NORTH BERWICK — On one hand, the Class A South wrestling regional looked a lot like previous years.

Noble High, the host team and defending state champion, repeated Saturday as regional champion. The Knights had 13 of their 14 wrestlers place in the top four, meaning they can compete in the state championship meet on Feb. 14 at Cony High in Augusta. Five Knights were individual champions and five placed second, giving Noble a very good chance of winning its 16th state championship.

“It’s a little different at regionals. You want to get in, get out, and act like we’ve been here before,” said senior Brady Ouellette, who won at 165 pounds and now has a chance to become the first four-time state champion in Noble wrestling history.

Noble rolled up 286.5 points to easily outdistance the competition. Marshwood (153), Cheverus/Falmouth (146), Massabesic (143) and Bonny Eagle (119.5) rounded out the top five in the 13-team tournament.

There were several familiar individual winners, including Ouellette, juniors Kylan Berry of Bonny Eagle at 113 pounds and Evan Boulard of Massabesic at 132, and Cheverus/Falmouth’s Evan Metivier at 215. Berry and Boulard are two-time state champions, and Metivier is the defending champ at 215.

But many of the weight classes featured relative newcomers to the top of the regional ladder.

Noble junior Cam Dennis won at 138 pounds, getting an impressive 20-4 technical fall against Kennebunk’s Asher Kennedy.

“I was JV last year. I was behind (three-time state champion) Kaden Dustin last year,” Dennis said.

Dennis said he was “jacked up” to finally get his chance. When Boulard opted to move to 132 pounds after wrestling mostly at 138 during the season, that opened the door even more for Dennis.

“This is my opportunity to go, go, go and win,” Dennis said.

Noble’s other individual champs were Brock Nice at 120 (a tough 16-14 win vs Michaelray Abayeta of Deering, who rallied from a 13-1 deficit), Wyatt Chandler at 150, and Kaden Robinson at 157.

Robinson is another junior and first-year varsity wrestler.

“I feel like I was kind of an underdog,” said Robinson, who entered the meet seeded fifth. “I had only wrestled four times at 157.”

Cam Barrett, the 190-pound champion, can relate. A senior at South Portland, Barrett’s primary sport is baseball, where he plays catcher. But as a freshman, he joined the Portland/South Portland co-op wrestling team. He focused solely on baseball as a sophomore but came back to wrestling last season, eventually placing fifth at the regional meet.

“Everyone loves an underdog story and I was glad to be a part of one,” Barrett said.

Barrett came out aggressively in his match against Deering’s Jack Conley, scoring an early takedown and winning a 7-1 decision as he avenged a double-overtime loss to Conley earlier in the season.

Repeat regional champions included sophomores Remington Grunhuvd of Massabesic at 106 pounds and Damian Skinsacos of Cheverus/Falmouth at 126.

Grunhuvd went on to finish second at the 2025 state meet. An experienced wrestler, Grunhuvd has taken a noticeable leap and is now controlling matches against good competition. He had an 11-0 lead in the final when he pinned Evan McCann of Biddeford/Thornton Academy.

“I think I’ve gotten better on my feet, better on top, and better at turning kids,” Grunhuvd said. “I think I’ve gotten a lot better than last year.”

Skinsacos said there’s a new wave of talent rising in Maine, and he’s proud to be a part of it.

“Everyone who is in my age group is absolutely phenomenal. There are guys with a whole lot of potential,” Skinsacos said.

And, if the up-and-comers need some motivation, they can take their cues from the likes of Ouellette, Berry and Boulard, who continue to excel.

Boulard got his 150th career victory in the semifinals. He said the milestone represents his “hard work,” but he’s not putting in that work just to record a certain number of wins.

“I want to work hard for different reasons. I want to be a New England champ. I want to be nationally ranked. I want to take that next jump,” Boulard said.

Cheverus/Falmouth had a third winner in junior Nathan Sheldrake at 144 pounds.

Sanford’s Ricky Callis won the highest scoring final when he pinned Jermias Manuel of Portland/South Portland with 11 seconds remaining. Callis had a 24-11 lead at the time.

Marshwood’s Jacob Brengolini finished the meet with a pin win against Noble’s Sean Leach in the 285-pound final.