Different teams have different goals as high school wrestling’s postseason begins Saturday with the Penobscot Valley Conference and the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship meets.
The PVCs will be held at Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor, while the KVACs are scheduled for Mount Ararat High School in Topsham.
Caribou High’s wrestling team doesn’t expect to win the PVC championship – Foxcroft Academy is the pre-meet favorite to capture its second straight conference title.
But the Vikings see this meet as another step in a rebuilding process.
Coach Todd Albert’s team compiled a 17-3 regular-season record and last Friday defeated Fort Kent and Madawaska to win the Aroostook County championship.
All that despite a roster made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores.
“This year we’re becoming more of a solid team,” said Albert, himself a 1990 Caribou graduate and former Vikings’ wrestler.
“We were able to fill up nearly all of the weight classes this year, and that helped us in some of the dual meets. We don’t have any juniors or seniors, so if everyone comes back and we continue to work hard, we can continue to grow as a team.”
Albert has no illusions about challenging for this year’s PVC title.
“Foxcroft can probably beat us in every weight class,” he said.
Coach Luis Ayala’s Ponies are poised to defend their title, particularly given their strength in the middle and upper weight classes led by Max Kennedy (145 pounds), Caleb Pelletier (152) and Randy Briggs (171).
Reigning Eastern C champion Dexter features brothers Chris Barkac (130) and Jeremiah Barkac (103). Chris Barkac, a junior, is a two-time state champion.
Brewer has been led by a pair of 100-win competitors in Chris Noyes (160) and Ryan Elliott (171) along with 275-pound competitor Justin Bowen.
Traditional powers Bucksport and Penobscot Valley of Howland also figure to be well-represented at the PVCs.
Four-time defending state Class B champion Camden Hills of Rockport has won the KVAC championship six of the last seven years and is favored again this weekend.
Coach Patrick Kelly’s Windjammers feature three-time state champion Chris Remsen (145) and fellow defending state champions Kyle Young (140) and Bryan Creamer (189), as well as Joe McGowan (103) and Jake Rollins (119).
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