Cole, Miller, Winchenbach hold own at tough New EnglandsMidcoast mat athletes record several victories in talent-laden meet
Providence, R.I. — Three Midcoast high school wrestlers extended their impressive seasons when they locked horns with some of the most talented young mat athletes in the east region at the New England championships Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9 at the Providence Career and Technical Center.
Camden Hills' Connor Winchenbach (152 pounds), Medomak Valley's Cyril Miller (170) and Mount View's Chris Cole (285) earned spots in the New England competition during the state qualifier Feb. 20 at Nokomis High School in Newport.
All three performed well at the New Englands, especially Cole, who won two matches in the championship bracket. Winchenbach and Miller both fared well with several wins in the consolation bracket.
Cole, Miller and Winchenbach all finished 3-2 at the New Englands.
According to the Maine Principals' Association, the top three finishers in each weight class from the state qualifier advanced to the New Englands.
Three other Midcoast mat athletes came close to qualifying and were alternates to the New Englands after they placed fourth in their weight classes at the February qualifier. They were Camden Hills' Jared Gilbert (195) and Mount View's Jarryd Fonger (132) and Job Mesaric (220).
In the previous qualifier, Class A, B and C student-athletes competed together for spots at the New Englands. In the past, the state individual champions in each weight class at the three state meets — Classes A, B and C — advanced to the New Englands, but that was changed to put all the wrestlers in each class on equal footing during one qualifying event. Thus, more than one wrestler from a class had the opportunity to qualify.
There were 160 teams represented by wrestlers at the New England meet, including Marshwood of Eliot, which finished tied for sixth. Mount Anthony of Vermont won the New England title with 121 points, while Danbury of Connecticut was second at 108.
The local wrestlers and the teams they represented all scored points in the talent-laden New England meet. Medomak Valley, with Miller the lone grappler, scored eight points to finish 73rd, while Mount View, represented by Cole, tallied seven points for 78th and Camden Hills, represented by Winchenbach, four points for 99th.
The following are the individual results for Midcoast wrestlers who competed in New Englands:
152 pounds — Connor Winchenbach, CH, lost by major decision to Chris Sullivan, Canton of Massachusetts, 10-0; received a bye; beat Jim Nolan, Plymouth of New Hampshire, 8-2; beat Bryan Burnette, Holy Cross of Connecticut, 3-1; beat Joseph Grenier, Noble of Maine, 7-3; and lost to Emmanuel Borsay, Hope of Rhode Island, 5-3. Winchenbach was seeded third for Maine in his weight class.
170 pounds — Cyril Miller, Med, lost to Dominic Liquori, Westfield of Massachusetts, 10-4; received a bye; won by injury default over Christopher Hayes, Cumberland of Rhode Island; beat Malik Geiger, Oxford Hills of Maine, 2-0; won by injury default over Devon MarcAurele, Ledyard of Connecticut; and lost by technical fall to Dovydas Simanskis, Farmington of Connecticut, 16-0. Miller was seeded second for Maine in his weight class.
285 pounds — Chris Cole, MtV, pinned Dillon Higgins, Billerica of Massachusetts, at 1:57; beat Josh Norman, Nashua South of New Hampshire, 10-5; was pinned by Jesse Webb, Mount Anthony of Vermont, at 1:18; beat Travis Hughes, Milford of New Hampshire, 3-1; and was pinned by Austin Shrewsbury, Westfield of Massachusetts, at 2:05. Cole was seeded second for Maine in his weight class.
594-4401, extension 114
Ken Waltz has been member of the media 30 years and has received hundreds of Maine Press Association and New England Press Association awards for his writing, photography and page design. He studied journalism at the University of Maine in Orono. He lives in South Thomaston with his wife, Sarah. The couple has an adult son, Brandon.
Recent Stories by Ken Waltz
Jul 23, 2016
Jul 19, 2016
Jul 18, 2016
Jul 17, 2016
Jul 15, 2016