NEWPORT — Before he steps on the mat for a match, Nokomis Regional High School senior Hunter Glidden thinks about the mojo of wrestling.
“Getting into the right moves, knowing what you need to do,” Glidden said.
This season, Glidden has his mojo working. Wrestling in the 285-pound class, Glidden is 35-2. Last weekend, he won the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference title. Glidden will be among the contenders at this Saturday’s Class A regional championship at Skowhegan Area High School. Nokomis wrestling coach Scott Preble expects Glidden to be the top seed in his weight class.
“He’s starting to work better on his feet as a big man, as far as getting leverage for the attack,” Preble said.
Glidden began wrestling eight years ago, when he was in fifth grade. As a sophomore at Nokomis, Glidden was regional runner-up. Last season, he was behind Jacob Nichols, who returned to the Warriors after a year away from wrestling to win the Class A state title at 285-pounds. This season, Preble said he’s seen a big leap in Glidden’s confidence.
“Hunter’s wrestled with me a long time, and he’s always wrestled behind someone he thought was better than him. That kid (Nichols) won a state title, and I think Hunter can win one, too,” Preble said. “He knows the moves, and he’s confident in them.”
Glidden wrestled at last week’s conference meet while still recovering from the bronchitis that ripped through the Nokomis team. In his finals match against Gardiner’s Alex Thang, Glidden felt the effects of his lingering illness.
“I was kind of gassed out and trying to think of what I needed to do. I was kind of nervous because of not being able to breathe during my match,” Glidden said. “At the end of it, I actually almost got on bottom and almost lost because I couldn’t breathe very well.”
Glidden eventually won the match with a pin at the 5:22 mark.
“He really wrestled through it,” Preble said.
Glidden said he doesn’t have a favorite move. Although Preble wouldn’t reveal what it is, he said Glidden does have a go-to move that works more often than not in close matches.
“Every move I do is one I know I can do,” Glidden said.
Glidden will see neither of the wrestlers he’s lost to this season again. Max Storey of Cony is competing at 220-pounds and Foxcroft Academy’s Connor Holmes competes in Class B.
Glidden plans on enrolling at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor next year. First, there’s these final two high school wrestling meets.
“Regionals and states is what I’ve been going for,” Glidden said.
For the next two weeks, Glidden will continue to get his mojo right.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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