High school wrestling’s new weight classes are meeting with mixed reviews.

Maine operates under rules issued by the National Federation of High School Associations, and this season the national organization added 4 pounds to the lightest of its 14 weight classes, removed one of the middleweight divisions and added a weight class in its upper weight divisions.

“Trying to get more big football players out (for wrestling), I think is what their logic was,” said Kip DeVoll, wrestling coach at Noble High School in North Berwick. “I’d rather see them add a weight class down in the lower weights.”

The new weight classes are 106, 113, 120, 136, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285.
In the past, the weight classes were 102, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 220 and 285.

“They took out a middle weight where most high school kids are,” DeVoll said. “I wasn’t in favor of changing, and most of Maine wrestling coaches aren’t, but it’s nationwide. It got voted in that way, so that’s the way it is and you have to deal with it.”

Levi Rollins, in his fifth year as coach at Camden Hills, also wasn’t happy to see the NFHSA remove one of the middleweight divisions, but he doesn’t mind the other changes.

“It actually helped us this year because we had enough big kids to fill in those slots,” he said, “but in Maine most of the wrestlers are in the middleweights. That’s where the competition usually is.”

Erick Jensen, coach at Mt. Ararat in Topsham, said the new weight classes will help close some gaps

“I’m not sure what the logic was in moving everything around,” he said. “The 5-pound increments in the lighter weight classes made sense, but there was a gap in the upper weight classes, and that was a problem.”

DeVoll said the new weight classes make it more difficult for some lighter weight wrestlers to compete.
“What I’ve always liked about this sport is that any size kid could wrestle,” he said. “They’ve taken that opportunity away from those little kids, those kids who can’t play any other sport in high school because they’re too small.”

THIRTY-TWO teams will compete in two-day Noble Invitational, which starts Thursday at the North Berwick school.

The six out-of-state squads are Colchester, Vt.; Exeter, N.H.; Mount Mansfield, Vt.; St. Thomas of Dover, N.H.; Spaulding of Rochester, N.H., and White Mountain of Whitefield, N.H.

Maine teams are from Belfast, Biddeford, Bonny Eagle, Camden Hills, Cony, Erskine Academy, Foxcroft Academy, Fryeburg Academy, Gardiner, John Bapst, Kennebunk, Lisbon, Marshwood, Mountain Valley, Mt. Ararat, Mt. Blue, Sanford, Scarborough, Washington Academy, Wells, Westbrook, Windham and Winslow.

Wrestling starts at 9:30 a.m. both days.

MORSE WILL make the long trip from Bath up Interstate 95 to Howland Thursday to compete in a 20-team holiday tournament at Penobscot Valley High School.

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

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH