NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The history books were rewritten this weekend as a tandem of Maine high school wrestlers completed perfect seasons by winning New England titles.

Chris Remsen of Camden Hills ended three years of frustration to capture the 145-pound division. Moments later, Dekota Cotten (152) of Noble repeated as champion.

Both wrestlers proved to be totally dominating throughout the two-day annual tournament, now in its 40th year.

Cotten utilized his lightening quick speed. The Knights senior won four matches – two pins and two major decisions – largely by being quicker on his feet, which allowed him to dictate the tempo of each match.

That was evident in the finals against Greg Dussoi of Connecticut as Cotten swept in repeatedly for takedowns en route to a 14-5 decision. The match was tight after one period before Cotton took control in the second frame.

“I knew that I had to wrestle,” Cotten said. “In order for me to repeat this year, it required a lot of hard work. There were no big surprises throughout the tourney and I was able to set the pace in all of my matches.”

The two wrestlers had faced off in last year’s semifinals.

Cotten (60-0) set a Maine record this season with 180 wins. The former mark was 163, held by Noble’s Doug Bruce.

Cotten, who will attend Blair Academy in New Jersey next fall, won his last 105 matches. His last loss was in the 2002 finals in the Class A state meet.

Remsen, a four-time Class B state champion, sailed through his four matches. In the final, Remsen (40-0) carefully set up his opponent for deep shoots that resulted in three takedowns against Tony Pallaria of Central Catholic in a 7-3 decision.

“I was so comfortable in the finals, that surprised me,” Remsen said. “I had a different mindset this time because it was my senior year, so I needed to take advantage of the opportunity. It made training that much more important and I had set my goals high.”

Remsen had placed third and fifth in the previous two N.E. meets. This marked the first time two Maine wrestlers claimed N.E. crowns since Bob Elwell of Morse and Tim Gotto of Rumford won in 1978.

The rest of the Maine wrestlers found the competition extremely hard. Just four individuals placed in the top six of their respective weight classes. Among that group were Derek Giusto of Lisbon and David Smith of Mountain Valley, who each placed sixth.

Giusto, three-time Class C champion, wrestled back through the losers bracket and recorded impressive wins against state champions from Vermont and Rhode Island. But, the Lisbon senior was unable to counter aggressive shoots in the consolation final.

Smith, the first Falcon to medal at the meet, lost a hard fought 3-1 decision.

“I knew that I couldn’t throw him,” Smith said. “(Tim Ferreira) does Greco Roman and he weighs 278 pounds, so I tried shooting on him. He caught me with a Japanese wiza, but it was an honor to come down here and compete. I did my best and accomplished my goal of winning a medal.”

Mike Dumas (140) of Kennebunk and Dan Cofojne (189) of Westbrook placed fourth.

Two-sport star

Troy Clark has certainly been busy doing double duty through out the season. The Lisbon senior won his second Class C state championship last month.

In addition, Clark is ranked third nationally in racewalking.

“I first saw racewalking in middle school,” Clark said. “I thought it looked funny, but I was interested in trying it. It sure is a lot different than wrestling, I’m not overly aggressive on the mat and racing requires a different mindset.”

Clark was a finalist at the Essex Classic in Vermont in January. He left that night and won a national qualifying race the next day in Boston. He has accepted a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside next fall.

In the New Englands, Clark lost two matches.

Easy choice

David Smith of Mountain Valley breezed through two matches Friday night. The lack of nervousness and uncanny thinking helped in setting up a semifinal match at noon Saturday.

“I prepare the same way for each match,” Smith said. “I do deep breathing excises. It calms me down, so I don’t go out there thinking I’m going to win or lose. I just approach every match as totally new and try doing what comes naturally.”

The Falcons sophomore pinned both opponents Friday, with a tight lateral drop and a head and arm in the first period. This wasn’t unusual because Smith compiled a 34-1 record this season, en route to winning a Class B state championship.

Smith was given a choice of sorts, prior to a second match. Oxford Hills coach Mark Dolloff had accompanied Smith and informed him of the situation. A loss would force an early wake-up call Saturday, but a win would allow for extra sleep.

Smith promptly accepted the latter.

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