Carlin Dubay had a season unmatched in Maine high school wrestling history this winter.

The Caribou High School senior went 54-0, winning not only his third straight Class B state championship at 103 pounds but also a New England championship and All-American status.

And with the publication of the April 7 edition of Sports Illustrated, Dubay received two pages of national exposure with a picture of his first-round match at the recent National High School Coaches Association Senior National Wrestling Championships.

Dubay admittedly wasn’t the focal point of the photo, which featured him wrestling against Dustin Carter of Hillsboro (Ohio) High School – a quadruple amputee who nevertheless went 41-2 for his high school team this winter while reaching the quarterfinals of the Ohio state tournament.

“It was pretty cool,” said Dubay of the photo, which showed Carter unsuccessfully attempting to flip him over. “The picture wasn’t really about me, it was about him, but just being in Sports Illustrated was cool.”

Dubay heard shortly after he arrived at the nationals at Virginia Beach, Va., that there was a competitor in his weight class without arms or legs, and he soon learned that Carter would be his first opponent.

“I realized before I fought him that it was going to be a completely different strategy,” said Dubay. “I didn’t prepare any differently, but in my mind I knew my strategy was going to have to be different to wrestle a guy without arms and legs.”

Carter, who had both legs amputated above the knees, his right arm amputated below the elbow and his left arm amputated just above the elbow due to a life-threatening blood infection at age 5, used his considerable upper body strength to stay competitive throughout the match.

Dubay eventually scored a 1-0 victory, scoring a point at the start of the second period when Dubay chose the down position and Carter then chose neutral, essentially enabling Dubay to earn the pivotal point on an escape.

“My strategy pretty much didn’t work at all,” said Dubay, who nevertheless exerted control for much of the match and withstood several attempts by Carter to score a takedown once both wrestlers were on the mat.

“It was pretty much a 50-50 match,” said Dubay, who finished his high school career with a 162-12 record, with eight of those losses coming as a freshman.

“There were some close calls, but I did what I needed to do to win it,” said Dubay.

That victory eventually enabled Dubay to finish sixth in his weight class at the nationals, thus earning All-American honors.

Dubay, who will attend Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle this fall, currently is participating in preseason workouts with the Caribou outdoor track team. He will compete in the pole vault, long jump and sprints for the Vikings.

Dubay also said he may compete in one final wrestling event, the Maine-Nebraska Friendship Series scheduled in Nebraska this summer.

Lacrosse day set for Bangor

Anyone with an interest in high school lacrosse is invited to come out to Boucher Field on the campus of Husson College in Bangor on Saturday afternoon for a preseason doubleheader featuring teams from Portland-based Cheverus High School and the Waynflete School.

The games begin with a boys contest at 2 p.m., followed by the girls game at 4 p.m. Admission is free.

According to Jamie Chamberlain, Cheverus’ girls lacrosse coach and president of the Maine chapter of U.S. Lacrosse, the doubleheader is being held to help spread word of the sport to eastern Maine, where lacrosse has yet to expand the way it has in southern Maine.

Messalonskee of Oakland and Camden Hills of Rockport are the northernmost programs in the state, though there are nearly 40 boys teams and 40 girls teams that will vie for state championships in Classes A and B this spring.

In addition to the doubleheader, there will be an interactive clinic before each game for youths and prospective players to test lacrosse equipment, participate in hardest shot and accuracy drills and ask questions about the sport.

A clinic for girls will be held from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., followed by a boys clinic from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

In addition, anyone interested in starting a youth or high school program is encouraged to visit with the participating coaches. In addition to Chamberlain, Waynflete girls coach Cathie Connors is the Maine representative for U.S. Lacrosse, Cheverus boys coach Deke Andrew is the Maine Lacrosse Coaches Association Web master and Waynflete boys coach Bob Johnson is a Maine Youth Lacrosse Association board member.

Anyone interested in officiating boys or girls lacrosse is encouraged to visit the scorer’s table at the game site, chat with the veteran officials working the games and receive contact information.

For more information on the event, contact Chamberlain at 883-0458 or at jamiecham@msn.com.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045