RUMFORD — The Mountain Valley wrestling team used its veterans to pull away from Dirigo in a 45-27 win in Mid State League action Wednesday.
Mountain Valley and Dirigo each tuned up by crushing Monmouth 64-18 and 59-15, respectively.
The Falcons used their upper weights to defeat Dirigo 44-27 last month, and repeated the task almost to the point this time around, though the rematch was anticipated to be more competitive.
Both teams have changed their lineups in an effort to find which wrestlers have made the proper adjustments, both physically and mentally, for the upcoming season-ending tournaments.
Mountain Valley (13-2) took control when it was necessary, winning nine of the 11 contested matches, including ruling the upper weights with 24 points by Taylor Carey at 171, Josh Allen at 189, Christian Durland at 215 and Ryan Glover at 285.
“I told the kids go for a pin,” Falcons coach Gary Dolloff said. “It was the final home meet and I told them, ‘Don’t leave any thing on the mat.’”
In a rubber match, Josh Allen of Mountain Valley pinned Kyle Foyt-Bridges of Monmouth. The two seniors had split in two previous matches this season. Allen won, 18-6, on the same mat two weeks ago. This time, Allen executed two saltos to shock the Mustang wrestler.
“I didn’t know if I’d be able to throw the second salto,”Allen said. “Ryan Glover had just shown it to me. (Foyt-Bridges) is a good wrestler.”
Class C Dirigo (12-2) had actually taken a lead on wins by Thomas Barnett and DJ Webber at 160 and 152. Webber stuck Santos Rodriguez (152). Barnett executed a reversal with 25 seconds left for a 7-5 decision over Zach Cross.
“We have five freshman and six sophomores,” Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert said. “I’m looking for a good effort.”
Two-time state champion Ryan Burgess of Mountain Valley decisioned Caleb Hall 2-0 in overtime. The two had been scoreless. They each decisioned Patrick McInnis of Monmouth.
Cody Magoon stuck Brett Whittemore at 125.
“I felt strong,” Magoon said. “I used arm bars and tried not to put any strain on my injured shoulders.”
Joe Provencher spun behind with one-second left to beat Jesse Hutchinson. Mountain Valley state champion Josh Thornton (145) stuck Julian Baldelli. Falcons freshman Jake Thornton pinned Eric Holman at 112.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.