SKOWHEGAN — The Massabesic High School wrestling team put together a strong showing on Saturday as the Mustangs placed fourth at the Skowhegan Invitational.
Massabesic was led by champions Matt Pooler and Noah Hernandez, who were joined in the finals by runner-up James Cline.
Pooler made it to the 152-pound finals with a pair of pins and a major decision in the semifinal round. The Massabesic junior would earn the championship without taking the mat as Mt. View’s Mark Ward decided to forfeit the title match because of an injury.
Hernandez dominated the 160-pound field on Saturday as he made it to the finals with two pins — both of which took less than a minute — and a technical fall. In the championship bout, the Massabesic sophomore earned a 15-0 tech fall over Mt. Blue’s Tucker Nicholas.
Cline had a strong day as he pinned his first opponent and then took down talented Mattanawcook freshman Alex Munson by an 8-5 score in the semifinals. The senior pushed Mountain Valley’s Darin Buono in the 195-pound final, but Cline would eventually drop a 6-5 decision.
Massabesic would also get fourth-place finishes from Garrett Francoeur (126 pounds) and Sean Wakefield (182). Wakefield had to forfeit the third-place bout because he had already wrestled five times.
Noble’s Aiden Orr (138) and Chris Pilcher (160) both placed fourth. Like Wakefield, neither wrestler could compete in the third-place match because they both had already wrestled five matches on the day and had to forfeit.
Cony won the team title with Dexter second and Mt. Blue rounding out the top three.