NEWPORT — The best of the best in Maine high school wrestling turned out to put forth their best efforts Saturday at the New England qualifier at Nokomis High.

They didn’t disappoint in a meet where the top three wrestlers in each class move on to the New Englands on Friday and Saturday at Providence, Rhode Island.

Of the 14 matches in the final round, only two ended in pins. One went to overtime – the 138-pound final between Mark Ward of Mt. View and David Spinney of Marshwood.

Tied 0-0 through three periods, Ward managed to escape Spinney’s grasp and received two points for a takedown to win.

“My thought process was I didn’t want to get thrown by (Spinney),” Ward said. “That kid was massive compared to me. The idea was just to hold a close match until the end. Not to let him get any points or any extra points. I knew my cardio was going to be better so that was the plan, to tire him out.”

The tournament provided a first for Skowhegan freshman Jake Craig, who defeated Colby Frost of Bonny Eagle to win at 106 pounds and advance to the New Englands, carrying on a family legacy that his brothers Ty and Cody also achieved.

The win didn’t come easy for Craig, who took a 5-3 decision over Frost. It was a far different outcome than the 22-7 tech fall victory he had over Frost at the Class A championships a week earlier in Sanford.

Craig’s teammate, Samson Sirois, a senior, also will get once last chance for a New England title. Sirois beat R.J. Nelson of Foxcroft Academy 9-2 to win at 132 pounds and has 203 wins for his career

The day also provided a classic rivalry match when Sam Martel of Noble beat Liam Cooney of Marshwood, 10-6.

The pins came in the first period, when Quinton Richards of Nokomis defeated Zack Elowitch of Portland/South Portland at 152 and Jacob Peavey of Erskine Academy beat Zeb Leavitt of Cheverus at 285.

Noah Lang of Camden Hills provided a dominant win at 145, taking a 17-2 decision over Jonathan Grenier of Noble. Sam Anderson of Sanford defeated Dylan Strong of Marshwood 14-4 to take the 170-pound title.

Reaching New Englands has been the main goal for Anderson all season. It will be his third trip to the tournament.

Other champions included David Wilson (160) of Nokomis, Noah Dumas (113) and Nic Mills (195) of Cony, Josh Cote (120) of Noble, Ryan Fredette (182) of Winslow and Nolan Potter (220) of Wells.