VERGENNES — The Vergennes Commodores youth wrestling club won the elementary-school age state championship on Saturday at Vergennes Union High School, while nine members of the Otter Valley, Middlebury and Mount Abraham teams won individual weight class crowns.
Vergennes prevailed with 193.5 points, followed by Colchester (184) in second and Otter Valley (161) in third among 20 teams. Middlebury (122.5) took sixth, and Mount Abraham (111.5) was ninth.
There were 12 weight-classes each for 5th- and 6th-graders (B1-12) and 3rd- and 4th-graders (A1-12).
Local 5th- and 6th-graders winning first place were Mount Abe’s Matt Conant (B4) and Devan Hemingway (B5), and Middlebury’s Nicholas Sheldrick (B12).
Area 3rd- and 4th-graders earning first-place trophies were Vergennes wrestlers Mason White (A2), Jackson Paquin (A9) and Isaac Preston (A10); Otter Valley’s Kaiden Lee (A4) and Isaac Whitney (A11); and Middlebury’s Avery Carl (A7).
Many other local wrestlers among the 224 total participants finished in the top six and earned podium placements:
•  B2: 4. Chase Cram, V.
•  B3: 4. Eli Brace, V; 6. Murphy Thomas, V.
•  B4: 3. Cyrus Odell, MID.
•  B5: 2. Caleb Whitney, OV; 3. Owen Larrow, MID.
•  B8: 2. Jamison Couture, V; 4. Tucker Babcock, OV; 6. Peter DeVries, V.
•  B9: 5. Simon Martin, OV.
•  B11: 5. Caden Howell, V.
•  A1: 2. Brayden Hemingway, MTA.
•  A3: 3. Wynn Pooler, MTA; 6.Logan Stearns, V.
•  A4: 6. Clayton Markwell, MTA.
•  A6: 2. Ethan Hallock, V; 3. Colton Odell, MID.
•  A8: 2. Payton Thompson, V; 3. Heath Odell, MID; 6. Zach Stone, V.
•  A9: 2. Quincy Boone, OV; 6. Jeffrey Thomas, MTA.
•  A10: 4. Camden Thieme, MID; 6. Steven Lackard, OV.
•  A11: 2. Cecilia Didyoung, V; 3. Drake Felkl, OV.    MIDDLEBURY YOUTH WRESTLING Club members and coaches celebrate their sixth-place finish as a team in the state championships for third-to-sixth-graders on Saturday. The Vergennes club won the team title.
Photo courtesy of Linday Carl