MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Union High School wrestling team this past Friday and Saturday won its own annual Hubie Wagner Invitational Tournament for the first time since 1983, according to program archives.

The tournament victory was also the second just recently for the Tiger program. On Dec. 14, the MUHS squad won the annual Milford/Souhegan tournament in Amherst, N.H., claiming five individual weight-class titles in the process.

In their own gym last weekend, Coach Ethan Raymond’s Tigers finished atop the 14-team standings with 255 points, besting second-place Granville, N.Y. (211.5); third-place Winnisquam, N.H. (173), and fourth-place Vergennes (158).

Mount Abraham also placed well, taking sixth with 106.5 points in a tournament that featured round-robin matches in each weight class, with the top finishers in round-robin phases then meeting to decide the podium placements. In most weight classes, competitors hit the mats up to a half-dozen times, and more if they advanced to the final rounds.

Four Tigers won their weight classes, led by senior Avery Carl, who pinned all seven of his 157-pound foes on the way to the title in that weight class and was voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler by the teams’ coaches.

Sophomore Tucker Wright at 175, sophomore Kameron Raymond at 285, and freshman Jason Sperry at 150 also topped the podium. In addition, Miles Goetz at 106, Alex Sperry at 144, Colton Murray at 138 and Wyatt Kennett at 165 all earned second-place finishes, and Parker Carl finished fourth at 190.

TIGER SENIOR AVERY Carl gives Winooski’s Lazar Arbutina a lift on the way to one of his six pins and the 157-pound title at the MUHS tournament this past weekend.
Independent photo/Steve James

For Coach Eugene Stearns’s Commodore crew, senior Isaac Preston, a defending state champion, led the way by steamrolling his competition at 215. Preston pinned six of his seven opponents in claiming his title. Freshman Joey Maneen was also impressive in dominating at 106 pounds, winning four of five matches by pin to prevail in that weight class.

Two Commodores earned second-place finishes: Stephen Kittredge at 126 and Payton Lavoie at 190. Also placing were Addie Smith, third at 106, and Jackson Scribner, fourth at 135.

Mount Abe sophomore Isayah Isham had the most impressive tournament for Coach Alex Peterson’s Eagle squad. Isham rolled through the 138-pound field, pinning all five of his opponents to win that weight class.

Eagle Kaidin White was third in the competitive 126-pound class. Mason Atkins was fourth in another talented field, at 157, as was Lincoln Painter in the crowded 165 field.

Wrestlers at this tournament scored points for winning individual matches and falls, not just for placing on the podium.

The full team scores were: 1. MUHS 255; 2. Granville, N.Y. 211.5 ;3. Winnisquam, N.H. 173; 4. VUHS 158; 5. Bow, N.H. 144; 6. Mount Abe 106.5 7. Fair Haven 90; 8. Randolph 53.5; 9. North Country 46; 10. St. Johnsbury 44.5; 11. Mill River 42; 12. CVU 37; 13. South Burlington 26; 14. Mt. Anthony 0 (the Patriots sent just one wrestler).

EAGLE LINCOLN PAINTER pins Victor Pham of Winooski in a 165-pound match at the MUHS tournament this past weekend. Painter pinned five foes and finished fourth in the weight class.
Independent photo/Steve James

By weight class, the local wrestlers and their records were:

106:

Joey Maneen, VUHS, finished first with a 5-0 record and five pins. In finishing second, Tiger Miles Goetz went 4-1 with three pins.

113:

Jaron Coulon of Bow, N.H. won the class. Commodore Addie Smith was third in a small field with a 1-2 record. Her win was by major decision.

120:

Eion Comes of North Country won the class. Eagle Baxter Montgomery went 1-3 with a pin.

126:

Aemon Gauthier of Winooski won the class. In finishing second, Commodore Stephen Kittredge went 7-1 with six pins. In finishing third, Eagle Kaidin White went 5-2 with four wins by fall. Also competing in the class were Tiger Kegan Stone (2-3) and Eagle Bradley LeVangie (1-5).

IZAAK WOLNIEWICZ OF VUHS grapples with Thomas Corcoran of CVU in the 285-pound weight class. Wolniewicz made Corcoran one of his four wins by pin on the way to a third-place finish at the MUHS tournament this past weekend.
Independent photo/Steve James

132:

Lyndon’s Karter Morey won the weight class. Tiger Jordan Couture (4-2) and Eagle Hailey Isham (2-4) competed at this weight.

138:

Eagle Isayah Isham cruised here with his five pins in as many matches, including Tiger Colton Murray in the final. Murray went 4-2 with three pins. Commodore Jackson Scriber went 2-3, both wins by pin, in finishing fourth.

144:

Nathan Barber of Granville, N.Y., bested Tiger Alex Sperry, 6-2, in the final of this weight class; both were unbeaten heading in. Sperry’s six wins were all by technical falls. Also competing in this class was Eagle Clayton Markwell (2-4).

150:

In winning this class, Tiger Jason Sperry included two pins and a major decision in his 6-0 record. He defeated Winooski’s Colin Parenteau in the final, 7-1.

157:

Tiger Avery Carl left little doubt about who should be the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler by pinning five of his opponents in the first period and one in the second, and then defeating Granville’s Ayden Smith in the final via a technical fall.

Eagle Mason Atkins also fared well in taking fourth, pinning five opponents while finishing with a 5-3 record.

TIGER COLTON MURRAY pins Nora Demaine of Lake Region in this 138-pound match. Murray pinned four opponents on the way to a second-place finish at the MUHS tournament this past weekend.
Independent photo/Steve James

165:

Granville’s Jaxon Torres claimed this weight class, defeating Tiger Wyatt Kennett in the final, 14-6. Kennett finished with a 5-2 record, with four by fall. Eagle Lincoln Painter finished fourth with a 5-3 mark that included five pins.

175:

Tiger Tucker Wright won the 175 crown by defeating Zane Cooper of Randolph in the final, 6-1. Wright went 8-0, with his other seven victories by pin in an impressive effort. Mount Abe’s River Meshna went 2-4 here, pinning two foes.

190:

In the 190 final, Granville’s Brandon Beaver won by a 7-2 decision over Commodore Payton Lavoie. Lavoie finished the tournament at 5-1 with four pins. Tiger Parker Carl also dueled at this weight, compiling a 3-3 record.

215:

This weight class was all about Preston, who went 7-0 with six pins, all in the first period. He put C.J. Monty of Granville on his back at 1:36 of the final. Tiger Steven Lackard went 3-3 here, and Eagle Kolton Bapp finished at 1-4.

285:

Last, but not least, Tiger Kameron Raymond took no prisoners at 285, pinning all five of his opponents in 39 seconds or quicker. His victims included Winooski’s Louis Soyk in the final, a match that lasted 37 seconds before the referee tapped the mat to signal the pin. Commodore Izaak Wolnievicz went 4-1 with four pins, losing only to Soyk in the semifinal round.