Point discrepancy discovered in ‘B’ wrestling

The Class B state wrestling championship was decided by the narrowest of margins – two points.

It likely was even closer.

Mountain Valley High School of Rumford has appealed the results of Saturday’s meet to the Maine Principals Association, citing a scoring error that could have meant the difference between Camden Hills of Rockport winning the title outright and sharing it with the Falcons.

Camden Hills won its sixth straight state championship 166.5-164.5 in a meet that went down to the final match. That left Mountain Valley as the runner-up to the Windjammers for the fifth time during that six-year run.

After the meet ended late Saturday evening, Mountain Valley wrestling coach Gary Dolloff went home and began poring over the results.

“It was so close, I just had to go over them,” he said. “By about 1:30 in the morning I was convinced there was a mistake.”

Dolloff discovered what he believed to be a scoring error in the 103-pound division, in which Camden Hills was awarded two extra points after the Windjammers’ Murphy McGowan received a first-round bye and then won his next match.

In such scenarios, Dolloff said, a wrestler receives two points for a bye only after winning his next match. In this case McGowan – who went on to win the state championship in his weight class – was awarded four points for the bye because of a computer scoring glitch, according to Dolloff.

Those two extra points proved to be the difference in the team standings.

“There was a discrepancy that was found that would have resulted in a tie in Class B,” said MPA assistant executive director Jeff Sturgis.

Dolloff on Sunday called Marty Ryan of Kennebunk High School, chairman of the Maine Principals’ Association wrestling committee, to make him aware of the situation and appeal Mountain Valley’s case. The wrestling committee subsequently turned down the appeal, he said.

According to National Federation of State High Schools Association rules used by the MPA, “teams have until 30 minutes from the end of a meet to bring up any discrepancies to meet officials,” said Sturgis.

Sturgis added that the MPA also has its own policy in which such discrepancies must be brought to the attention of meet officials before the parties leave the contest venue.

Since Dolloff’s discovery of the discrepancy didn’t fall within the NFSHSA and MPA time and site standards, the original results stand.

“What did they want me to do, call them at 1:30 in the morning?” Dolloff asked.

Mountain Valley’s appeal is expected to be heard by the MPA’s Interscholastic Management Committee at its next meeting on March 3.

In the meantime, Dolloff said the local boosters club is prepared to buy the Mountain Valley wrestlers state championship jackets.

“I consider Mountain Valley a state champ, and that’s what I told the kids,” he said. “I just hope they do the right thing and decide this based on what happened on the mat, not because of scoring error caused by a computer.”

Camden Hills coach Patrick Kelly did not return a phone message seeking comment.