WELLS — When the Wells wrestling team makes its way into the school’s wrestling room for practice every day, and onto mats at meets throughout the winter, there’s a sort of unspoken team motto running through everything the wrestlers do: Less, sometimes, is more.

With just 12 wrestlers on the roster, the Warriors have one the smallest ”“ and, paradoxically, one of the most consistent ”“ Class B programs in the state, continually placing near or at the top of big meets despite never fielding a full lineup.

It’s anything but a new dilemma for the Warriors. Scott Lewia, now in his eighth season as Wells’ head coach and a long-time assistant under his brother Mark before that, can’t remember the last time the Warriors filled out all 14 weight classes.

Not that he harps on it.

“We don’t even talk about it,” Lewia said. “Maybe we should, but we don’t.”

While Wells has been fighting against the numbers problem for longer than most, the amount of kids wrestling at the high school level has been steadily falling across the state in recent years, getting to the point that this season Class C didn’t even bother having regional meets due to the fact low numbers would have meant automatic qualification into the state meet for nearly everyone anyway.

But the problem isn’t exclusive to the state’s smallest class ”“ at last Saturday’s Class A and B regional meets, less than half the weight classes had a full bracket of at least eight wrestlers.

“I think it’s all the way through, even at the Class A schools with a few exceptions,” said Lewia, who added that he believes Wells’ youth wrestling program, which was started five years ago by former Wells state champion Chris Marquis and currently has more than 30 wrestlers involved, should help fill the gaps in the high school ranks in the coming years.

“It’s hard. You can’t demand kids to wrestle. It’s a tough sport, it’s not for everybody.”

While low numbers have hit teams statewide, the problem has been particularly vexing for the Warriors, who over the past few years have had regional and state championships slip through their fingers, and into the hands of teams with more wrestlers on the squad sheet.

That was the case this past Saturday at the Western Class B regional meet, where winner Mountain Valley, with a full lineup, beat Wells, which had wrestlers in just 10 weight classes, by only 24 points. If the Warriors had fielded a full lineup, or even just filled a few more of the weight classes, it could have been a different story at the top of the charts.

It was the same case at last year’s Class B state meet, where the Warriors came up just 13.5 points shy of the champions from Camden Hills despite qualifying three fewer wrestlers than the Windjammers.

“It is kind of frustrating because we would have a better opportunity to win states, which is the ultimate goal team-wise,” Lewia said. “But we’ve still done pretty well, which says a lot about the kids we do have. These kids want to be here.”

“Sometimes it is frustrating, but it’s not really something you can control,” added Wells senior 138-pound wrestler Colin Sevigney. “You can’t get worked up about something that’s out of your control. You’ve just got to make the best with what you’ve got, and I think we’ve done that pretty well.”

One wrestler who has never had to be coaxed into the sport is Sevigney, who clearly has wrestling running through his veins, to the point that he can quote legendary wrestlers like former Olympic champion Tom Brands from memory.

“Colin’s probably put more time into wrestling over his four years than anybody we’ve probably ever had,” said Lewia.

But even Sevigney ”“ the defending 132-pound state champion ”“ can hit a wall when it comes to wrestling, That’s what happened earlier this season, when he went through what Lewia called “ a rough patch,” and in the coach’s view needed a reminder on what drew him to the sport in the first place.

“I hadn’t really thought about it until he brought it up, but he was right,” Sevigney said. “Wrestling has basically been my life for years, and I’ve been doing it for so long it sort of became a habit. I lost sight of why I wanted to travel and give up hanging with my friends to go wrestle and get better. Coach made that point clear to me.”

He’s been tough to beat ever since, and has rampaged his way through tough brackets each of the past two weekends on the way to Mid-State League and regional titles.

Much like Sevigney, the Warriors’ other regional champion from last Saturday, junior Michael Curtis, has rarely had to be cajoled into working a little harder.

So when Curtis lost to Brunswick’s Jared Jensen ”“ the eventual 170-pound Class A state champ and New Englands runner-up ”“ 3-0 in a 170-pound match at last year’s Noble Invitational, it was clear to him what he needed to do.

“Technically wise that match was close, but he overpowered me. He handled me,” Curtis said. “I think that was a turning point.”

So Curtis went to work, lifting weights and doing CrossFit strength and conditioning drills throughout the spring and summer to eventually bulk up to well over 200 pounds for football season.

He’s since slimmed down to 195 pounds but hasn’t lost any strength, and nary a match, this winter, winning nearly all of his matches by pin on the way to titles at the Atlantics, Noble, Nokomis and Mid-State League tournaments.

Lewia said what’s set Curtis ”“ who won the 170-pound state title a year ago ”“ apart at 195 is both his strength and his speed, a combination not many wrestlers at that weight possess.

“With his technique, he doesn’t wrestle like a typical 195-pounder,” Lewia said. “He wrestles like a 170-pounder at 195. That’s what makes him good.”

In addition to Sevigney and Curtis, Isaac Desrochers was a finalist for Wells in the 120-pound division at the regional meet, as was Tommy Cryer at 132. Cullen Cummings (106), Caleb Chase (113), and Jacob Spofford (170) were also all consolation finals winners, while Charlie Taylor rounded out the Warriors’ state meet qualifiers as the fourth-placed finisher at 220.

It will likely take some combination of those six going a little bit farther, and Curtis and Sevigney winning their weight classes, for the Warriors to have a chance at the top spot Saturday.

“We’ve just got to wrestle as good as we can,” Lewia said. “I’m sure Colin and Michael will be where they are, and Tommy’s going to have a couple tough matches. Hopefully we can sneak some of those other guys into third and fourth.”

With the additions of regional champion Camden Hills as well as contenders Ellsworth and Belfast from the East, there will also be more competition for points than at the regional meet as top wrestlers knock each other out of the championship rounds.

That means the cream will rise to the top, giving a team with the quality, if not the quantity, a chance.

“We’ve got to win the tough battles,” Sevigney said. “We have to win those head to head battles with teams like Camden and Ellsworth.

“And guys that lose have to bounce back and get into the medal rounds to get as many points as possible. That’s another great thing about this sport: It’s about how you deal with adversity.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.