RUMFORD — Maddie Ripley made history last winter by becoming the first girl in Maine to win an individual state championship while wrestling against boys. On Saturday night, the Oceanside High (Rockland) senior added another chapter to the record books.

Ripley beat Noah Parenteau of Belfast 6-3 to win the 113-pound title at the Class B championships at Mountain Valley High.

“(It feels) pretty good,” Ripley said. “My goal coming into this was, I didn’t want to undersell (any opponent). I wanted to work on each match at a time. I was really looking forward to that finals match, because I wrestled him at the end of the year, and now I can say (I’m a champion) at 106 and 113, which is pretty awesome.”

LIBBY THREE-PEATS

Mountain Valley senior Lucas Libby claimed his third state title in as many tries, winning the 150-pound division with a late pin.

Libby, the top seed who won championships at 152 the previous to years, pinned Erksine’s Giacomo Smith 4-minutes, 59 seconds into their final.

Lucas Libby of Mountain Valley High School wrestles Giacomo Smith of Erskine Academy on Saturday during the 150-pound Class B state wrestling championship match in Rumford. Libby won with a third-round pin, earning his third consecutive state championship.

Libby was one of three area wrestlers to claim a state title.

Dirigo sophomore Caiden Skidgell won an 8-6 decision over Mountain Valley sophomore Chance Watson in the 120-pound final. Skidgell was the No. 1 seed, while Watson battled his way to the final as the sixth seed.

Caiden Skidgell, left, of Dirigo High School wrestles Chance Watson of Mountain Valley High School on Saturday during the 120-pound Class B state wrestling championship in Rumford. Skidgell won by decision, 8-6.

Dirigo freshman Hudson Lufkin, also a No. 1 seed, defeated second-seeded Isaac Keresey of MCI by an 11-3 decision in the 157-pound final.

Mountain Valley edged Dirigo for sixth place by one point, 61-60.

Mountain Valley’s Keygan Boucher (113 pounds) finished third by pinning Chase Scott of Calais at the 4:14 mark.

Monmouth/Richmond/Winthrop’s Noah Schultz (144 pounds), and Dirigo’s Isaiah Bradeen (215) each earned fourth-place finishes.

A RIPLEY REPEAT …

As a team, Oceanside finished fourth, with 71 points. Wells (97 points) won its second consecutive Class B title, and sixth out the last seven possible years (there was no 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Mattanawcook Academy (86) finished as runner-up, while Lincoln Academy (74) was third.

Ripley held a 2-0 lead through the first two periods. In an effort to get points for a takedown, Parenteau let Ripley escape not once, but twice. Though Parenteau did get a takedown in the third period, the two allowed points ultimately helped give Ripley the victory.

“I knew that he was a top rider, and I was surprised that he let me up, because my strong (position) is neutral,” Ripley said. “I seem to catch people a lot, and when he let me up, I thought, ‘I guess it’s my time to shoot.’ ”

“I felt pretty confident and she felt pretty confident,” said Oceanside Coach Jason Yates. “We knew it’d be close, but (the advice) was stay in good position, take good shots, get the takedown and the rest would be easy.”

Ripley went to work early Saturday, pinning Asher Bishop of Woodland in the quarterfinals. She then beat Bucksport’s Bo Provencher by a 12-5 decision in the semifinals. Parenteau, the Class B North champion, beat Nick Allen of Wells by pinfall in the quarterfinals, before beating Boucher by an 8-5 decision in the semifinals.

Ripley, who beat Keygan Boucher 1-0 for the Class B South title at 113 last week, made history last year when she pinned Nick Allen of Wells in the final of the 106-pound class at the Class B championships.

“(Winning another title) means a lot, because I know winning may mean other females coming into the sport with women’s wrestling, and I’m just super excited about that.”

“I think the biggest thing (the state title wins) did was take the pressure away,” added Yates, who is also Maddie and Gavin Ripley’s stepfather. “There was so much talk her sophomore year, ‘Are you going to be the first one?’ That’s gone. With the amount of girls we have wrestling in the state, there’s going to be more to come, and fast.”

… AND A RIPLEY THREE-PEAT

It was a big night for the Ripley family as a whole, as Gavin Ripley beat Dyllan Davis of Wells for the 132-pound championship. It’s his third consecutive Class B title.

Gavin Ripley was quick to credit Davis after his victory.

“(Davis) is an incredible opponent, I wish he was my practice partner,” he said. “We definitely push each other, and we’d honestly be New England champs if we were on the same team. It’s not friendly, by any means, but we just push each other, and he’s incredible.”

Gavin Ripley was also excited for his sister’s victory.

“I was more pumped up for that than me being a three-time (champ),” he said. “Maddie deserves to be state champion every year, and each of the last two years she’s gone out and done it. She’s incredible and I’m so pumped for her.”

