CARIBOU, Maine — A pair of sophomore captains placed for the hosts at the Caribou Invitational Wrestling Tournament held Saturday, Dec. 22.
Kaden DeMerchant took third in the 160-pound weight division, while Caleb Robbins ended up fourth in the 138-pound category.
DeMerchant’s journey began with a loss to Fort Kent’s CJ Rocheleau, but he battled through the consolation rounds and defeated Dominic Whipple of Piscataquis Community High School and Austin Gil of Foxcroft Academy. He evened his record at 7-7.
Robbins opened with a loss to Mattanawcook Academy’s Travis Mushero. He regrouped and stopped Washington Academy’s Joseph Garcia and Everett Huckins of Ellsworth, but then had to face Mushero once again and lost by decision. He increased his season win total to 12, a team high, against five defeats.
Ethan Edgecomb in 106, Matt McCormack in 145 and Mason Smith in 285 were the other Vikings to garner victories in the tournament. The other five Caribou competitors failed to pick up a win.
“I think this is good for the team and serves as a wake-up call for what is ahead for us as we got beat up pretty good in our own barn,” said Viking coach James “Chico” Hernandez.
“The level of competition is higher than normal this season in our conference, which is a good thing for us later on when it counts the most,” he added. “We can only get better if we train harder and learn from our mistakes.”
