ELLSWORTH – No regional or state titles were on the line, but pride and future success were as six teams met in a wrestling meet at the Ellsworth High School gym on a snowy Saturday.

Six teams – Caribou, Ellsworth, Hermon, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, Mount Desert Island and Penobscot Valley of Howland – from different classifications and regions, but all with more than a few things in common.

“We don’t have the kind of depth that some of the more successful teams like Dexter or Bucksport have right now, and that’s what separates good or average programs from the really good ones,” said second-year coach Ron Zellers, whose Ellsworth Eagles are 7-15.

Zellers isn’t alone. Even teams with solid records like Class B’s Caribou (11-6-2) and traditional Class C power Penobscot Valley (15-6) have plenty of holes to fill.

“We’re probably going to fare pretty well, although we’re kind of shallow in team depth,” said Caribou coach Jason York. “We have 13 kids, but there are two weight classes [119 and 152 pounds] we don’t have anyone in.”

PVHS coach Gerald Hutchinson, who is 47 match wins shy of a career milestone 300th, can sympathize with York.

“My 112 and my 215 are seniors. Everyone else is freshmen and sophomores other than one junior,” he said. “The main problem is a lot of kids, seven of them, haven’t wrestled a minute in their lives before joining the team.”

It’s quite a switch for a team which won five straight state titles in the 1990’s.

“We’re down again this year,” Hutchinson said. “We know we can’t compete with the big boys, but we have some great classes coming up with a lot of successful, experienced wrestlers and I think we could have some good individual efforts this year.”

All six teams hope a moderately successful 2000-2001 season will springboard them into a more successful 2001-2002 season.

“Our focus is on having some kids do well in the postseason meets. Our focus in the past has been getting to states and maybe winning a title, but we have some holes we can’t fill this year,” Zellers said. “We still want to aim high, but we’re looking at things a little more from an individual success standpoint, which will also benefit our team.”

When it comes to building future success in small increments, none of the other five teams can match an MDI club team that hasn’t yet achieved varsity squad status.

“Our season’s gone really well. We have one win, three losses, and a tie, which is okay,” MDI coach Peter Weaver said. “We’re more into improvement on individual kinds of things now since we’re a club team.”

Not for much longer. Weaver’s program has already been included in MDI’s athletic budget to be a varsity team next season, an exciting development for the seven-member team. In the meantime, Weaver and Co. will be taking full advantage of their club status to pack in as much practice and match time as possible in the coming months.

“One good thing about being a club is we’re allowed to do some things and wrestle out of season without violating MPA rules,” Weaver explained.

Although the teams assembled Saturday may not be state championship favorites, there were several individuals who are primed for big seasons: Wrestlers like Ellsworth’s Jeff Desmond, Matt Burns and Brian Cobb; Caribou’s Barrett Fisher, Ryan Lister and Travis Snell; Mattanawcook’s Mike LeBrun and Chris Tash; and Penobscot Valley’s Josh Carrier.

Desmond and freshman Burns are both unbeaten in their classes (112 and 119, respectively).

Desmond picked up four wins – two by forfeit, one by pin, and one by technical fall – Saturday to move to 21-0. The senior captain’s only loss came in 125 pounds when he moved up to wrestle Foxcroft Academy’s Max Kennedy.

“I’m very flexible being so long and lanky,” Desmond said. I use some power, but I have a lot of technique because I’m not usually the strongest guy on the mat.”

A bad cold forced Burns (20-0) to miss all of Saturday’s matches.

Carrier (18-3), who has 100 career wins, is taking aim at his second state title in three years.

“I won states my sophomore year so I’d like to come out with another one. It’d be a great way to finish up,” said the senior, who picked up two forfeit wins despite being laid up with an ankle injury.