For many young high school wrestlers, the 103-pound division is a gateway to heavier ambitions – the result of nature taking its course among growing teens.

But for Caribou High School senior Carlin Dubay, the 103-pound division has been the gateway to championships, so much so that he hasn’t seen the need – or put on enough extra pounds – to move up in weight class throughout his four years with the Vikings.

Somewhat rare is the successful wrestler who remains at 103 pounds throughout his career, but Dubay has established himself as a premier performer in his weight class.

After placing fourth as a freshman at the 2005 Class B state meet, he won back-to-back Penobscot Valley Conference, Eastern Maine and state titles as a sophomore and a junior.

So far this winter he is 20-0, bringing his career record to 128-12, and he hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since his freshman season.

“Carlin’s the best 103 in the state,” said Caribou coach Todd Albert.

Maintaining his weight has never really been an issue for Dubay. He also competes in outdoor track and soccer at Caribou, and last winter was the first time he really weighed in at the 103-pound limit for wrestling.

That additional weight and strength proved consequential as he cruised to victory at the state meet, a year after outlasting Camden Hills’ Kristi Pearse in overtime of the 2006 final to claim his first state championship.

“Actually it’s been pretty easy to keep the weight down,” said Dubay. “When I finished the New Englands last year and weighed 108, I thought for sure I’d be moving up to 112 this year. But the first day of practice this season I weighed 106.”

Dubay showed off his championship form in his most recent competition, the Noble Invitational in Berwick last weekend, where after drawing a first-round bye he pinned all four opponents to easily win his weight class. He pinned Gage DeRosier of reigning Class A champion Massabesic of Waterboro in 4 minutes, 18 seconds in the championship match.

“Noble’s a pretty big meet for me,” said Dubay, who also won his weight class at the Noble Invitational in 2006 after placing second as a sophomore. “I really want to go to Noble because that’s where I get a lot of my competition.”

Between his sophomore and junior seasons, improvement for Dubay came largely through increased strength. Last summer, he worked on adding versatility to his wrestling skill set.

“Last year most of the time, I had to rely on my legs to control opponents,” he said. “This year I’m not just relying on my legs to finish matches. It’s mostly technique.”

Dubay and his Caribou teammates – including sophomore Brian Vrieze, who placed second at 112 pounds at the Noble Invitational – will now focus on dual-meet competition in preparation for the conference, regional and state meets that begin in late January.

It’s almost certain that Dubay – who already has wrestled in the 112- and 119-pound weight classes in some meets this year in order to get match-tested – will have to wrestle up a weight class on several more occasions in order to get ready for the postseason because 103 pounds is one weight class many schools struggle to fill.

“There’s not enough matches for him up here at the lower weights,” said Albert.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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