AUGUSTA – Andrew Currier knew it was time to go with what got him there.

The Mt. Blue junior wrestler had stalemated his KVAC finals match with Camden’s Brandon Rich through most of the first round. Then all of a sudden, Currier went with his bread-and-butter move. He took Rich down, had him in a precarious position and pinned him in a matter of seconds.

“It was just a head and arm,” said Currier. “It’s what I’ve been doing all year long. I was kind of hoping for an ankle snag, but it wasn’t there.”

The sudden win in the 135-pound weight class was a stunning result, especially for Currier.

“That was just awesome,” said Currier. “I’d never placed first. Like my coach said, this is kind of bigger than regionals and states this year. I’m excited.”

Currier was the only Cougar to reach the finals Saturday in the KVAC meet. Oak Hill had two wrestlers reach the finals. Adam Hathorne and Keith Madore were pinned in their respective matches but helped the Raiders finish ninth overall.

“We had some good matches,” said Oak Hill coach Shane Bouchard. “We had some upsets. We did about what I expected.”

Belfast won the meet with 165.5 points while Skowhegan was second with 142. Camden was third at 141 while Cony (140) and Morse (128.5) rounded out the top five. Right behind Oak Hill was Mt. Blue in 10th with 61.

Currier didn’t even wrestle in last year’s KVAC meet. He was just hoping for a solid outing Saturday.

“I was just hoping to place today,” said Currier. “That was my goal.”

Early in his match with Rich, the Windjammer had the advantage but couldn’t get Currier down for any points. When the two both went out of bounds late in the first round, it gave Currier the opportunity he needed. When they restarted in the center of the mat, he made his move and took Rich down. In a matter of moments, he had Rich in trouble and pinned him with 35 seconds left in the round.

“I was just listening to my assistant coach (Bob Craig) and did what he said to do,” said Currier. “He said to run the move that I was used to, and that’s got me this far.”

With Rich nearly helpless on the mat, Currier squeezed for all he was worth to get the pinfall. When he heard the whistle signaling his victory, it was the greatest sound ever.

“I’ve never taken first in a tournament,” said Currier. “This is big. It’s awesome. I’ve never done this.”

Mt. Blue also got a third place from Gary Theriault at 130. He beat Erskine’s Aaron Taylor 6-4 in the consolation final.

Oak Hill’s two finalists weren’t as fortunate against tough opponents. Madore, a freshman, lost to MCI’s Brandon Wright with 35 seconds left in the first round. Madore battled Wright for much of the round, but Wright got a take down with 1:05 left. He had Madore in position from then on and finished him off in the final minute.

“He got me flipped over, and I was fighting on my back,” said Madore. “He’s strong.”

Madore was expecting to get to the finals and knew his match against Wright wouldn’t be easy.

“I had a pretty good road to the finals,” he said. “I thought (Wright) was going to be there, and it would be a good match.”

For a freshman, Bouchard says Madore has proven himself all season long for the Raiders.

“He’s been in the finals in every tournament we’ve wrestled in except the Redskin,” said Bouchard. “He’s getting it done.”

Hathorne lost to Justin Gould from Nokomis at 215. The burly Warrior was much bigger than Hathorne and proved to be a tough challenge.

“Being light doesn’t help,” said Hathorne. “I needed to get on top because he was throwing me around.”

Trailing 2-0, Hathorne made his move and got a reversal that cut the deficit to 3-2 in the second round. In the third, Gould had a 4-2 lead. When he flipped Hathorne and got on top, Hathorne couldn’t squeeze free. Gould got the pin with 49 seconds left.

“Like in practice, we get kids that are around my weight, and I can flip them a little easier,” said Hathorne. “When you have guys that have to cut to make that weight, it’s hard to roll them.”

The Raiders also got a fourth from Craig Morrill at 125. He lost to Stephen Desjardins in the consolation finals, 10-4.

Oxford Hills finished with 13 points overall. Its best finish came from Kelson Dooley at 125. He lost to Dustin Vigue of Winslow in the consolation quarterfinal. Dooley was leading in the match but had to pull out because of a bloody nose.