WELLS — In wrestling expecting the unexpected is important in a big meet situation. Among those best at adapting has been Ethan Boucher of Mountain Valley, who proved to be unstoppable again Saturday as he won his fourth straight Class B Regional championship for the Falcons.

For the second consecutive Saturday, though Wells High School made a strong statement of its own, using its superior depth to score 193.5 points to win the B South championship, ahead of Mountain Valley, which placed second with 154.5.

A pleasant surprise was Lisbon, which placed a respectable third behind individual champion Jack Tibbetts (106-pounds) and several strong performances. Dirigo, the 2016 regional champion, finished fourth at 119, led by champions Hunter White (152), Bryce Whittemore (160) and Nolan DeGroot (182).

“Ina  tournament like this, it’s important for kids to wrestle up to their seeds,” Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert said. “We had a 3-seed who didn’t score a point and that hurt. We also had some strong showings, especially Jacob True (placed fourth at 285) as a freshman. This was a tough regional, with some weight classes four or five deep.”

Erskine Academy (112), Madison (69) and Oak Hill (53) rounded out the top seven.

The top four wrestlers in 14 weight classes have qualified for the Class B state meet next Saturday at Bucksport. Wells had the most qualifiers with 12, led by champions Ryan Norton (113), Michael Wrigley (170) and Nolan Potter (195).

“I believe 12 is the most ever that we will take to states. Every point counts toward the team,” Wells coach Scott Lewia said.

Wells edged Mountain Valley by five points to win the Mid State League championships a week ago.

“A key match for us occurred in a quarterfinal match when Nate Curtis (fourth at 160) came back and won by pin. The kids saw that and it just snowballed from there,” Lewia said.

Mountain Valley champions were Caleb Austin (126) and Boucher (138).

Boucher, a two-time state champion, wasn’t taking an chances, and pinned Caleb Chase of Wells in 1:01.

“I feel really good about the state meet. I’m confident,” Boucher said. “I had pinned (Chase) last week, so I knew I just needed to go out and get it done.”

Moments earlier, Austin was equally effective at sticking Kyle Laroche of Lisbon with a reverse half nelson.

“We had a tough break for the team and it will make training even harder,” said Austin, who has 199-career wins.

Mountain Valley had two starters dismissed from team for violating the team’s code of conduct and tardiness, and those wrestlers had combined to score 40 points at Mid-States. Despite that adversity, six other teammates also qualified for state meet.

“It was a major let down, not only for the individuals, but for the team,” Falcons coach Gary Dolloff said. “It’s a lesson in life. We had worked three years at building toward winning a state championship. Then it’s taken away in a matter of two days. We talked with the team and they came down here and wrestled well.”

Tibbetts jump started the finals by gaining revenge with a 5-4 decision on Vinny DeRoche of Mountain Valley. The Greyhounds freshman executed a standing escape as time ran out. DeRoche had tied the score with a reversal with 9.4 seconds left.

“I was nervous. He had pinned me 4 times this season,” Tibbetts said. “So, I stayed away from the sladle and I knew that I could escape.”

Laroche had stuck Zoe Buteau (third) in semifinals after having lost to Buteau last week in semifinals.

Lisbon had finalists Kurtis Bolton (145) and Nick Lerrette (152). Riley Quatrano (120), Cam Bourget (160), Brad Harriman (170) and Zach Morin (18) each placed third. White decisioned Lerrette, 8-0. Whittemore secured a grapevine to pin Issac Therrien of Mountain Valley. DeGroot won a 12-1 major decision against Truth Ingam of Lincoln Academy.

“I knew he was stronger, so I stayed away from it,” DeGroot said.

Cougar Dalton Berry defaulted the 195 final.

Danny Buteau of Oak Hill scored the final nine points to decision Cullen Cummings of Wells in the 132 final.

Mountain Valley’s Jesse Pelletier was a finalist at 170. Evrit Roy (113) and Darin Buono (220) each placed third. Calvin Thompson (132) of Monmouth and Colin Woodhead (145) of Dirigo placed third.

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