2/26/2008 -

Carlene Sluberski captured the 96-pound title at the Section 6 Division 2 Championships on Saturday to become the first girl from Western New York and only the third in New York state to qualify for the state tournament. She was also named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

Sports Briefs

Maine

'Girl power' lifts Camden Hills to win over Belfast

ERNIE CLARK, OF THE NEWS STAFF. Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Me.: Jan 17,

 2008. pg. 5 

BELFAST - Two of the titans of Class B wrestling in the state squared

 off here Wednesday night, and it was girl power that ruled the evening

 as defending state champion Camden Hills of Rockport edged Belfast

 43-33.

Belfast dominated the upper weight classes, but the Windjammers used

 consecutive victories by Kristi Pearse at 103 pounds, Logan Rich at 112

 and Chianne Simmons at 119 to take control of the meet.

"I knew it was going to be real close, but we did a lot of bumping

 around, we didn't wrestle them head to head," said first-year Camden Hills

 coach Levi Rollins. "I bumped around where I thought we could win, and

 where it thought we could help out the most.

"Definitely the girls came through. They won that match for us."

Belfast moved out to a 24-6 lead on consecutive pins by Kote Aldus

 (160), Mike Rolerson's nine-second pin of Camden Hills' Ian MacKenzie

 (171), Travis Spencer (189) and Mark Smith (215).

Camden Hills' Allen Muir scored a 31-second pin of Justin Boyle to

 regain some momentum for the Windjammers.

Then the meet reverted to the lowest weight classes, and there Camden

 Hills took charge.

Pearse endured a back-and-forth match with Jordan Young before earning

 a 9-8 victory, and Rich followed by pinning Josh Wolfe in 3:10.

When Simmons, who usually wrestles at 112, pinned Winston Poole in

 their 119-pound bout, Camden Hills had a 27-24 lead.

"I threw Chianne Simmons up to 119 where she usually doesn't wrestle

 and she pulled through for us," said Rollins. "Logan and Kristie both

 pulled off tough matches, Logan had a pin that was real big for us."

Belfast's Josh Robbins then tied the match with a 9-7 decision over Zac

 Fields at 125 before Camden Hills freshman Jacob Powers rallied from a

 6-0 deficit to pin Phil Kyser midway through the third period.

"I had to have good shots, stay tight and work everything real hard,"

 said Powers. "I had really good shots tonight. I don't usually shoot but

 when I do they're good."

Windjammers' senior Murphy McGowan followed with a pin of Belfast

 freshman Kornealius Wood at 135 before Jack Simpkins earned an 8-0 major

 decision over the Lions' Jimmy Spencer at 140 to give Camden Hills an

 insurmountable lead.

Belfast's Zach Shellabarger ended the match with a pin over Brandon

 Rich at 145.

"We wrestled as well as we could," said Belfast coach Ted Heroux. "They

 did a great job of coaching and wrestled well, and made all the right

 moves in the lower weight classes on us because we're a little weaker

 down there and they have experienced kids."

"But we're in pretty good shape, and we're going to be in better shape

The Lions were coming off first-place finishes in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and Eastern Class B meets the previous two weeks and wanted all to understand they were not about to make the six-hour round-trip bus ride to Rumford over the weekend without returning home with the coveted crown.

Belfast did that by outdistancing a talent-laden field, which included defending state champ Camden Hills, host and 2006 state titlist Mountain Valley and Wells.

Saturday's outcome gave Belfast its first state championships since the Lions won back-to-back crowns in 1994 and 1995.

Belfast gained the lead after the championship semifinals Saturday and increased its advantage to 30 points during the consolation finals.

It was a tremendous day on the mat for many Midcoast grapplers, as Belfast and Camden Hills both crowned several individual champs.

For the Lions, Kote Aldus (160 pounds), Mike Rolerson (171) and Travis Spencer (189) brought home titles. For the Windjammers, Murphy McGowan (130) and Jacob Berry (145) secured championships.

In fact, McGowan received the LaFountain Award as the wrestler of the meet.

In all, Midcoast wrestlers performed well, as Belfast had 10 top-four efforts, Camden Hills six top-four finishes, and Medomak Valley of Waldoboro and Mount View of Thorndike one each.

