Foxcroft wrestlers second at Nokomis meet

NEWPORT — The Foxcroft Academy wrestling team continued its string of strong performances at large early season meets Saturday with a second-place finish at the Nokomis Warrior Clash.

Coach Luis Ayala’s Class B Ponies, despite fielding competitors in just nine of the 14 weight classes, advanced eight of those wrestlers to the championship finals en route to scoring 150 points.

That trailed only three-time defending Eastern Maine Class A champion Skowhegan, which crowned a meet-best six individual champions and amassed 193.5 points.

Class B Dirigo of Dixfield was third with 136 points, followed by Class A schools Nokomis (112.5) and Oxford Hills of South Paris (71) among the 22 teams represented at the daylong meet.

Dexter finished ninth with 31 points. The Tigers were paced by Tyler Beem’s third-place finish at 138 pounds and Jacob Hesseltine’s fourth at 170.

Foxcroft crowned two individual champions, with Zach Caron remaining undefeated this winter by pinning Quinton Richards of Nokomis at 2:45 of their 145-pound final.

The Ponies’ Michael Pendriss won the 220-pound crown by pinning Oxford Hills’ Logan Truman at 1:08.

Six other Foxcroft wrestlers earned runner-up finishes in their weight classes — Brandon Weston (106 pounds), Antonio Ayala (126), R.J. Nelson (132), Billy Brock (182), Brandon Brock (195) and Connor Holmes (285).

Antonio Ayala, a senior, was competing with a face shield to protect a broken nose he suffered earlier this season.

The Ponies have one more major multi-school meet remaining, the Spartan Invitational next weekend in Sanford, before focusing on the Penobscot Valley Conference portion of their regular-season schedule.

Ponies third at Noble Invitational

Foxcroft Academy used six top-five finishes — including three individual champions — to place a strong third in the team competition at the annual Noble Invitational wrestling tournament recently held at Noble High School in North Berwick.

Coach Luis Ayala’s Class B squad finished with 162 points, trailing only defending Eastern Maine Class A champion Skowhegan (180.5) and perennial Class A power Noble (170).

It was the second-best finish for a Foxcroft team at the Noble meet during Ayala’s coaching tenue. The Ponies finished second in 2003.

Four-time defending Class A state champion Marshwood of South Berwick was fourth (154), followed by Nokomis of Newport (124) and defending Class B state champion Ellsworth (119.5) among the 21-school field that included entries from New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.

Zach Caron at 145 pounds, Michael Pendriss at 220 and Connor Holmes at 285 were individual champions for the the Ponies, with Holmes winning his title by outlasting Hunter Glidden of Nokomis 3-1 in three overtimes.

Brandon Weston (106 pounds) and Brandon Brock (195) each placed third for Foxcroft while Billy Brock (182) finished fourth. The Ponies’ Antonio Ayala finished fifth at 126 pounds while R.J. Nelson was fifth at 132.

Dexter wins Mid-Maine Tourney

Superior depth propelled the Dexter Tigers to victory at the recent Mid-Maine Tourney hosted by Mount View of Thorndike.

Dexter crowned just one individual champion, but six second-place finishes and two thirds from coach Bruce Salsbury’s club helped the Class B Tigers total 149 points to best runner-up Cony of Augusta, a Class A program that amassed 127 points.

Oceanside of Rockland-Thomaston (118), Erskine Academy of South China (112.5) and Caribou (102.5) were next in the 11-school field.

Dexter’s Daniel Wallace won the 182-pound individual championship while teammates Tyler Beem (138), Isaiah Hesseltine (145), Bryce Sweet (160), Jacob Hesseltine (170), David Kirshkain (220) and Tanner Hall (285) each placed second and Caleb Weeks (106) and Bryce Salsbury (152) scored third-place finishes.