Dexter High School won the team title at the 11-team Mid Maine Wrestling Tournament held at Mount View High School on Monday. The Tigers scored 149 points as Cony (127), Oceanside (118) and Erskine rounded out the top four. Cony was led by individual champions Devon O’Connor (195) and Max Storey (220) while Erskine’s Justin Studholme brought home the gold medal for the 152-pound class.

Mount View coach Hamilton Richards sees the tournament as providing a way of bringing geographically far-flung teams together. Caribou, Bucksport, Madison, Morse, Maine Central Institute and Medomak Valley were also in attendance.

“It’s a solid mix of teams that don’t always see each other and there were a few really tough weight classes with outcomes important for seeding down the road,” said Richards.

The young Mustangs picked up one individual medal when Nathan Fuller placed fourth at 182 pounds.

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Erskine’s Studholme also recently reached a career milestone by winning his 100th career match.

“Justin’s 100th win was a special moment that he has worked hard for,” said Eagles coach Patrick Vigue. “He is now only 11 wins away from our school record for wins.”

Studholme led his team to a fourth-place finish at the Mid-Maine while capturing his first individual championship of the regular season. Studholme’s win was especially rewarding after a disappointing performance at the Tiger Invitational in Gardiner, where he failed to place.

“At the Tiger tournament I think I just put too much pressure on myself,” he said. “I had a tough loss by one point in the semifinals and I let it get in my head. Since then I have told myself every match that I just need to go out there and have fun, wrestle like I know I can and everything will work out.”

“I feel that the key to winning at Mount View was focusing on one match at a time,” Studholme went on to say. “I also had to wrestle smart. It was a tough weight class with good wrestlers. I knew I couldn’t make mistakes.”

Erskine wrestled tough in the consolation rounds and placed seven in the consolation finals. Michaela Sprague (120), Isaac Taylor (132), Brock Glidden (145) and Jake Peavey (285) took home third-place medals. Gabe Solorzano (138), Jake Church (160) and Jeff Kierstead (170) placed fourth.

“I was happy with our performance Monday,” said Vigue. “Most of our wrestlers finished above their pre-seeded positions.”

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O’Connor, a senior at Cony, earned his first individual title at the Mid-Maine Tournament after placing second in three tournaments so far this season. O’Connor scored three wins by pin to claim the 195-pound title.

“Devon really wrestled well in winning his first high school tournament,” said Cony coach Shawn Totman. “He has been wrestling for a long time and it is fantastic to see him having the success he is having this year. Devon continues to get better and better. A big reason for his improvement is that he put the time into training in the offseason, and he and teammate Max Storey push each other very hard in practice every day.”

O’Connor feels that an increased confidence in his offensive attack was the key to his win.

“I’m finally getting aggressive on my feet, which led to takedowns and pins,” said O’Connor. “It felt great to finally come out as the best wrestler in my weight class.”

Totman said he was pleased with his team’s performance at the Mid-State Tournament, particularly given that the Rams were at less than full strength.

“We were missing four starters and still had a chance to pull out a win, but in the end couldn’t quite catch Dexter,” Totman said. “I was thrilled that some of our younger and less experienced wrestlers showed a lot of toughness and contributed to the team and took home medals. Their development is vital to any success we have.”

The Rams had six wrestlers earn medals besides O’Connor and Storey. Noah Dumas (106) and Logan Benedict (152) finished second. Nic Mills (160) and David Foss (170) placed third, while Palak Patel (120) and Quinton Arbour (132) were fourth.

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Madison brought a small squad to the Mid-Maine Tournament but had some good individual results.

“We have had several injuries and only had six competing,” said Bulldogs coach Scot Padelford.

Three of the six earned top-three finishes.

“Freshman Josh Savage has been impressive all season and placed second at 126,” said Padelford. “Sophomore Jon Boardman also placed second (182). He practices hard every day and has a true passion for the sport. Sophomore Seth Padelford took third (195). He is wrestling well but needs to stay healthy and get in wrestling shape.”

Overall, coach Padelford was pleased with his team’s performance.

“I feel the team is progressing nicely,” he said. “But as with every team, there is a lot of room for improvement. This weekend, the Warrior Clash (at Nokomis High School) will be a good test to see where everyone stands.”

Madison is one of 16 teams scheduled to compete at the Nokomis Warrior Clash on Saturday.