By Bob McPhee,Staff Writer

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Things all came to a head for Chris Smith at the New England wrestling championships held this past Friday and Saturday.

The Mountain Valley senior set some lofty goals and achieved two in the spacious and bright gymnasium. Smith, who earned a sixth-place medal, broke the school record for career wins.

Smith, a three-time Class B state champion, was informed between matches that he needed one more win to pass Anthony Mazza, who held the record with 128 wins. Smith had tied the mark with a 37-second pin.

“The wrestlers are so technical down here, so they quite possibly had never had a head-and-arm tried on them,” said Smith. “They are used to going six minutes, so if I can get (match) over quickly, I’m going to try it.”

With that predetermined strategy, Smith popped up under his opponent’s right arm and slid in. The left-hander then had the strength to secure the hold. He held it tight for a 45-second pin.

The deeper he advanced, the better the level of competition, and he was unable to secure the hold. In the final consolation match he kept moving forward, while trying to find an opening. The taller opposition from Connecticut had built a 3-1 lead and even a one-point stalling call with six-seconds left didn’t deter him from backing up.

“I’m really happy with my career,” Smith said. “I never thought that I’d get this far. I hadn’t done that well as a freshman at 135. But, the coaches kept encouraging me to work harder. The experiences of playing football also helped because I gained 20 pounds each year.”

Too long a break

The opportunity to compete in the New England should be a higher priority for wrestlers because the experiences will last a lifetime.

Todd Austin never had a chance to compete in the New Englands because Maine hadn’t rejoined New England competition during his career at Mountain Valley. Austin, who currently coaches wrestling and football at Plymouth High School in New Hampshire, realizes how important it is.

“I think Maine puts too much emphasis on its state meet,” Austin said. “The (Maine Principal’s Association) needs to do something about it. The three-week gap between the state meet and the New Englands is too long. Plus, is Maine actually sending its best wrestlers?”

In an effort to avoid idle time, the other states have a qualifying tournament on Saturday a week prior to the N.E. Massachusetts held its state meet last week.

“Maine needs to have a qualifying tournament,” Austin said. “In New Hampshire, our wrestling committee is totally separate from the (principals association). The committee is comprised of coaches who each realize what’s in the best interest of the sport. This committee then recommends to the entire governing body, what changes might be necessary.”

Frustration

Maine wrestlers won seven quarterfinal matches for the first time since returning. Only Chris Barkac of Dexter was victorious in the semifinal and advanced to the finals. The frustration and disappointment was apparent the rest of the tournament.

Two previously unbeaten Maine wrestlers fell short in the bid for a New England title.

Caleb Pelletier of Foxcroft executed a reversal and a near fall in the final five seconds to pull out an 8-7 come-from-behind win.

The Pony wrestler had trailed 5-0 and freely admitted that it was the only time that he needed to come back this season.

“That was the biggest deficit that I’ve ever had to come back from,” said Pelletier, who was appointed to the United States Military Academy. “I know that I’m exhausted. I had to pull (cut) a lot of weight for this tournament, it’s been a long three weeks.”

Shane Webber of Mt. Blue had trained harder for this second trip and it paid off with a 5-4 decision Saturday morning, but the Cougar wrestler dropped his next match. Webber couldn’t find the right words.

Dave Magoon, who had placed fourth in N.E. for Rumford in 1974, so elegantly put things in perspective for Webber.

“I realize it doesn’t feel good right now,” Magoon said. “But, of your 35 matches, can you think of five that were really competitive. (Webber nodded no).

“That’s the big difference because in this tournament you need to be mentally ready for every match.”