DIXFIELD – Ten pounds were enough to help Alex Miele leapfrog the impossible in-house competition and earn a varsity starting spot on the Dirigo High School wrestling team this winter.

One second Wednesday night was sufficient evidence that the sophomore is worth keeping there, especially now that he’s armed with confidence befitting a senior.

With just about everybody in raucous Defoe Gymnasium thinking that Miele let his match against Mountain Valley High School’s Matt Duka slip away in the final 10 seconds, the newcomer gained leverage and stuck his nemesis’ shoulders to the mat with no time to spare in their 152-pound bout.

The victory delivered a dramatic momentum change and rocketed the reigning Class C champion Cougars to a 49-27 triumph over the Class B rival Falcons.

“He had more strength than me,” Miele acknowledged. “I had to use my technique and speed. I got him with my legs. I did have a little bit of a height advantage.”

After Miele surged to an early 3-0 lead with an escape and a takedown in the first period, Duka mirrored those moves in the middle stanza to pull even.

Miele forged ahead before Duka rose from a prone position, reclaimed the advantage and was poised to swipe the win.

“That was a shocker,” said Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert. “I think Duka thought it was over. He’ll never let that happen again. He’s just a sophomore, too. We’ll see these guys many, many more times.”

The 152-pound combatants are representative of two perennially powerful programs trying to navigate an early-season learning curve.

Miele wrestled with the Dirigo junior varsity team last winter while trapped between 135 and 145 pounds and behind two varsity mainstays whose closets are full of championship hardware.

“I was in a pretty tough bracket with Derek Daley and Jon Smith,” said Miele.

He was one of six freshmen or sophomores to start for the Cougars in this pre-holiday showdown. Mountain Valley’s youth movement is even more pronounced, with only three of 13 wrestlers in their junior or senior campaign.

“It’s a very young team,” Mountain Valley coach Gary Dolloff said of the Falcons, “As the year progresses, we should get better and better. It’s good rebuilding. They’re a great group of kids, and we’re excited about the future. I thought there were a couple of matches that could have gone either way tonight.”

In addition to Miele’s early win, A.J. Carrier’s pin of Stephen Jeselskis was a late turning point, and ultimately the clincher.

Dirigo and Mountain Valley each defeated Monmouth in the triangular meet. The Cougars prevailed 61-18, while the Falcons had an even easier time in their 66-6 verdict.

Daley (135), Smith (145) and Adam Gatchell (171) were double winners for Dirigo.

“We need to get stronger in the lower weight classes if we want to contend for the state championship,” Gilbert said.

Monmouth’s two smallest competitors, Patrick McInnis and Erik Coulombe, stuck their Dirigo counterparts.

Ryan Burgess (103) picked up a pair of pins for Mountain Valley, while Robert Sager (140) muscled out two decisions.