Seventeen schools from Class A and B will converge at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham for the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships Saturday.
Skowhegan should contend for a KVAC A title while Winslow will be in the hunt in KVAC B.
Wrestlers compete for individual gold medals in each of the 14 weight classes while team points roll up depending on the match results of the individuals.
Cody Craig, Cooper Holland, Samson Sirois and Ricky Oberg lead Skowhegan, which is the defending KVAC A champ. The host Eagles are expected to challenge the Indians.
A pair of undefeated wrestlers — senior Ben Abbott (195 pounds) is 30-0 and junior Ryan Fredette (182) is 29-0 — lead Winslow. Other key competitors for the Black Raiders include Patrick Hopkins (170) and Devon Vigue (126).
Other area teams competing Saturday include: Cony, Erskine, Maine Central Institute, Mount View, Mt. Blue, Nokomis and Messalonskee. Erskine’s Jake Peavey (285) and Nokomis’ Quinton Richards (152) are expected to be top seeds in their respective weight classes.
Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.
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Madison, Oak Hill and Monmouth will travel to Dirigo High School in Dixfield on Saturday for the Mid-State League Championships.
Madison coach Scot Padelford says he thinks the title will come down to a pair of teams.
“I think Mountain Valley and Wells will be the top teams,” Padelford said. “Both teams are solid. It’s hard to say which team ends up on top, but I believe Wells has a slight edge.”
Madison has two wrestlers who are likely to be top seeds in their weight classes, Padelford said. Seth Padelford (220) is 28-0 and Matt Brown (285) is 29-9. Cole Mongeon (113) and Josh Savage (132) could also be seeded in the top four.
Oak Hill’s Danny Buteau (132) is 29-0 and will attempt to defend his individual title from last season. Zoe Buteau is undefeated against Mid-State opponents in the 126-pound class.
Monmouth’s Calvin Thompson (132) has missed a good part of the season due to an ankle injury, but should contend for a top-four finish. His teammates — Abram Sirois (152) and Drew Blundon (220) — could also bring home a top-four medal.
Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
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Cody Craig reached a wrestling milestone when he recorded his 200th career victory in a match at Gardiner on Jan 25th. Craig, who has never lost in the state of Maine, will go after his fourth straight state title later this season. The win total includes only matches contested during the high school scholastic season, including New England tournament competition.
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Jake Peavey broke Erskine’s single-season win record when he scored a pin in a Jan. 28 to earn his 40th victory of the season. The win eclipsed the mark of 39 held by 2016 graduate Justin Studholme. Peavey first began wrestling as a freshman and has advanced rapidly in the past two seasons. He was just 15-18 in his rookie season. Peavey was a state runner-up last season in Class B and will be the top seed in his weight class at the KVAC B championships.
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Patrick Vigue won his 250th career dual meet as head coach of Erskine last week. Vigue is the only head coach in the 23-year history of the Erskine program and began coaching at age 20. The Eagles have a 21-15 record for the season.
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