Wolfpack wrestling team turns in solid showing at State Championships

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham/Gray-New Gloucester/Westbrook varsity Wolfpack wrestling team had a total of six prep wrestlers and four alternates qualify for the State Championships, which was held at the Lewiston Colisee on Saturday, Feb. 15. Windham seniors CK Kennedy, Ayden Cofone, freshman Tristen Merchant, Gray-New Gloucester senior Spencer Fields and Westbrook sophomores Jajjad Jumaah and Cole Tanner all qualified to compete in the event.

Windham senior Ayden Cofone flips his Massabesic opponent
during the finals of the Maine Principal's Association State
Championship Meet in Lewiston on Saturday, Feb. 15.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

Cofone won his third state title in four years after he defeated Massabesic in the finals in 43 seconds, with a score of 15-0. The Wolfpack placed 14th overall.

“It always feels good, especially at a state tournament, to do what you want to do,” said Cofone. “I knew I had it locked up, I put him on his back again and I thought to myself, ‘that’s it, I just got my third.’ The ultimate goal is always a New England Championship title, but three state titles are cool. (A New England title) is what I’m striving for and what I’m going to keep working towards. I know what I’m capable of and I’m the best on the mat when I step on the mat. I go in with that mindset ... I thought I did good at top-game, always turning, always looking for another tilt, always getting more points because you rack up the points, you win easy.”

In the quarterfinals, Ayden defeated Kennebunk 8-0. He defeated Cony 3-0 in the semifinals to advance to the finals.

Wolfpack wrestling coach John Nicholas said Ayden has accomplished so many great things in his career and will go down as the best Windham wrestler of all time. He is really impressed by Cofone’s toughness. Cofone has set the bar high for future wrestlers.

Merchant, Jumaah, Kennedy, Tanner and Fields all fought hard, but lost in the quarterfinals and consolation rounds. Fields finished in sixth place.

“I like being here because ... it’s something to give my passion to and something to put my hard work into,” said Fields, who qualified for the state championship for his first time. “I put all my passion in tonight. Mentally matches can be difficult as well as physically. I’d say that’s definitely the hardest part about this sport is that mental fortitude and that strive to keep pushing, through that match. I think the team has done really well; everyone has put out 110 percent. Even for these new guys they look great on the mat. Out of the six guys the came to states, we all tried our hardest. For the team (there has been) a lot of improvement technique-wise, physically, mentally – this sport just boosts your endurance overall. I’ve grown overall as a person and as well as just in the sport ... (wrestling) really makes me focus harder on every aspect of my life.”

Nicholas said we were very pleased with Cofone’s performance, and the rest of the team wrestled well and gained a lot of valuable experience.

“This was the most wrestlers we have qualified for the state tournament,” said Nicholas. “We knew we had a strong team this year, but we were plagued by sickness and injuries the entire season. The main goal was to get healthy and to improve our conditioning. We were able to do both of those things heading into the postseason. We are a pretty young team, so it was important for a lot of the kids to experience competition at the state level. Also, wrestling in bigger venues with big crowds should help us in the future. Many of the wrestlers are coming back next year and we are very proud of how our seniors conducted themselves.” <

Windham/Gray New-Gloucester/Westbrook Wolfpack wrestling upsets Deering and Cheverus in a tri-meet

By Matt Pascarella

In their final home meet of the season, the Windham/Gray New-Gloucester/Westbrook Wolfpack wrestling team secured solid victories over Deering and Cheverus on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The Wolfpack crushed Deering 53-20 and held back Cheverus 44-33.

Windham junior Josh Hamby cradles his Deering opponent
during a prep wrestling tri-meet against Deering and Cheverus
at Windham High School on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

It was Senior Night and Windham High seniors Jack Arsenault, Ayden Cofone, Phineas Cunningham, CK Kennedy, Addison Leger and Gray New-Gloucester seniors John Stults, Spencer Fields, Jameson Hart and Arnost Osmera were presented with a gift and thanked for their time and dedication to Windham athletics.