The team scores were: Belfast 162.5, Mountain Valley 124, Wells 113, Camden Hills 98, York 84, Lincoln Academy of Newcastle 57.5, Caribou 48, Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield 40.5, Oak Hill of Sabattus 40, Hermon 22.5, Ellsworth 22, Fryeburg Academy 21, Mt. Desert Island 20, Winslow 19, Central of East Corinth 16, Mount View 15, Medomak Valley 14, Sumner of East Sullivan 4, Old Town 3 and Lake Region no score.

Veteran BAHS coach Ted Heroux said the Lions wrestled their best at the right time. He added that he was proud that all his grapplers started and finished the season in the same weight classes.

Each state champion qualifies for the New England High School Wrestling Championships at Lowell High School in Lowell, Mass. Friday, Feb. 29, and Saturday, March 1. Thus, Aldus, Rolerson, Spencer, Berry and McGowan have an opportunity to participate at that higher level of competition.

Over the years, Camden Hills, Mountain Valley, Belfast, Marshwood and Wells have dominated Class B wrestling. Belfast also won state crowns in 1987 and 1986. The Lions were runners-up in 1967, 1968, 2002, 2005 and 2007. Records were unavailable from 1973-79.

Camden Hills' Kristi Pearse, top, and Belfast's Jordan Young battle in the foreground at 103 pounds as Lion Josh Wolfe and Windjammer Logan Rich compete at 112 pounds in the background. (Photo by Daniel O'Connell)

Camden Hills/Camden-Rockport has finished first in the state 11 times and second six times since 1987.

"With the great kids we had coming back from last year we knew we had a shot at winning the state championship — and we did," said Heroux. "The matchups were pretty much right for us and we got a little help from Wells and Mountain Valley. We didn't have any kids that faulted. All of the kids we figured would go to the finals did."

Heroux added, "We worried about the wrestle backs (consolation round) mostly. Josh Wolfe did a tremendous job wrestling back into third place and that was big points for us right there. Our freshman, Kornealius Wood at 135, held up his end in a tough weight class and came back and placed. Jimmy Spencer fought back and placed third as did Mark Smith. It was pretty much a sure thing for us before the finals started."

Heroux went on to say, "We pretty much had it sewn up [at that point]. With the five kids we had in the finals I knew there was no way we were going to lose all those matches and we didn't. I didn't think they were going to beat Aldus, Rolerson and [Travis] Spencer and, in fact, they all pinned out giving us some big points."

The following are the individual state results for Midcoast wrestlers:

103 pounds — Kristi Pearse, CH, lost by technical fall to Ryan Burgess, MountVal, 17-2; pinned Emma Blachet, LA, at 1:41; beat Jordan Young, Bel, 6-1; and lost to Burgess, MountVal, 11-4 in the consolation final. Pearse finished fourth.

Young Bel, beat Reaha Goyetche, York, 10-5; was pinned by Shane Daly, Wells, at 3:19; and lost to Pearse, CH, 6-1.

Ben Lufkin, Med, was pinned by Daly, Wells, at 1:23; and lost to Goyetche, York, 8-1.

112 pounds — Wolfe, Bel, beat Craig Morrill, OakH, 6-5; was pinned by Brian Vrieze, Car, at 1:35; beat Logan Rich, CH, 5-1; and beat Morrill, OaH, 3-2 in the consolation final. Wolfe finished third.

Rich, CH, was pinned by Vanya Tomesewski, Wells, at 3:27; pinned Peter Bacchiocchi, FA, at 3:34; and lost to Wolfe, Bel, 5-1.

119 pounds — Josh Robbins, Bel, received a first-round bye; beat Brandon Wright, MCI, 8-1; and lost to Jimmy Cryer, Wells, 5-0 in the championship final. Robbins finished second.

Zac Fields, CH, pinned Cody Boyd, FA, at 2:54; was pinned by Cryer, Wells, at 0:43; beat Cody Magoon, MountVal, 7-5; and beat Brandon Wright, MCI, 6-5 in the consolation final. Fields finished third.

125 pounds — Jacob Powers, CH, pinned Chris Neuman, Wells, at 5:15; lost to Billy Gauthier, York, 9-2; beat Ben Deschaine, OakH, 11-6; and pinned Neuman, Wells, at 2:43 in the consolation final. Powers finished third.

130 pounds — McGowan, CH, won by technical fall over Scotty Cryer, Wells, 17-1; pinned Derek Juchnik, LA, at 1:24; and beat Ernie Matthews, MountVal, 7-6 in the championship final. McGowan finished first.

Kyia Bryant, MountView, was pinned by Matthews, MountVal, at 0:30; and lost by technical fall to Chris Ouellet, MCI, 15-0.

