Raider wrestlers pin down four crowns at Invitational

BILLY RASCOE of Fryeburg Academy gains the upperhand against an Oak Hill wrestler during Saturday's Invitational at Wadsworth Arena. (Rivet Photo)

FRYEBURG — As fans filed into the Wadsworth Arena Saturday for the Fryeburg Academy Invitational, one got a quick sense that the Raider wrestling team was headed for a very good day.

Five FA wrestlers recorded pins in the opening matches of the day. When the final clock reached zero, Fryeburg’s Jake Thurston, CJ Bartlett, Forrest Stearns and Ian McFawn each won their respective weight classes.

Here’s the top Raider finishers in each weight class:

120: Jake Gagne, Biddeford, first place; Conor Smith, FA, second place. Smith recorded a pin of Ahmed Adman of Deering in 52 seconds. Smith lost to Gagne by an 11-7 decision.

126: Lucas Dion, Massabesic, first place; Zach Sheehan, FA, second place. Sheehan pinned Brady Waterman of Noble in his first match in 41 seconds, earned a technical fall (18-3) against Will Livermore of Biddeford, but lost to Dion in the finals by decision.

138: James Gambino, Monmouth Academy, first place; Ryan Buzzell, FA, second place. Buzzell  defeated Emery Wilson by decision 17-5, and was pinned by Gambino at 2:43.

RYAN BUZZELL locks up an opponent during Saturday's Fryeburg Academy Invitational. Buzzell placed second overall in the 138-pound weight class. (Rivet Photo)

145: Jake Thurston, FA, first place. Thurston pinned Brendon Tervo of Oak Hill, pinned Stewart Buzzell of Monmouth at 5:02, and decisioned Danny Moreshead of Madison 8-2.

152: Cody Soucier, Madison, first place; Jesse McNally, Noble, second place; Matt Boucher, FA, third place. Boucher lost his first match against Jesse McNally of Noble, but came back with a pin of Sam Woodard of Oak Hill in 1:38 and earned a 12-0 decision over Angus Koller of Monmouth to capture third place.

160: CJ Bartlett, FA, first place; Nick Darling, Deering, second place; Zach McGrath, Massabesic, third place; Patrick Moody, FA, fourth place. Bartlett  pinned Dakota Fogg of Noble in 42 seconds, pinned Zach McGrath of Massabesic in 55 seconds and defeated Nick Darling of Deering in the finals.

170: Forrest Stearns, FA, first place. Stearns defeated teammate Willy McFawn with a pin at 4:19, pinned Alex Haskell of Biddeford at 3:09 and defeated Hank Richards of Deering in the finals.

182: Bruce Goodrich, Noble, first place; Derek Vermette, Biddeford, second place; Trevor Henschel, FA, third place; Matt McLaughlin, Madison, fourth place. Henschel won his first match against Sam Ezzy of Deering with a pin at 2:45, lost a 14-7 decision to Derek Vermette of Biddeford, pinned Bruce Hill of Massabesic at 1:23 and earned third place with a 9-8 decision over Matt McLaughlin of Madison.

195: Ian McFawn, FA, first place. McFawn pinned Mason Moody of Madison in 34 seconds, pinned Nick Ackerman of Biddeford in 39 seconds and pinned Jamel Durrani of Noble for first place.

220: Travis Walton, Massabesic, first place; Sasha Kurlychek-Godard, Biddeford, second place; Angel Escalante, FA, third place; Matt Kelisiec, Deering, fourth place. Escalante recorded two pins, was pinned by Travis Walton of Massabesic in 21 seconds, earned a 7-3 decision over Paul Harris of Monmouth, and captured third place with a pin of Matt Keusiec of Deering in 2:22.

285: Ryan Malcolm, Madison, first place; Andrew Lyman, FA, second place; John Deloach, Deering, third place; Jordan Drain, Massabesic, fourth place. Lyman pinned Sean Copp of Noble in 2:41, pinned Kyler Czerepanyn of Monmouth in 1:16, was pinned by champion Ryan Malcolm in 2:33.

Other schools participating included Oak Hill, Cheverus,

Up next: The Raiders travel to Mountain Valley in Rumford on Saturday, Dec. 15 for the McDonald’s Wrestling Invitational. The match begins at 9 a.m. The Raiders then travel to Lisbon on Wednesday, Dec. 19 to meet the Greyhounds and Madison at 6 p.m.