there’s still two weeks left in the season,” said Turner. “We have to pay more attention to getting ready for Easterns and states right now.”
200 for two Bucks
Bucksport can’t match Dexter’s 100-win trio, but they’re only one behind.
Travis Hutchinson two wins in a Wednesday night three-way match gave him his 100th and 101st wins and made him the eighth wrestler in school history to hit the mark.
Hutchinson did it with a pin in his 140-pound match against Mount View of Thorndike. He and teammate Josh Carter, who won his 100th last month, are the second pair of Golden Bucks teammates to accomplish the feat in the same season. Corey Darveau and Paul Urquhart also did it in 1993.
“Actually, last year was when we first thought about it. We were both up in the high 70s, so we hoped we could both do it,” said Carter, who pointed out that his birthday and Hutchinson’s were only two weeks apart. “It’s been great for both of us. I think we kind of make each other better.”
Hutchinson said he felt more relieved than ecstatic after the win.
“The pressure kind of intensified the closer it got,” Hutchinson explained. “It was a big load off me to finally get it. It was all relief because I thought I was going to mess up, hard-core.”
It got to be so bad, the superstitious Hutchinson almost locked himself in his bedroom all week to avoid any possible distractions or even injuries. He said it was all worth it, however.
“It’s something I accomplished I’ll always remember,” he said. “I’ll always think back to this no matter how old I am, and it’s special because it will always be in the school so I can maybe show my kids someday.”
Hutchinson, who was presented with a commemorative plaque, will also present another plaque to school officals during a special assembly period later this year. That plaque, which will detail all of Hutchinson’s career highlights, will be displayed in the school’s trophy hall.
The senior from Orland hopes those highlights include a state championship this season. He’s now 103-30 after winning a PVC title in the 140-pound class Saturday.
“He’s a great story because he’d never wrestled before high school,” said Bucks coach Mike Carter. “For somebody like that to go four years, injury-free, and compete well enough to average 25 wins a season is impressive.”
Nominees from Maine
Seventeen student-athletes representing nine Maine high schools or postgraduate schools have been nominated for the 2000 McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Team.
The high school players nominated are Derek Rodgerson, Jason Estes, and Jesse McCue from Hampden Academy; Justin Kirkpatrick and Tim Mathien of John Bapst Memorial in Bangor; Mount Desert Island’s Ian Jones; Rockland’s Jeremiah Labree; Brian Gerrity from Maranacook in Readfield; Jimmie Hunt of Mount Ararat in Topsham; and Chris Markwood from South Portland. Postgraduate nominees are Nucleus Smith, Caron Butler, Isaiah Johnson, Tory Reed, and Terry Reynolds of Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield and Bridgton Academy’s Tommy Gunn and Quadir Habee.
Maine’s nominees are part of 1,800 nationwide nominated by a “group of prominent basketball experts” on the MAABT selection committee, according to an MAABT press release. Each is in the running to be one of 24 players chosen for the team. Final selections will be made in the next two weeks.
This year’s McDonald’s All-American game will be played March 29 at the FleetCenter in Boston. ESPN will air the game live at 8 p.m.
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