135 pounds — Jack Simpkins, CH, pinned Josh Thornton, MountVal, at 5:35; pinned Dan Towers, York, at 4:17; and was pinned by Cinjin Goeway, MCI, in the championship final. Simpkins finished second.

Wood, Bel, lost to Towers, York, 3-2; beat Thornton, MountVal, 6-2; beat Ryan Grover, Sum, 4-3; and was pinned by Towers, York, at 1:37 in the consolation final. Wood finished fourth.

140 pounds — J. Spencer, Bel, pinned Mike Hamm, OakH, at 0:24; lost to Ryan Vartanian, Wells, 4-3; pinned Ben Fredette, Win, at 4:05; and won by technical fall over Steven Genthner, Med, 15-0 in the consolation final. Spencer finished third. In the meet, Spencer broke the BAHS school career win record and now has 154 mat victories. Tony Gilmore held the previous mark at 152. Gilmore was on hand in Rumford Saturday to cheer Spencer on as he surpassed the old record.

Genthner, Med, won by major decision over Jim Cassotis, York, 13-0; was pinned by Derek Sicotte, MountVal, at 5:20; pinned Patrick Hapworth, MCI, at 1:48; and lost by technical fall to Spencer, Bel, 15-0 in the consolation final. Genthner finished fourth.

145 pounds — Berry, CH, pinned Austin Mehlhorn, LA, at 0:31; pinned Matt Duka, MountVal, at 3:13; and won by technical fall over Zach Shellabarger, Bel, 19-4 in the championship final. Berry finished first.

Shellabarger, Bel, won by major decision over Dillon Tibbetts, OakH, 11-0; beat Alex Hymanson, York, 11-4; and lost by technical fall to Berry, CH, 19-4 in the championship final. Shellabarger finished second.

Chris Taylor, Med, lost to Hymanson, York, 5-3; beat Tibbetts, OakH, 5-4; and was pinned by Duka, MountVal, at 3:45.

152 pounds — Tristan Ripley, MountView, won by major decision over Mike Burgess, Wells, 13-3; was pinned by Cody Poland, LA, at 1:30; pinned Michael Hymanson, York, at 4:04; and pinned Matt Sanderson, Bel, at 1:00 in the consolation final. Ripley finished third.P131865

Sanderson, Bel, was pinned by Poland, LA, at 1:32; pinned Burgess, Wells, at 1:46; pinned Corey Kidder, Ells, at 0:51; and was pinned by Ripley, MountView, at 1:00 in the consolation final. Sanderson fourth.

160 pounds — Aldus, Bel, pinned Alex Benner, LA, at 2:09; pinned Corey Lajoie, Car, at 1:21; and won by technical fall over Eddie Estes, MountVal, 18-3 in the championship final. Aldus finished first.

171 pounds — Rolerson, Bel, pinned Brian Cogley, MountVal, at 3:13; pinned Clyde Tibbetts, OakH, at 1:45; and pinned Ray Gauthier, York, at 1:43 in the championship final. Rolerson finished first.

189 pounds — T. Spencer, Bel, pinned Sean Murphy, LR, at 1:10; pinned Josh Allen, MountVal, at 1:04; and pinned James Grady, LA, at 5:25 in the championship final. Spencer finished first.

Jim Owen, MountView, was pinned by Robert Little, OakH, at 1:45; and was pinned by Danny Closson, MDI, at 3:34.

215 pounds — Smith, Bel, pinned Jesse Morkeski, LA, at 3:18; was pinned by Nick Mercurio, York, at 2:07; pinned Camden Fernald, MDI, at 1:30; and pinned Morkeski, LA, at 2:04 in the consolation final. Smith finished third.

Anthony Massicotte, Med, was pinned by Mercurio, York, at 2:43; and lost to Morkeski, LA, 8-7.

285 pounds — James Ogden, Med, was pinned by Stephen Jeselskis, MountVal, at 3:07; pinned Anthony Gonzalez, York, at 1:30; and was pinned by Jesse Sawin, FA, at 0:56.

Camden Hills' Kristi Pearse, back, and Belfast's Jordan Young battle at

 103 pounds. Jordan earned a close semifinal victory. (Photo by Ken

Caribou’s Carlin Dubay (top) competes against Camden Hills’ Kristi

 Pearse in the 103-pound final during the state Class B meet last

Minn.

MURRAY COUNTY NEWS / Cathy Steinmetz Elissa Reinsma gets the reversal.