Foxcroft’s Pendriss earns All-New England honors
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By Ernie Clark
Staff Writer
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Michael Pendriss capped off his high school wrestling career in memorable fashion last weekend by becoming just the third grappler in Foxcroft Academy history to earn All-New England honors.
Pendriss, the Class B state champion at 220 pounds, placed sixth at the 52nd annual New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships held Friday and Saturday at Providence, Rhode Island.
Pendriss lost his first match, then won four straight bouts to secure a top-six finish good for All-New England status.
He becomes the first Foxcroft wrestler to earn All-New England accolades since 2006, when Josh Pelletier won the 275-pound championship and James McPhee placed fourth at 215 pounds.
“Michael just showed his resilience to never quit,” said Foxcroft wrestling coach Luis Ayala. “When he was tired he just dug deep within himself to get that extra burst of energy to get those wins.
“He has had an amazing year. He showed to everyone what a Foxcroft Academy wrestler is all about.”
Pendriss was one of three Foxcroft wrestlers to compete in this year’s New England championships based on their top-three finishes at Maine’s all-state qualifying meet held two weeks earlier in Topsham.
Senior Zach Caron, the Class B state champion at 145 pounds, finished 3-2 for the Ponies at the New Englands while classmate Brandon Brock, the Class B 195-pound state champion, went 1-2.
“It was great coming down [to the New Englands] and having all of our wrestlers winning matches,” said Ayala, whose team won the Class B team state championship last month.
Foxcroft finished the New England meet with 16 points to tie for 47th place among the 155 schools represented.
“It’s always tough coming down here because the competition is two or three notches higher than what we see during the season,” said Ayala. “You have to be on your ‘A’ game to come here and win some matches.”
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Pendriss dropped a 3-2 decision to Dan Gioioso of Xaverian High School in Westwood, Massachusetts, in his first match at the New Englands.
“Michael gave up an escape and it cost him,” said Ayala. “He was not able at the end to get the takedown. But after that match he just had an amazing run of winning four straight matches. I have never seen anything like it.”
Pendriss began his comeback with a 3-2 decision over Mike Ramos of Framingham, Massachusetts, then scored a reversal in the final seconds to rally past Jon Ferri of Windham, New Hampshire, 6-5.
Pendriss advanced past Ellis Feliz of Manchester, New Hampshire, by injury default before clinching his medal finish with a takedown and back points in the final 20 seconds to secure a 7-2 victory over Joe Fusco of Shawsheen Tech in Billerica, Massachusetts.
Pendriss then dropped a 3-1 decision in a return match to Gioioso before his tournament run ended with a loss by pin to Broc Dokos of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, in the fifth-place match.
“Just to get to the podium at this level is amazing,’” said Ayala. “Michael has been wrestling since first grade through Foxcroft Youth Wrestling, SeDoMoCha Middle School and now at Foxcroft Academy. It says a lot about the work he has put in to achieve this, the countless hours at practice, the summer wrestling camps, the wrestling tournaments, the hard work in the weight room, the conditioning to build his endurance, the dieting to make weight, and so much more to get to this point.
“We always tell our wrestlers with hard work anything is possible and Michael has proven this.”
Pendriss was one of eight Maine wrestlers to earn All-New England status.
Peter DelGallo of Gardiner won his second New England title in four years, following up his 106-pound title as a freshman with the 120-pound crown as a senior.
Cody Craig, a junior from Skowhegan, placed second at 106 pounds while Chris Wilson (195 pounds) of Nokomis of Newport, Austin Shorey (120) of Noble of North Berwick and Bradley Beaulieu (132) of Marshwood of South Berwick each finished third in his weight class.
Kam Doucette (160) of Skowhegan and Robert Heatherman (170) of Mount Ararat-Brunswick each battled to a fourth-place finish.
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PROUD MOTHER — Michael Pendriss of Foxcroft Academy was joined by his mother Heidi Weymouth at the 52nd annual New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships on March 4-5 in Providence, R.I.