State, regional titles up for grabs Wrestlers, cheerleaders scheduled to take center stage this weekend

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A year after the Maine Principals’ Association opted to hold all three wrestling state championship meets in one location, the format and the location will shift again.

The Class A, B, and C state meets move from the Augusta Civic Center to the Bangor Auditorium this year for not one, but two days of competition between the best high school wrestlers in the state.

The action begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday with the quarterfinal round. Wrestlers will be battling on six mats (two per class) as each class has simultaneous action. Each class will have its own designated mats so spectators can better stake out a seating location nearest the mats which will be used by their favorite schools.

Friday’s weigh-ins are from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. with opening ceremonies starting at 5 p.m. The action will continue until the field in each of the 14 weight divisions in each of the three classes is whittled down to the top four wrestlers.

The remaining wrestlers will go through another weigh-in Saturday, with officials allowing wrestlers an additional pound to compensate for the fact that weight can fluctuate quite a bit over a 24-hour period.

The state cheerleading competition will be Saturday; the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference swim championships began Thursday; the Penobscot Valley Conference swim meets are Friday and Saturday and the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League championships are Saturday.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with this being spread over two days,” said Bucksport coach Joel Pelletier. “I just hope we don’t have too many kids not making their weight. It could be a problem.”

Weigh-ins are from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. The action begins at 9:30 a.m.

Finals are expected to start at 5 p.m.

The favorites this year in each class are perennial powers like Noble of South Berwick in Class A; two-time defending state titlist Camden Hills in Class B; and defending champion Lisbon in Class C.

The competition will be fierce, perhaps most in Class C, where two-time Eastern Maine champ Dexter is healthy and hot after putting up a whopping 2041/2 points in last weekend’s regional. Dave Gudroe’s Tigers are looking to win their fifth title in the last six years and would like nothing better than to avenge their loss to Lisbon last year. Eastern Maine powers like Bucksport and Foxcroft Academy are also primed to be solid contenders for the state championship hardware.

In Class C, Marshwood of Eliot again looms as a potential rival to John Kelly’s juggernaut program. Marshwood is the only team other than Camden to win the state title in the last five years. Camden won the crown in 1998 and 2000 as Camden-Rockport and Marshwood took the 1997 and 1999 titles.

Noble is looking to become the first team since Dexter in any class and Sanford in Class A to win four straight state titles. The Redskins won eight straight A crowns from 1961 to 1968.

Cheerleading

One thing is certain heading into Saturday’s state cheerleading championships at the Augusta Civic Center: Monmouth won’t win its fifth consecutive Class D title and its eighth in the last nine years.

But the Mustangs will be among the favorites in the Class C competition. Monmouth captured the Western Maine C crown two weeks ago, outdistancing runner-up Traip by eight points.

State titles in all four classes will be handed out, beginning with the Class D competition at 8:40 a.m. Class C is at 10:45 a.m., Class B at 1:30 p.m., and Class A at 3 p.m.

In Class D, the competition will be wide-open with the absence of Monmouth. A shortage of teams in Western Maine meant that the east and west regional competitions of two weeks ago were combined, and the top eight teams advanced to states.

Regional champion Central Aroostook of Mars Hill is looking for its first state crown since 1990. The other top contender is Fort Fairfield, which was just a half point behind the Panthers at the regional. Bangor Christian, Deer Isle-Stonington, Jonesport-Beals, Machias, Woodland and Rangeley should also challenge.

In Class C, Eastern champ Orono will vie for its first-ever title. Besides Monmouth and Traip of Kittery, the Red Riots will face formidable challenges from St. Dominic of Lewiston, winner of the last three state titles and third in the Western regional. Washington Academy of East Machias, Central of Corinth, Sumner of East Sullivan and Winthrop will also be in the mix.

In Class B, Old Town, which won three state titles from 1999-2001, will attempt to reclaim the crown after finishing second last year to Gorham. Houlton, second to the Indians after two tie-breakers at the regional meet, will also contend.

The top challengers from the west are Wells, Oak Hill of Sabattus, Mountain Valley of Rumford and Gray-New Gloucester. The other teams from the east are Rockland, John Bapst of Bangor and Caribou.

