BUCKSPORT – When Foxcroft Academy’s Randy Briggs took the mat late Saturday afternoon in the 171-pound final of the Penobscot Valley Conference wrestling championships at Ralph Jewett Gymnasium, he had a couple of things on his mind.

First and foremost was his opponent, Brewer’s Jeff Madden. Briggs had lost to Madden twice earlier this year and wasn’t so sure about his chances this time around.

But there was more. Just prior to Briggs taking the mat, Foxcroft coach Luis Ayala had told Briggs that if he won his match, the Ponies would win their first PVC team title since 1982. But he needed a win in a big way. He needed a pin.

The sophomore did just that, pinning Briggs 2:54 into the match. The additional two points for the pin was the difference between winning the championship outright and sharing the title with Bucksport.

Foxcroft Academy finished with 160 points to the Golden Bucks’ 158. Penobscot Valley of Howland was third with 120, Dexter fourth at 99.50, Ellsworth finished fifth with 89 and Brewer was sixth with 67.50.

Briggs said he had been thinking about what a championship would feel like as he sat with his teammates before stepping onto the mat.

“I was sitting here looking at the trophy and coach came over and told me if I won we’d be taking it home with us today,” Briggs said.

The closeness in team scores was due to the Golden Bucks sending six wrestlers into the finals with five of them winning conference championships.

The final Bucksport wrestler of the day was Travis Pelletier at 160 pounds in the match preceding Briggs’ encounter with Madden.

Pelletier had been battling a stomach virus the week leading up to the championships and said he was having trouble breathing at the meet.

Still, he managed to pin Brian Cobb of Ellsworth. It gave Bucksport what proved to be a short-lived lead.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” Pelletier said. “We go out and give it all we’ve got. It’s been close all day and I guess Dover’s going to beat us by two. They earned it. We stepped it up as Bucks. We did our part.”

Also winning individual titles for Bucksport were Shane Sullivan at 103 pounds, Chris Silsby at 112, Kyle Perkins at 119 and Adam Bourgon at 140.

Both Silsby and Perkins mentioned former teammate Ryan DeTour’s death as a motivational factor for their team. DeTour died at a match in Caribou in early December.

“I wanted to win it in DeTour’s name and my name. I wanted to win it for the team,” Silsby said.

While Briggs was the only Foxcroft wrestler to win in the finals, Ayala credits three wrestlers who won in the consolation finals for providing valuable points.

“I think the guys losing in the semifinals and winning third place did it for us. That’s so hard to do, to lose in the semis and come back and win,” Ayala said.

Penobscot Valley coach Gerald Hutchinson was ready to jump on the bus and leave entering the consolation finals. His team had a lead at that point and he knew he didn’t have enough points available to him the rest of the way to hold onto the lead.

Still, the Howlers’ Ricky McKechnie picked up a championship at 135 pounds. The senior picked up his 100th career win during the day and ran his record to 34-0 this season.

Keith Thompson and Josh Bishop won titles for Dexter at 125 and 189 pounds, respectively. Thompson’s win leaves the junior just two wins shy of his 100th career victory.

Old Town’s Matt Marquis surprised himself in winning the 130-pound title.

“It was such a hard day. I didn’t think I was going to have a chance. Just to beat [Dexter’s Billy Greene], let alone pin him, is a great accomplishment for me,” Marquis said.

Jake Sinclair of Ellsworth won at 145 pounds and Brewer’s Chris Noyes dealt Bucksport its only loss in the championship round with a technical-fall win over Adam Tweedie.

“This feels pretty damned good,” Noyes said. “I just put it all out there and came away with the win. I didn’t let up. I didn’t let him react.”

Nokomis of Newport’s Dean Ouellette won the 215-pound championship and Caribou’s Jon Judkins pinned the Howlers’ Doug Dyer in the 275-pound bracket. It was only Dyer’s second loss of the year. Both have been to Judkins.

“He’s a good wrestler,” Judkins said. “He’s got some strong technical moves and a powerful position on the mat. It’s just a pleasure to wrestle against him.”

Brewer accomplished its sixth-place finish despite only bringing six wrestlers to the meet. Witches’ coach Perry Boudreau was aware of both his team’s accomplishment and its role in determining the team title.

“Our goal was to finish in the top half of the conference and I think we’ve done that. We made a difference. Hopefully, someday, it will be our turn to win the championship and someone else can help us do it,” Boudreau said.

Caribou finished seventh with a team total of 61. The Vikings were followed by Old Town with 51, Nokomis 46, Hermon 361/2, George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill 29, John Bapst of Bangor 19, Mount Desert Island 13 and Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln 14. Bangor Christian and Fort Kent competed but did not score.