By moving up from 112 to 119 for his senior season, Ryan Burgess was hoping to not only capture a third state title, but also open the eyes of college recruiters.

Burgess wrestled well at 119, but putting and keeping on the weight proved to be one of his biggest challenges. He was often wrestling opponents four or five pounds heavier.

“His weight gradually went down without even trying,” Mountain Valley coach Gary Dolloff said. “He was giving up weight at 119, but he wanted to make sure he was doing what was best for the team.”

Burgess made the tough decision to move back down to 112 and never looked back. In fact, he never lost at that weight.

“Last year I did the same thing, going from 112 to 103. It’s not that hard to cut a couple of pounds,” he said. “Wrestling kids my weight was definitely easier, and I definitely had my confidence.”

 Years of hard work bolstered that confidence. Drop by Mountain Valley High School an hour after practice and you would usually see Burgess still there, working out in the gym or the weight room.

Dedication and confidence propelled Burgess to a 40-win season, highlighted by four grueling matches with Wells’ Colin Sevigney, an elusive regional championship — his first — his third consecutive state title and a coveted record at Mountain Valley, most career wins.

“Everyone was lying to me (about the record),” said Burgess. “I had it all written down. I though I was going to get it at states, but I guess I didn’t have it figured out correctly and I got it at regionals (in the quarterfinals). It felt great.”

Burgess would go on to pick up his 150th career win at the state meet and lead the Falcons to their first Class B state championship in five years. And he still caught the eye of the college scouts. He plans on wrestling at Plymouth State next year.

“He’s just a really dedicated kid, a great kid to have on the team and, in all of my years of coaching, probably one of the best captains I ever had,” said Dolloff, who retired this year after 24 years with the program.

For his individual success and his role as team leader on one of the most dominant teams in Mountain Valley’s storied history, Burgess is the 2011 Sun Journal Wrestler of the Year.

Sun Journal All-Region wrestling team

First team

Josh Allen, Mountain Valley

Ryan Burgess, Mountain Valley

Taylor Carey, Mountain Valley

Forrest Cornell, Lisbon

Eric Coulombe, Monmouth Academy

Christian Durland, Mountain Valley

Kyle Foyt-Bridges, Monmouth Academy

Ryan Glover, Mountain Valley

Caleb Hall, Dirigo

Cody Magoon, Mountain Valley

Mike McNamara, Lisbon

Nick McNamara, Lisbon

Matt Nicholson, Lisbon

Josh Pomerleau, Lisbon

Josh Thornton, Mountain Valley

Dennis Webber, Dirigo

Second team

Andrew Arias, Lisbon

Thomas Barnett, Dirigo

Bryan Blackman, Dirigo

Drew Blanchet, Mt. Blue

Nicole Burgess, Mountain Valley

Mike Hamm, Oak Hill

Jesse Hutchinson, Dirigo

Nicholas Hyde, Mt. Blue

Keith Madore, Oak Hill

Patrick McInnis, Monmouth Academy

Joe Metcalf, Mt. Blue

Craig Morrill, Oak Hill

Kevin Moore, Mt. Blue

Khalil Newbill, Mt. Blue

Nelson Pepin, Dirigo

Joe Provencher, Mountain Valley

Peter Ruffalo, Jay

Alex Snowman, Dirigo

Nick Wells, Oak Hill

Brett Whittmore, Dirigo