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Some comments on the 2007 High School Wrestling Tournament! Great day of wrestling! Congrats to my preseason picks: Massabesic, Camden Hills, Dirigo for their Championships. Lisbon, I don't know how you do it, but you almost pulled off another one. Congrats to those named Outstanding Wrestlers. Well deserved, but here's my picks: A: Congrats to Sam Webber. Sheds his Bridesmaid Title for the title of State Champion. Great kid and he had a great (undefeated) year. Sammy placed 2nd previous two years and also had three seconds in Middle School Championships (PTWL). My pick for OW is Nate Lavallee of Cape Elizabeth who came out of the 4 seed in the East to win the 285-lb Championship. Only the second wrestler in recent memory to accomplish this feat! Last was Dave Labranche of Biddeford who came out of the A West 4 seed to win the 2001 119-lb. State Championship. B: Matt DelGallo had a great year and a State Championship as a freshman. Well deserving of the OW award. But my pick is Ben Matthews of Mtn Valley who very few people picked to beat Kote Aldus of Belfast. Ben has worked hard and capped a great year with his first championship. His younger brother Ernie also won his first championship today. C: Jeremiah Barkac is always a solid pick for OW, and one of the best wrestlers to ever come out of Maine. My pick for OW is Jon Smith of Dirigo. Smith and Pelletier were both undefeated during the regular season at 140 lbs this year, both State Champions in 2006 and both placed 2nd as freshmen in 2005. The winner of this match was my frontrunner for OW going in. Great to see Ryan Giusto win his Championship after finishing 2nd twice. At the same time, his opponent Mike Jonaitis of Dirigo also had two second place finishes. Mike beat Ryan at Regionals and Giusto turned the tide at States. Two great wrestlers, and two great kids. Good to see Mark Stambach (Lisbon) and Pat O'Leary (Dirigo) in different weight classes and both winning their Championships as seniors. My "Take One For The Team Award" goes to Jeff Cossar of Lisbon and Bill Macomber (Foxcroft). Both dropped from a weight class where they would have most likely been a Champion. They did this to accommodate a teammate in hopes of helping the team win a championship. I don't know if I could ask a wrestler to do this, but to both of these wrestlers, my hat's off to you. Kristi Pearse (Camden) second again. Can't say enough about this young lady. A great little wrestler who can't seem to get passed another great wrestler, Carlin Dubay (Caribou). Also great to see Andrea Eisenhower (Sanford) with a 3rd place finish. Congrats to both. Refereeing was very good. Very few complaints. Which is amazing with the number of matches wrestled and calls made. I guess newcomers can be great too: Khalil Lesaldo (Fort Kent) 2nd at C-171 in only his second year of wrestling. Jon Geiger (Foxcroft) 2nd at C-215 after playing basketball last two years. Ron Packard (Oxford Hills) 3rd at A-285 in his first year of wrestling. Speaking of Oxford Hills; I hope Jack Pike (one of the best 171's in the state) is doing well. Got hurt in his semi-finals match and was taken to the hospital. Would still like to see an All State Tournament to ensure that we send our three best wrestlers, in each weight class, to New Englands. But, Congrats to all State Champs and Good Luck at New Englands. Represent well the Great State of Maine! |
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Maybe C-135 was the toughest weight class last
year. All four medalists from 2006 were State Champs in 2007! |
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