Success has taken the Foxcroft Academy wrestling team from center stage to the dining hall – at least for practice purposes.

The Ponies, who won their first-ever state championship last winter, have practiced in recent years on the stage in the school gymnasium.

But with a big jump in wrestlers on the squad this season – from 24 to 34 – one stage just wasn’t big enough.

“With the championship and the coverage we got from it, it got a lot of people excited about wrestling here,” said FA coach Luis Ayala. “But it was hard for us to find a place to practice.”

A check with other schools in town discovered too many scheduling conflicts to accommodate the team, leaving the wrestlers in a bit of a bind as preseason practices began.

“It wasn’t bad during the first week, because it was Thanksgiving week and there wasn’t any school,” Ayala said, “but it was going to become a problem this week.”

Ayala was open to suggestions, and one of the parents came up with an idea – the dining hall at the Piscataquis Valley Fairgrounds.

Some quick communications made that suggestion a reality, and that’s where the Ponies now practice each weekday after school.

“We found out about the availability of the dining hall last Friday, and we began practicing there Monday,” said Ayala. “It was great the way things worked out.”

The Ponies will still hold their home meets at the high school, as well as the 2005 Eastern Maine Class C championship meet, scheduled for Feb. 5.

Foxcroft figures to be a major player at that meet, as well as the state championships to be held the following weekend at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Ponies graduated just three starters from a year ago, and return 10 wrestlers who had top-four finishes at the state championship meet. That contingent is led by senior two-time state champions Caleb Pelletier (152 pounds) and Randy Briggs (171), and another returning state champ in junior Josh Pelletier (215).

Also back are seniors Cyle Heaney (119), Mike McNaughton (125), Andrew Pomeroy (160) and Ryan Whittemore (145), juniors James McPhee (189) and Alan Whittemore (140) and sophomore Colby Johnson (112). Kris Preble, a senior All-LTC football player who hasn’t wrestled since his junior-high years, steps in at 275 pounds.

That veteran presence is complemented by a talented group of younger wrestlers, particularly a 10-member freshman class that includes 103-pound Jeremy Sawtelle, reigning New England middle-school champions Chris Steinke (119) and Ethan Whittemore (135), and Jerod Rideout (130), who finished second in the New Englands a year ago after winning an N.E. title as a seventh-grader.

Foxcroft won its opening preseason meet at Brewer last weekend, besting a field that included Class C rivals Dexter, Bucksport, Hermon and Ellsworth, and will compete at the Oxford Hills Duals in South Paris this Saturday. There the Ponies will face the likes of reigning state Class C runner-up Lisbon, Class A powers Noble of Berwick, Marshwood of Eliot and Oxford Hills, and Class B entry Belfast.

“It will give an idea of how we compare to some of the best teams in [Western] Class C like Lisbon and Dirigo [of Dixfield] and some of the other top teams in the state,” Ayala said.

Bucks pace All-LTC grid team

Class C state champion Bucksport High heads up the 2004 All-LTC football squad, with seven players accounting for 12 first-team berths.

That contingent is led by senior Nick Tymoczko, a first-team tailback who rushed for 2,741 yards and 40 touchdowns this fall for the unbeaten Golden Bucks.

Classmate John Harvey earned first-team accolades at three positions: utility player on offense, linebacker and punter.

Other Bucks on the first team are senior Joey Carmichael at quarterback and linebacker, senior Travis Tolman at offensive guard and defensive end, junior Cody Wilson at offensive guard and defensive tackle, junior defensive end Deven Eaton and senior linebacker Bryce Babson.

Five other players earned LTC first-team status on both offense and defense: Bobby Gilbert of Foxcroft Academy at running back and linebacker, Rockland’s Wade Oliver and Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield’s Marty Quint at wide receiver and defensive back, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln’s Ross Clapp at offensive and defensive tackle, and John Bapst of Bangor’s Tyler Yeo at defensive end and tight end.

Tymoczko, Gilbert, Oliver, Quint, Eric Day of Dexter, George Keefe of John Bapst, Adam Hewett of Maranacook of Readfield, Mackenzie Haines of Mattanawcook, Mo Nazmy of Orono and Ryan Bouchard are candidates for the LTC player of the year, which will be announced at the annual conference banquet to be held Sunday, Dec. 12.

O’Donnell earns Gatorade nod

Matt O’Donnell of Class A state champion Bonny Eagle High has been named the 2004 Gatorade Maine High School Football Player of the Year.

O’Donnell, a quarterback and free safety, led coach Kevin Cooper’s club to its first state championship by both rushing and passing for more than 1,000 yards. Defensively, he had a team-leading five interceptions while forcing two fumbles and making one fumble recovery for the 12-0 Scots.

“Matt O’Donnell is a true leader of his football team,” said Cooper, whose Scots defeated Bangor in the state final. “Matt competes in everything he does, from the weight room to the playing field. Matt is always willing to give his time to young players in our youth programs, and is highly sought after by our youth coaches to work with young players.”