MOUNT DESERT – After finishing as the runner-up in last year’s Penobscot Valley Conference championship wrestling meet, Bucksport managed to turn the tables on the defending champs from Dexter Saturday at Mount Desert Island High School.
As it has for the last seven years, the PVC title race came down to the Golden Bucks and Tigers, and for the third time in those seven years, the Bucks came away with the trophy.
Bucksport and Dexter each placed nine wrestlers in either the championship or consolation finals. Despite a 3-6 record in those final matches, the Bucks were able to edge the Tigers 166.5 points to 161.5.
“We racked up a lot of points in the early rounds and it was enough to keep us ahead,” said Bucksport coach Joe Pelletier. “Head to head, I was a bit disappointed how we did, but we had a lot of kids who made nice runs deep all the way through.”
Bucksport’s Greg Burrill, Dave Maguire and Josh Pelletier won individual PVC crowns in the 119-, 130- and 135-pound classes, respectively.
“It worked out to be the final spread that I was expecting, but it didn’t become that way the way I expected,” Pelletier explained.
Ironically, Dexter went 7-for-9 in final appearances with four individual champions: Keith Thompson at 112, Vinny Greene at 140, Kevin Armstrong at 145 and Aaron Thomas at 152.
One of the highlights of the day for the home crowd was Chris Perry’s performance in the 189-pound division as he upset Bucksport’s Adam Carter in the championship match by technical fall 2:56 into the match, becoming the Trojans’ first PVC champion.
“I was happy for the MDI kid even though he beat my guy, but if you look at the bigger picture, that win helps them build a better program,” Pelletier said.
Other individual champs were Penobscot Valley of Howland’s Aaron Priest at 103 and Keith Champion at 171, Ellsworth’s Matt Burns at 125, Brewer’s Ryan Hahl at 160, Old Town’s Jake Ela at 215, and Foxcroft Academy’s Trey Merrill at 275.
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