Vanya Tomaszewski, a three-time state champion, is getting a chance to see wrestling from a different perspective this season.

Tomaszewski, who turned 20 last year, is prohibited from competing in high school matches by the Maine Principals’ Association’s age restrictions, but that isn’t keeping him from helping the wrestlers at Wells High.

A senior, Tomaszewski is spending this season helping to coach the Warriors.

One of several children from Russia adopted by John and Chris Tomaszewski, he didn’t start school until the age of 9 shortly after coming to the United States 11 years ago.

“It would have been easy for him to walk away, but he’s hung around because he wants to finish up with the kids that he started with,” said Scott Lewia, in his sixth season as Wells’ head coach.

“I still like wrestling,” Tomaszewski said, “and it’s better to do what I love instead of giving up on it.”

Tomaszewski, who won three Class B titles in the 112-pound division, works out with Wells’ wrestlers in the lower weight classes.

“He pretty much works right up through to the 130-, 135-pound weight class,” Lewia said. “He’s very quick and it’s good to have someone at his competitive level wrestle with the team.”

Tomaszewski seems to have made a smooth transition to coaching.

“He’s been awesome,” Lewia said. “He’s been at every practice. He has the respect of all the kids and they listen to him.”

Tomaszewki said he’s learned a lot from his experience.

“You see more when you are a coach than you do as a wrestler,” he said.

“When you’re a wrestler, you just think about your match. You don’t think about the other matches.”

Tomaszewski intends to resume wrestling competitively after he starts college.

 

THE FLU depleted the Noble lineup, but the two-time defending Class A champion Knights still managed to win the Bob Walker Duals at Kennebunk High last Saturday.

Seven starters, including three state champions, were missing from the lineup.

“I’ve never seen (the flu) this bad on a team in 30 years of wrestling,” Noble Coach Kip DeVoll said. “We did very well for what we had there.”

Noble, which went 5-0 in the dual-meet competition, outpointed Westbrook 40-30 in the final round of the 11-team event.

Earlier, in pool play, the Knights outpointed the Blazes, 40-27.

Westbrook, the defending Eastern Class A champion, went 2-1 in the pool competition, but the Blazes advanced to the semifinal round as the wild-card team after registering the most match wins among the second-place teams.

In the semis, Westbrook knocked off Mountain Valley, the defending Western Class B champion, 39-33.

Other teams in the dual meet included Biddeford, Deering, Dirigo, Kennebunk, Lisbon, Marshwood, Wells and York.

Dexter, an Eastern Class C power, also was entered in the competition. But its bus broke down and it was unable to travel to Kennebunk.

 

AFTER GOING 4-1 while wrestling in the 145-pound division at the Walker Duals in Kennebunk, Manny Vincent of Westbrook competed in a track meet Saturday night at the Portland Expo.

He tied with three others in the senior division’s 40-yard dash with a time of 4.8 seconds, placed second in the high jump and won the 300.

 

TEDDY HEROUX, a longtime Belfast coach, remains in stable condition at Waldo County General Hospital after collapsing Monday during a wrestling meet.

In the past 44 years, Heroux, a 1961 graduate of Crosby High in Belfast, has coached the Lions for all but four seasons.

 

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at: pbetit@pressherald.com