ADDISON COUNTY — Wrestlers from Mount Abraham, Otter Valley, Middlebury and Vergennes union high schools made podium appearances at tournaments held on Dec. 28 and 29 at MUHS, Dec. 29 at OV, and on Dec. 27 and 28 in Lowell, Mass.
Eagle wrestlers enjoyed the most success. Senior Kevin Pearsall at 220 pounds and sophomore Nate Lavoie at 152 earned first-place finishes at Saturday’s OV Invitational, and the Eagles were second behind Northern Adirondack (N.Y.) for the team title. Pearsall, back in action after an early-season injury, was voted the tournament’s outstanding wrestler.
EAGLE SENIOR KEVIN Pearsall pins his opponent on his way to winning the 220-pound weight class at the Otter Valley Invitational on Saturday. Pearsall was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Independent photo/Russell Jones
Meanwhile, Mount Abe seniors Roman Mayer and Gary Conant competed in the tough Lowell tournament. Mayer finished third at 126 pounds and between that meet and recent dual-meet action at Mount Abe now has 160 career victories, breaking the school record set by Ben Murray (154) a year ago. Mayer is now 23-1 this season and 160-25 for his career.
Conant did not place at 138 pounds in Lowell, but earned his coveted 100th career victory at the event.
LATE LAST WEEK at a tough tournament in Lowell, Mass., Mount Abe 138-pounder Gary Conant celebrates his 100th career victory, along with his coaches and fellow Eagle senior Roman Murray.
Photo courtesy of Mount Abe wrestling
Also reaching the podium for the Eagles at OV were junior Parker Gero, second at 132; senior Sam Rathbun, third at 145; junior John Bent, second at 152, freshman Hunter Gorton, second at 160; and junior Matt Cleaves, third at 285.
The Otters also fared well at their own tournament, placing fourth behind Warrensburg (N.Y.), in third. Winning titles for OV were sophomore David Williams at 138 and senior Josh Beayon at 182.
Also reaching the podium for the Otters were freshman, Austin Cormany, second at 113; sophomore Parker Swain, fourth at 145; and junior Jake Jones, fourth at 220.
MOUNT ABE SENIOR Sam Rathbun works a tricky move on Otter Valley sophomore Parker Swain in a match at the Otter Valley Tournament on Saturday. Rathbun won the match and claimed third place at 145 pounds. Photo by Kira Murray
Middlebury’s annual Hubie Wagner Invitational probably featured tougher competition than OV’s tournament, but not rising to the level offered by Lowell. Three teams from New Hampshire joined Granville, N.Y., at the event, and all four finished in the top six of the 11 teams attending.
Bow, N.H., edged Granville for the title, 203.5-201, with Vermont teams Champlain Valley (137) and Essex (88.5) slotting in ahead of Newport, N.H. (79) and Winnisquam, N.H. (70).
VUHS, which due to injuries saw just six wrestlers compete, finished ninth (38) with sophomore Zach Botala’s fourth-place finish at 145 pounds the highlight. Coach Eugene Stearns said his team continued its learning curve.
MIDDLEBURY’S JUSTIN JACKSON tries to wriggle away from Granville, N.Y., 132-pounder Carlos Medrano Garcia, who won the first round match at the Hubie Wagner Invitational tournament at MUHS on Friday.
Independent photo/Steve James
The Tigers fielded three of their four wrestlers and finished 11th. Senior Justin Jackson took third at 132 pounds.
The complete individual results for locals the MUHS tournament were:
•  At 132 Jackson went 4-2. He defeated Newport’s Jordan Warburton, 7-6, in the third-place match. 
JOSH BEAYON FROM Otter Valley, who won his 182-pound weight class on Saturday at the OV Tournament, is pictured pinning his opponent from Northern Adirondack Central.
Independent photo/Russell Jones
Commodore sophomore Jeremiah Moulton went 1-3, winning by pin.
•  At 138 Commodore sophomore Jack Chaput went 2-3, winning once by pin.
Tiger freshman Tucker Kennett went 1-4, winning by pin.
•  At 145 Botala compiled a 3-3 record, winning three times by pin.
GABE PAYNE-VINICK, a 195-pound sophomore from Vergennes Union High School, puts all his weight on Ryan Nichols of Bow (N.H.) High School in the Hubie Wagner Invitational on Friday. Payne-Vinick pinned Nichols and another opponent, but did not place.
Independent photo/Steve James
Tiger freshman Calvin Kennett went 1-2, winning by pin.
•  At 160 Commodore senior Kael Dopson went 0-6.
•  At 195 Commodore sophomore Gabe Payne-Vinick went 2-3, with both wins by pin.
•  At 285 Commodore senior Brandon Tierney went 0-2.
Next for both the Eagles and Commodores is a tournament this weekend in Peru, N.Y., while the Otters will this Saturday head to a tournament at Mount Anthony. The Tigers are scheduled to host CVU, Harwood, Randolph, Lake Region and Milton on Tuesday at 6 p.m.