The future looks bright for schoolgirl wrestling in the state, if participation in the first Maine High School Girls Wrestling Invitational Tournament is any indication.

Fifty-two girls representing 31 different Maine high schools took part in the inaugural event held recently at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington.

“We had more than 50 girls, and I’m not sure how many girls there are in the state on wrestling teams, but it’s probably a pretty good percentage of them,” said meet director Arvid Cullenberg of Farmington, a veteran wrestling coach and official. “They also came from everywhere. We had wrestlers from as far away as East Machias, Caribou and York.

“I was very pleased with how it went and thrilled for the girls.”

Competition was held in nine weight classes ranging from 97 pounds to 180 pounds based on the entries, and participants competed in a total of 108 matches throughout the afternoon.

Mount Ararat of Topsham earned the team championship with 47 points, edging second-place York (45.5). Oxford Hills of South Paris (38.5) was third, with Caribou (36.5), the Hyde School of Bath (31.5) and Washington Academy of East Machias (30.5) rounding out the top six teams.

Individual champions were Reaha Goetche of York (97 pounds), Kayleigh Longley of Noble of North Berwick (105), Kelly Golek of Mount Ararat (110), Cheyenne Augustine of Medomak Valley of Waldoboro (115), Allison Pelletier of Poland (122), Kat MacDonald of Mount Ararat (125), Tiera Williams of Deering of Portland (132), Caitlynn Sampson of Oxford Hills (145) and Joslyn Ribar of Erskine Academy of South China (180).

Caribou’s effort was led by second-place finishes from Danielle MacDonald at 122 pounds and Danielle Landry at 145. Washington Academy was led by second-place Angie Sexton (180) and third-place Chianti Maizik at 110.

Other top-four finishers from the region included Camden Hills of Rockport’s Kristi Pearse, second at 110; Lauren Kief of Ellsworth, third at 125; Courtney Randall of Madison, third at 115; Ariel Hunter of Mt. Blue, fourth at 105; Megan Collopy of Dexter, fourth at 132; Sarah Kirkwood of Madison, fourth at 125 and Ali Smith of Madison, fourth at 180.

“The girls know they’re wrestling against the odds when they’re going up against guys, not in every match, but when it starts filtering down the regional and state meets, they’re wrestling against the odds,” said Cullenberg. “This was a good opportunity for them to compete against each other, and I think they enjoyed that opportunity.”

Cullenberg said he plans to stage the meet again next February, and with the enthusiasm and publicity based on this year’s event, he expects even more participants.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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