Camden Hills of Rockport’s six-year run as Class B wrestling state champion was ended last season by the narrowest of margins – the team placed second to Mountain Valley of Rumford by 1.5 points.

That has provided additional motivation as the Windjammers seek to regain their championship status in 2007.

“The motivation is there every year,” said Camden Hills coach John Kelly, whose team is coming off a third-place finish at last weekend’s Noble Invitational tournament behind Class A Massabesic of Waterboro and eight-time defending Class A champ Noble of North Berwick. “It’s part of our program. There’s always that desire to be the best.”

Kelly is back in charge of the Windjammers program after a four-year absence during which his brother Patrick guided the team to three state titles and two undefeated seasons.

And John Kelly’s first meet back represented a historic moment, his 300th career coaching win. Kelly had guided Camden Hills to a 299-30 record over his previous 14 years at the helm, with seven state championships and 10 Eastern Maine Class B titles.

This year’s squad features five former state champions and six wrestlers who battled their way into the state championship finals last February.

Senior Hank Simpkins and junior Jacob Berry are returning state champions, with Berry now competing at 152 pounds and Simpkins at 160. Other top performers are 2006 runners-up Kristi Pearse (103), True Bragg (135), Cody Laite (140) and Oliver Bradeen (189).

Seniors Bragg and Laite and junior Murphy McGowan (125) are all former state champions for the Windjammers.

“This year, we’ve got some seniors who want another state championship individually really bad, and they go after that and it kind of takes care of the team aspect as well,” said Kelly. “So the drive is there, and the key point is getting some of the younger guys combat-ready for the regionals and the states.”

Those younger competitors include junior Ivan Bragg (119) and sophomores Jack Simpkins (130) and Chaz Guthrie (215).

“It’s kind of a mix this year,” Kelly said. “We’ve got kids who have been on JV and now they’re getting a chance, or kids that have been down in junior high and now they’re freshmen, but we do have a pretty good corps of veterans back that are carrying the load and making it easier on the younger kids who are getting their opportunity to step in there and compete without so much pressure on them to win.”

As for returning to championship status, Kelly expects the primary competition to be the same as it was in 2006, Mountain Valley of Rumford and Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference rival Belfast.

“Belfast is just about where we are right now, and I think Mountain Valley is, too, so it’s going to come down to three things: who can stay eligible, who can stay healthy, and who is wrestling their best at the end of the year,” Kelly said.

“The way I see it, Belfast and Camden and Mountain Valley are all about the same talent level.”

Spencer earns top honors

Travis Spencer of Belfast was named the most outstanding wrestler at the Noble Invitational held last weekend at North Berwick.

Spencer defeated Jesse Rayworth of Noble by a 12-3 major decision in the championship match of the 189-pound division to earn that honor.

Massabesic, which is trying to end neighboring Noble’s eight-year hold on the Class A state championship, won the meet by defeating the second-place hosts 238-206.5.

Two Midcoast rivals were next as Camden Hills of Rockport was third with 201 points, followed by Belfast with 150. Reigning Class C champion Lisbon was fifth in the 29-school field with 119 points.

Camden Hills had one individual champion in 152-pounder Jacob Berry, who earned a 9-1 major decision over Belfast’s Kote Aldus in that weight-class final. The Windjammers also got second-place finishes from Cody Laite (140 pounds) and Hank Simpkins (160), thirds from Murphy McGowan (125) and Oliver Bradeen (189), and fourths from Ivan Bragg (119) and True Bragg (130).

Jimmy Spencer added a second weight-class championship for Belfast at 130 pounds, decisioning Bobby Dedovic of Bonny Eagle of Standish 5-1 in the title match.

Other champions from eastern Maine were Caribou’s Carlin Dubay, a 4-2 winner over Bonny Eagle’s Dalton Groeger in the 103-pound final; and two-time state champion Jerod Rideout of Foxcroft Academy, who topped Gary Begin of Mt. Blue of Farmington 9-4 in the 145-pound championship bout.

Brewer’s Jake Hesseltine also turned in a strong performance, earning a third-place finish in the 171-pound division.