Wells had one individual state champion in senior Calvin Chase, who topped Sean Bonzagni of Morse by a 10-8 decision.

The Warriors had two runner-ups in Davis and William Martinez (190), along with a third-place finisher in Dominic Buxton (165) to capture the team title.

“It feels great (to be champs), especially senior year, to go out with a big win,” Chase said.

“This was probably the hardest (state title) out of all of them,” Wells Coach Scott Lewia said. “There’s a lot of things that didn’t go our way. But the kids battled, and we’re happy to bring it home. But it was easily the toughest one (to win).”

Hudson Lufkin of Dirigo High School finishes his 157-pound championship match Saturday against Isaac Keresey of Maine Central Institute in Rumford. Lufkin won the Class B state wrestling championship with an 11-3 decision.

Other individual champions included Adam St. Cyr (138), Jayden Lafrenye (165) and Jakobi Hagar (175) of Lincoln Academy; Dominic Simpson (106) and Ryker Evans (144) of Belfast; Ben Ronca (190) of York; James Dube (215) of Mattanawcook and Wyatt Weaver (285) of Bucksport.

Lafrenye was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. Oceanside (B South) and Caribou (B North) won the sportsmanship awards.

Class B Wrestling State Championships
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024
at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford
TEAM SCORES
1. Wells 97
2. Mattanawcook 86
3. Lincoln 74
4. Oceanside 71
5. Belfast 69
6. Mountain Valley 61
7. Dirigo 60
8. Piscataquis 53
9. Morse 51
10. Mt. View 48
11. Medomak Valley 39
12. MCI 30
13. Bucksport 25
14. York 23
15. Ellsworth 22
16. Dexter 21
17. Madison/Carrabec 19
18. Erskine 16
19. Fort Kent 15
20. Foxcroft 12
21. Monmouth/Richmond/Winthrop 9
22. Calais 8
23. Mt. Desert Island 3
24. Washington 3
25. Caribou 1

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
106: Dominic Simpson (Belfast) fall Clayton McPheters (Mattanawcook), 1:13
113: Maddie Ripley (Oceanside) dec. Noah Parenteau (Belfast), 6-3
120: Caiden Skidgell (Dirigo) dec. Chance Watson (Mountain Valley), 8-6
126: Calvin Chase (Wells) dec. Sean Bonzagni (Morse), 10-8
132: Gavin Ripley (Oceanside) dec. Dyllan Davis (Wells), 6-0
138: Adam St. Cyr (Lincoln) dec. Keith Cook (MCI), 6-3
144: Ryker Evans (Belfast) dec. Owen Harper (Mattanawcook), 4-3
150: Lucas Libby (Mountain Valley) fall Giacomo Smith (Erskine), 4:59
157: Hudson Lufkin (Dirigo) dec. Isaac Keresey (Maine Central Institute), 11-3
165: Jayden Lafrenye (Lincoln) fall Grady Pease (Medomak), :57
175: Jakobi Hagar (Lincoln) dec. Dominic Cookson (Piscataquis), 6-0
190: Ben Ronca (York) dec. William Martinez (Wells), 10-1
215: James Dube (Mattanawcook) dec. Casey McDonald (Ellsworth), 5-3
285: Wyatt Weaver (Bucksport) dec. Beau Talbot (Piscataquis), 3-1 SV

CONSOLATION FINALS (THIRD-PLACE MATCHES)
106: Austin White-Ortiz (Oceanside) fall Nicholas McMillen (Foxcroft), 2:51
113: Keygan Boucher (Mountain Valley) fall Chase Scott (Calais), 4:14
120: Phoenix Martinez (Oceanside) fall Parker Hunter (Mattanawcook), 2:03
126: Spencer Richard (Madison/Carrabec) dec. Luke Horne (Ellsworth), 12-8
132: Antonio Vieira (Mt. View) fall Cole Workman (Lincoln), 2:45
138: Josiah Miller (Mt. View) dec. Karson Tibbetts (Piscataquis), 7-6
144: Jack Desjardins (Fort Kent) dec. Noah Schultz (Monmouth/Richmond/Winthrop), 13-2
150: Braeden Cunningham (Morse) dec. Andrew Fairbrother (Belfast), 12-3
157: Dominic Zeller (Piscataquis) dec. Shamus Pease (Medomak), 6-4
165: Dominic Buxton (Wells) fall Bryan Donnelly (Madison/Carrabec), 4:12
175: Ashford Hays (Morse) dec. Harper Jenkins (Mattanawcook), 7-4
190: Ian Friend (Mattanawcook) fall Tanner Ladd (Dexter), :29
215: Marshall Addy (Medomak) def. Isaiah Bradeen (Dirigo), 2-0, 1:36
285: Riley Bryant (Mt. View) fall Nathan Malloy (Wells), 1:17

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