AUGUSTA – It was 56 seconds that seemed like an eternity on the wrestling mat.

Mt. Blue’s Sam Webber had less than a minute to go to seal a second-straight KVAC title, but as he protected his one-point lead, time was ticking slowly.

“I’d think this will be the last one, and I’d flip him over again, but nobody hollered that it was short time,” said Webber. “If I let go, I would not have won it. It would have gone to overtime probably. I don’t think I would have let him get the two points.”

Webber held on for the 5-4 victory against Camden’s Murphy McGowan. Webber won the KVAC title at 135 last year but has dropped down to 130. He is currently 10-0 in that weight class and is looking for a repeat victory in states as well.

“He shuts down in the third period,” said Webber, who pinned McGowan in a match at 135 earlier in the year. “That’s why I pinned him a couple of weeks ago. He was shutting down.”

Belfast won the team title with 165 points while Camden was second at 121.5. Mt. Ararat took third with 114 followed by Morse and Skowhegan with 94.5 and 86 respectively.

Oxford Hills, which was the top Class A KVAC squad last year, was eighth with 39 points. Mt. Blue was 11th with 32 while Oak Hill was 14th with 26.

“I figured we’d finish in the middle of the pack,” said Vikings coach Tony Stevens. “My three seniors, Ben Stoodley, Matt Stoodley and Caleb Flanders all placed, which is what I thought would happen.”

Matt Stoodley reached the championship match in the 215 class but was pinned in the second round by Cony’s Shawn White.

“I was expecting to be the KVAC champ because I knew going into regionals, it would have seeded me a lot better and helped me go to states in a higher seed,” said Stoodley.

White had beaten Stoodley with a pin in the first 30 seconds earlier in the year. White got a quick takedown and 5-0 lead, but Stoodley rallied late in the first period to get within 7-5.

“I knew it was going to be a tough fight,” said Stoodley. “I knew he goes to head and arms a lot. That’s why I tried to duck under.”

In the second period, White quickly gained control and pinned Stoodley 14 seconds into the round.

“He got a head and arm on me which he did the last time I wrestled him,” said Stoodley. “It ended up hurting my shoulder. I haven’t been able to practice as hard, and I ended up tweaking my shoulder again, and that effected it.”

Oxford Hills also got a consolation victory from Ben Stoodley. He beat Skowhegan’s Jake Sylvain 11-4 in the 145-pound class. At 160 pounds, Flanders lost to Skowhegan’s James Grant in the final round. The Vikings have just four seniors left over from last year.

“I was pleased how it turned out today,” said Stevens. “It’s about where I expected to be with the young team that we have.”

In Webber’s championship match, the first round was a 0-0 stalemate. Then after Webber earned a point for an escape, McGowan took the lead with a counter move.

“I got an escape and then he took me down,” said Webber. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

In the final seconds of the round, Webber pulled a reversal and earned two points and 3-2 lead.

“I had to get that,” said Webber. “That was crucial. “My brother was hollering. So I knew that it was short time. I tried for one for an escape, but I actually go the two.”

McGowan retook the lead with a takedown, but a Webber reversal made it 5-4. Then with 56 seconds left, time was called to clear McGowan’s bloody nose. When the match continued, Webber held on.

In other consolation bracket matches, Oak Hill’s Craig Morrill beat Belfast’s Josh Wolfe at 112. In the 125-pound class, Mt. Blue’s Gary Theriault was pinned by Steven Hutchins of Nokomis in the first round. Oak Hills’ Clyde Tibbetts lost at 171 pounds to Belfast’s Mike Rolerson.