SOUTH PARIS – It requires timing and focusing on the details in order to succeed on the wrestling mat. Teams finally had a chance to work on that Saturday at the third annual Viking Duels tournament Saturday.
Despite the preseason label, it made little difference to the wrestlers in the Oxford Hills gymnasium. The results could have a long-lasting physical and mental effect on any future encounters.
“This is really great,” Mountain Valley coach Gary Dolloff said. “It gives the kids experience because you can run and run them, but until they actually step on to a mat, there’s no real way of knowing. The kids don’t understand the importance of conditioning.”
The entrants consisted of the top three teams in Class B and C, including Class B co-state champions Mountain Valley and Camden Hills. In Class C, state champion Foxcroft Academy was being measured up by Dexter and Lisbon.
The teams were grouped in three pools of four. The early rounds were a round robin. The top teams advanced to the medal round.
There were some dark horse teams, like Oxford Hills, which pulled a stunner by upsetting Foxcroft 37-31 in the first round. The Vikings discovered their strength from Tom Moulton Keith Brown and Dan McLean en route to advancing to the final four.
“This allowed us to see where you are and what you need to work on,” Oxford Hills coach Mark Dolloff said. “You may be going against a state champion right off. But, if you find that it’s difficult to get off the bottom, then it’s up to the individual to (practice) on it.”
A case in point was the performances by Aaron Arsenault, who won all three matches. The Mountain Valley senior, a state finalist last season, quickly surmised the situation and recognized his shortcomings.
“I wrestled sloppily today,” Arsenault said. “Once I get on top (offensive position), I’m unable to (execute) any moves like arm bars and chicken wings. I need to try different things like a tight waist and try a tilt.”
Arsenault used four takedowns in a 9-6 win and then was tested in a 1-0 decision against Tim Caldwell of Belfast. The Falcon senior engineered a standing escape in the third period.
Mountain Valley came out flat and was crushed by Massabesic 45-13 and Belfast 51-15. A bright spot was Tyler Child who had a 28-second pin at 189.
Lisbon planted a 39-25 win against rival Dirigo, but the score wasn’t indicative of the competitiveness. The Greyhounds won three matches in the final seconds, including Mar Stambach in overtime against Pat O’Leary at 215; Ryan Guisto over Mike Jonaitis at 140 and Tyler Clark beat Jon Smith at 125.
“We were able to size up Dirigo today and we’ll see them again next week,” Lisbon coach Mark Stevens said. “Those three matches could have gone either way so it will be a battle between us throughout the season.”
Dirigo utilized pins by Jon Smith and Josh Palmer (130) to upset Class A Sanford 45-29. Top-gun Camden Hills humbled Lisbon 69-9.
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