“This time we had a lot of kids step up and wrestle weights they hadn’t wrestled before,” said Cofone. “We all came out confident and knew what we could do. We work very, very hard and we all push each other every day. It’s go hard, get better, come out for the team and win. As a team we did good not giving up with the last few seconds left, especially when we’re searching for pins late, we go harder to get the extra team points. What I think we could work on is some of us get in our head too much. We get nervous about who our opponent is and as a team we prepare so much. We don’t need to fear who our opponent is.”

Cofone received a plaque for achieving 100 pins during his high school career. The 100th pin happened at the Kennebunk Duals at Kennebunk High School on Saturday, Jan. 11.

According to Cofone it’s a big accomplishment that means a lot and he is really happy to have achieved it.

Deering

The Wolfpack started in the 175-weight class with Westbrook sophomore Cole Tanner who pinned his opponent.

Fields worked extra hard in the 285-weight class to avoid getting pinned – and he succeeded there but lost 11-0 after three rounds.

Leger fought hard in the 120-weight class to not get pinned. She kept moving, never letting her opponent keep her long in a bad spot. She lasted three rounds defending herself but lost 9-0.

In the 126-weight class Cofone pinned his opponent in one round.

Windham junior Josh Hamby pinned his opponent in just 35 seconds in the 144-weight class.

In the 150-weight class, Westbrook freshman Lucas Roberson grabbed his opponent’s leg and brought him to the mat. Roberson cradled and got the pin.

Kennedy also got the pin after he kept his opponent on the mat.

Cheverus

Fields got the takedown and the pin in the 285-weight class.

In the 113-weight class, Leger kept herself moving to avoid being pinned. She would not be flipped to her back but lost 3-0.

“I think (the Wolfpack did) pretty well,” said Leger. “I think that we had high energy, you can see improvement that’s happened ... and the season’s not over yet, so we still have room to improve. Our technique has definitely improved, making sure if you make a mistake to fix it ... during the match. Being more aggressive as a team and maintaining how we start with how we finish (needs work). Overall, as a team we do a pretty good job.”

Windham sophomore Amelia Brickel fought hard but was pinned in one round in the 120-weight class.

Westbrook sophomore Jajjad Jumaah won 13-3 in the 136-weight class.

In the 126-weight class, Cofone pinned his opponent in 39 seconds.

Roberson kept his opponent on the mat and got the pin in the second round of the 157-weight class.

“I think fighting off our backs, fighting off the bottom, working for pins, our conditioning looks like it’s coming along,” said varsity Wolfpack wrestling coach John Nicholas. “The kids are aggressive, working hard in the practice room and it’s transferring to the mat. I knew that Cheverus match was going to be close, they beat us last time, but we were undermanned. On Senior Night, our last home meet, it was good to come out with two wins.” <

Wolfpack wrestling squad earns double tournament wins

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham/Westbrook/Gray New-Gloucester Wolfpack wrestling team traveled to its first preseason meet at Morse High School in Bath in the Westlake Tournament against schools from all over the state on Saturday, Dec. 2 and it was a great trip.

Coaches congratulate Windham High junior
Ayden Cofone for winning his 100th prep
wrestling match. SUBMITTED PHOYO   

Windham/Westbrook/Gray-New Gloucester won with a score of 143. They are champions at the Westlake Tournament for the second year in a row.

Windham junior Ayden Cofone (120 weight class), Westbrook senior Gavin Tanner (175 weight class), and Windham senior Griffin Moreau (285 weight class) all won their weight classes.

Westbrook sophomore Ben Corriveau, Windham senior Chris Harvey, Windham junior CK Kennedy, Windham sophomore Junius Pope and Westbrook freshman Cole Tanner all placed.

On Saturday, Dec. 16 the Wolfpack traveled to Gardiner High School for the Tiger Invitational.

Not only did the Wolfpack win the tournament with a score of 177, but Windham’s Cofone earned his 100th career win.

“One hundred wins shows his dedication to the sport and his desire to show up each and every day ready to compete at a high level,” said Wolfpack coach John Nicholas. “This team title shows that the team is working hard every day and buying into our team first philosophy. We have been filling all the weights and we talk often about how doing that will lead to great things.”