In Class A, Brewer will be looking to become the first team from the east to win a state title since Gardiner in 1992. The Witches earned the highest score at an Eastern regional (87.75) in the last seven years en route to their second Eastern Maine title.

Deering of Portland, Biddeford, defending champion Marshwood of Eliot, and Bonny Eagle of Standish are the top teams from the west. From the east, an improving Bangor team, Gardiner and Oxford Hills of South Paris will contend. Oxford Hills won three state titles from 1997-2000 when it competed in Western Maine.

Track

For the entire regular season, the Ellsworth boys track team has been tabbed as a heavy favorite to win the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League championship.

That meet is set for 4:15 p.m. Saturday at the University of Maine field house. And after figuring out where to put their athletes, then looking at how other coaches decided to use their own talent, don’t expect the league’s mentors to change their minds.

“We can all compete,” Hampden coach David King said, tongue-in-cheek. “Several of us can compete for that runner-up position. But I think Ellsworth owns that No. 1 spot.”

The reasons: Plenty of speed. A bit of depth. And two seniors who could well win three events each.

Distance ace Steve DeWitt and hurdler/long jumper/sprinter Adam Macbeth are top seeds in each of their three events.

In addition, the Eagles are seeded 1-2-3 in the 800, 1-2 in the 400, and 1-3-4 in the 200.

In the girls meet, things will be much more competitive. And not just for second place.

“I think whoever is gonna win it has got to do it there, and not just on paper, because the seeds are such that a little movement by anybody can make a lot of difference,” King said.

The Bangor girls are expected to battle Brewer and Hampden for the title.

Bangor is led by senior Emily Capehart, who is the top seed in the long jump and triple jump and No. 2 in the 400.

Hampden counters with distance star Oriana Farley and hurdler/jumper MacKenzie Rawcliffe, while Brewer boasts four athletes who hold school records in seven different events.

Other events to watch: The girls pole vault, in which Chantelle Haggerty of Hermon and Danielle Lainez of Brewer have each cleared the league record height of 10 feet; the high jump, in which Bangor’s Abby Buchanan and Brewer’s Erica Commeau are co-No. 1 seeds at 5-2; the 400 duel between Haggerty and Capehart; and the distance races, where Brewer junior Heather Clark holds the top seeds in the mile and 800 while Hampden’s Farley is the state Class B cross country champ.

Clark will also compete in the two-mile.

Swimming

There shouldn’t be many surprises when swimmers and divers take to the water for the Penobscot Valley Conference meets Friday and Saturday. Things could be a bit different in the and Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference meets, however, which started Thursday and continue Friday and Saturday.

Sheer size makes the Bangor boys and girls (the largest squads in the competition) heavy favorites. The Bangor boys are seeking their fifth straight conference championship, and the girls are aiming for their fourth in a row.

The boys PVC meet will take place Friday at the Bangor YWCA’s Aloupis Pool. Divers will perform eight of their 11 dives starting at 4 p.m., and the swimming competition will begin at 6 p.m.

The Husson College pool in Bangor is the site for Saturday’s PVC girls’ meet. Diving starts at 9:15 a.m., swimming at 12 p.m.

KVAC diving was held Thursday at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. The KVAC boys swimming portion will be held Friday at the Waterville Area YMCA at 7 p.m., and the girls will be in the same place Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m.

The Bangor boys have their usual combination of front-line swimmers and depth in every stroke.

The boys diving could be a highlight as seniors Chris Rodway of Brewer and Justin Alley of Bangor will both contend for the PVC title.

On the girls side, Isobel Herbold, Candida Carvajal, Sarah Gordon, Sammy Hartery and Erin Woolley will lead the Rams, while Old Town will count on Libby Caldwell, Jen Caron, Liva Hermansen, Janai Bernholz and Laura Amar-Dolan.

Jamie Garver, Sarah Madiera, Jasmine Marie-Peterson and Andrea Eaton should lead MDI.

Morse, Messalonskee of Oakland, Waterville, Camden Hills and Belfast girls could all contend for the KVAC title, while the perennial champion Belfast boys should roll if they can get past Morse of Bath.