Head Style: head36 – 36 Point, 2 deck, Minion-SemiboldBDN95, Plain; 75; 2 col

Head Style: drop18 – 18 Point, 1 deck, Minion-RegularBDN95, Plain; 22; 2 col

Body Spec: Body Text; colw: 11p0; depth:9.62 (in.)

“This year I feel more comfortable on the mat.”

CARIBOU’S BRIAN VRIEZE

Brian Vrieze’s freshman year as a wrestler at Caribou High School was productive but not award-winning.

He finished with a 16-6 record and did not place at the Penobscot Valley Conference, Eastern Maine Class B or state championship meets.

But Vrieze’s sophomore season has produced breakout performances as the 112-pound Viking heads into Saturday’s Class B state meet at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford coming off first-place performances in both the PVC and Eastern Maine championships.

“This year I feel more comfortable on the mat and have more enthusiasm about going out and winning,” said Vrieze.

That enthusiasm got a considerable boost during Christmas break when Vrieze headed to the prestigious Noble Invitational tournament in North Berwick and returned with a second-place trophy in his weight class. His only loss came in the championship match to Dalton Groeger of Bonny Eagle of Standish, the 2007 Class A state champion at 103 pounds.

“That was my first year in that tournament, and finishing second let me know what potential I had this year and what I could do if I kept my weight where I was supposed to have it,” said Vrieze after winning the 112-pound title at Saturday’s Eastern B meet with a 15-0 technical fall victory over Donald Russell of Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield.

Vrieze has lost only once since the Noble Invitational, to 2007 Class B state champion Matt DelGallo of Gardiner – who now competes in Class A – and will take a 31-2 seasonal record in the 112-pound weight class to the state championships.

“Before Noble it was more iffy that I might be able to do it this year,” he said, “but that meet helped me build more confidence.”

Much of Vrieze’s improvement also can be traced to practicing with Caribou senior Carlin Dubay, the two-time defending Class B state champion at 103 pounds who will seek a third straight individual title on Saturday.

“By wrestling him I get used to the speed of someone in the smaller weight class,” said Vrieze, “and I also learn different techniques as to how to get out of certain situations that are tricky. Wrestling with Carlin has helped me a lot.”

Rodriguez returns to Pandas

Junior guard Hakeem Rodriguez returned to the Lee Academy boys basketball team Saturday night when the Pandas squared off against Schenck of East Millinocket in the inaugural Penobscot Valley Conference championship held at Hermon High School.

Rodriguez, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, missed the final five games of Lee’s regular season after being suspended for drawing three technical fouls during a 67-60 loss at Calais on Jan. 22.

Lee went 3-2 during Rodriguez’s absence, defeating Bangor Christian (79-54), Woodland (57-45) and Deer Isle-Stonington (65-58 in overtime) while losing to Schenck (50-46) and Class B power Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln (76-60).

His team’s leading scorer and rebounder until the Calais game, Rodriguez contributed 12 points as Lee defeated Schenck 65-59 in the PVC contest.

Lee, 13-5 and ranked second in Eastern Maine Class C, will begin tournament play at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday in a regional quarterfinal against the winner of the preliminary-round game between No. 7 Fort Kent and No. 10 Piscataquis of Guilford.

Mount View effort to move ahead

A formal agreement regarding a capital campaign for Mount View of Thorndike athletics was approved by the SAD 3 board of directors at their meeting Monday night.

FUTURE MSAD 3, the nonprofit organization planning a capital campaign to enhance and improve athletic facilities at the new Mount View school complex, and the SAD 3 board of directors signed a memorandum of understanding outlining roles and responsibilities for the effort to enhance and improve athletic facilities at the new Mount View school currently under construction, according to campaign director Alicia Nichols.

In August 2007, the SAD 3 board unanimously supported a motion to approve FUTURE MSAD 3 as the fundraising entity that would coordinate and conduct the capital campaign for enhancements to the outdoor and indoor athletic complex. The scope and financial goal for the campaign will be determined later this year.

Among terms of the memorandum, FUTURE MSAD 3 will coordinate and conduct the capital campaign for enhancements to the outdoor and indoor athletic complex, form an athletic enhancement advisory committee (AEAC) to seek input on the project and draft a comprehensive master plan of athletic enhancements for approval by both the fundraising group and the SAD 3 board of directors, and solicit naming gifts for athletic facilities in compliance with the district’s naming gift policy.

“We have an extraordinary opportunity to engage district residents and Mount View alumni in this project,” said Vicki Kupferman of Knox, who along with Doug Van Horn of Freedom are AEAC co-chairs.

“Later this spring the committee will invite members of the public to attend community sessions to share their ideas on enhancing the new athletic complex at Mount View and on improving existing facilities,” said Kupferman.

Community members willing to work on the plan are invited to the first organizational meeting from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at the Mount View High School library.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045