Cofone (126 weight class), Harvey (150) and Tanner (175), all won their weight classes in the championship round.

In the consolation round, Windham junior Addison Leger, Westbrook senior Owen Pilsbury (132), Westbrook freshmen Sajjad Jumaah, Cole Tanner, Moreau and Pope all placed. <

Wolfpack wrestling team racks up wins at Duals meet

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham/Gray-New Gloucester/Westbrook Wolfpack wrestling team headed into the Maine Principals’ Association’s Duals Tournament Team Championship at Cony High School in Augusta on Saturday, Feb. 4 ready to show they could compete with a variety of teams from all over Maine. Each team was guaranteed at least two matches; with a winner’s bracket and consolation bracket.

Wolfpack wrestler Owen Pilsbury works to pin his opponent
on Saturday, Feb. 4 during the Maine Principal's Association
Duals Team Championship at Cony High School in Augusta.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

In the Wolfpack’s first match against Sanford, they fought hard, but lost 51-26. During the consolation match against Mount Blue, the Wolfpack showed their strength and defeated this higher-seeded team, 54-30.

Windham senior Scott Ingalls earned his 100th win in defeating a Sanford opponent. Ingalls was in recovery from a stress fracture in his back, which he was told might not heal and there had been some question if he could get back to wrestling, so the fact that he was able to, made this victory even sweeter.

“It feels really good,” said Ingalls. “It shows I still got it. I can still compete without pain. 100 is another thing to check off.”

Sanford

Westbrook junior Gavin Tanner pinned his opponent in the first round of the 170-weight class.

Ingalls wanted to wrestle smart in the 182-weight class match. He said he got caught early in the beginning but was able to fight out of it and from there he worked the mats and racked up points any way he could. He held his Sanford opponent down, worked the back with late takedowns and secured the 11-5 win.

Ingalls has worked with Wolfpack assistant Coach Nick Buckley since peewee wrestling. Head Wolfpack coach John Nicholas and assistant coach Nick Vogel have been big helps in preparing Ingalls for such an achievement.

“Scott is an amazing hard worker and a great leader,” said Buckley. “He’s a conservative wrestler never putting himself in bad positions. His defense is superb making it hard to score on him; mix in his willingness to always keep learning makes him a powerhouse wrestler.”

Ingalls said he would like to thank his family; to look up in the stands and see someone rooting for him means a lot.

Gray-New Gloucester teammate senior Brody Simpson was not surprised by Ingalls’ 100th win. He said Ingalls is a great teammate, captain and someone who leads by example.

In the 285-weight class, Windham junior Griffin Moreau pinned his opponent in the first round.

“We knew Sanford was going to be tough. We battled them hard right till the end. We needed a couple of things to fall our way and unfortunately, they didn’t, but the kids wrestled really hard,” said Nicholas.

Mount Blue

Windham junior Chris Harvey pinned his opponent in the 160-weight class.

Ingalls picked up win 101 in the 195-weight class when he pinned Mount Blue in the second round.

Windham freshman Junius Pope won in the 220-weight class in the first round.

In the 120-weight class Windham sophomore Ayden Cofone got the pin and win with less than a second left in the first round.

“The team did really great,” said Cofone. “I think we started off a little slow against Sanford but picked it up against Mount Blue; we started to hype each other up more.”

In the 132-weight class, Westbrook junior Owen Pilsbury pinned his opponent.

Windham sophomore Addison Leger said the team worked really hard and put everything they had into the meet. She’s hoping they can learn from the day and get better for regionals.

“Mount Blue is the No. 2 seed in our region, and we took it to them pretty good,” said Nicholas. “It shows that our team is better than what our seed was; we wanted to show that today and we did.”

Nicholas said they did a nice job fighting off their backs, were aggressive and did a lot of the things they worked on in practice, showing their learning and willing to try new things. <

Windham/Westbrook/Gray New-Gloucester wrestling finds success at Zeb Leavitt Memorial Tournament

The Windham/Westbrook, Gray New Gloucester
prep wrestling team finished in second place with
a score of 136 just behind Sanford at the Zeb
Leavitt Memorial Tournament at Cheverus High
School on Saturday, Jan. 15.
PHOTOO BY BROOKE REID 

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham/Westbrook/Gray New-Gloucester wrestling team turned in an amazing showing in their first tournament of the season at the Zeb Leavitt Memorial Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Cheverus High School.

The team was more than ready for this tournament, and it felt great to return to the mat after Covid took a year from them last season. This was the first time the program placed in a tournament when they finished second with a score of 136.

Windham/Westbrook/Gray-New Gloucester put six wrestlers in the finals and had two individual champions: Windham junior Scott Ingalls who won the 170-pound final and Windham freshman Ayden Cofone who won the 113-pound final.

“Everyone on the team chipped in during the day,” said Windham/Westbrook/Gray-New Gloucester coach John Nicholas. “We talked about what it takes to win a tournament and for most of the day we were in first place before slipping a bit in the late rounds. However, we were very competitive all day and pulled off a few upsets along the way.”

Cofone was expecting some hard matches for himself and the whole team and said it felt good to have upperclassman cheering him on as he wrestled. 

According to Cofone, tt meant a lot for him to be on a team that took second place and this win will definitely be motivation for the team, as well as him, in future meets and tournaments.

“This whole season the whole team has been going hard in practice, really preparing us for any competition we face,” said Ingalls. “Getting into the final felt great, as during freshman year I never qualified to wrestle for first or second. It really gave me a confidence boost going into my final match. This top two finish really shows that if we work hard in practice and deliver on the mat in competition, we can really be a top contender.”<

Windham/Westbrook/Gray New Gloucester wrestling shows improvement in final meet of 2021

Windham junior Scott Ingalls holds his opponent to the mat
during the Windham/Westbrook/Gray New Gloucester prep
wrestling home meet against Kennebunk and Deering on
Wednesday, Dec. 29. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham/Westbrook/Gray New Gloucester wrestling team showed marked improvement last week in their first home meet of the season against Kennebunk and Deering. It was the first time local wrestlers hit the mat at a home gym since 2019.

Windham/Westbrook/GNG was persistent and fought until the end. They lost to Kennebunk 55-18 but came back to beat Deering 60-6.

Windham/Westbrook/GNG is improving every meet. They knew their match against Kennebunk was going to be a challenge and the match against Deering would have contenders in it too.

Kennebunk

Starting in the 113-weight class, Windham freshman Ayden Cofone got the pin against his opponent.

In the 160-weight class, GNG senior Owen McDuffie got control of a writhing opponent, took them to the mat with two forceful slams and pinned them after two periods.

McDuffie said he did okay and was hoping to pin a little quicker. He thought the team struggled in their meet against Kennebunk but had more energy against Deering which made a difference.

GNG junior Jason Hart had a powerful takedown against Kennebunk for the win in the 220-weight class.

Deering

In the 132-weight class, Westbrook sophomore Owen Pillsbury flipped over to avoid being pinned. A short time later, he pinned his challenger.

Windham sophomore Chris Harvey got the win and the pin in the 145-weight class.

Westbrook senior Zach Davis did the same in the 152-weight class. Davis went for his opponent’s legs, brought them to the mat and got the pin.

Windham junior Scott Ingalls held Deering to the mat in the 170-weight class, but they were able to get away. Ingalls then took them right to the mat with a stellar takedown and pinned them for the win.

“Every meet we got to think it’s going to be a dog fight,” said Ingalls.

He said that everybody fought hard, even in the tougher matches; they left nothing on the mat. Everybody wrestled their heart out.

In the 182-weight class, Windham senior Austin Goslant pinned his opponent.

Windham/Westbrook/GNG wrestling coach John Nicholas told the guys after a tough loss against Kennebunk to come out a little hungrier against Deering and they did just that. They got a lot of pins and a lot of takedowns, so he was happy they had a win to finish the day.

Nicholas was impressed with the intensity level of the team against Deering. In the match against Kennebunk, Nicholas said the team had a lot of fight; they battled right to the end and that’s all you can ask for. <