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In a reversal, the Mt. Blue High girls wrestling team will now share its state championship with Noble.
Two days after Mt. Blue was crowned sole champion at the state meet in Belfast, the Maine Principals’ Association acknowledged that confusion in its wrestling rules resulted in an incorrect team score for Noble.
The MPA announced in a statement Thursday that “ambiguity led to questions regarding the scoring eligibility of an athlete.” As a result, the Cougars and Knights will share the team title.
The controversy began Tuesday when Noble wrestler Ellie Gagnon missed weight and couldn’t compete in the 138-pound division. Gagnon then entered the 152-pound division, where she went 3-2 on the day to earn 10 points for Noble. MPA on-site meet officials ruled Tuesday that her points would not count toward Noble’s team score.
Mt. Blue finished with 93.5 points, while Massabesic (88.5 points) and Noble (87) placed second and third. The additional 10 points from Gagnon would’ve given Noble the outright title with 97 points, but the MPA ultimately ruled that Mt. Blue and Noble will share the title.
“The (MPA Wrestling) Committee felt it was important to honor Mt. Blue’s accomplishment based on the intent of the bulletin and the decisions made during the event, while also recognizing Noble’s achievement based on the written language currently in place,” said the MPA in its statement.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, whose rules the MPA follows, a wrestler generally cannot move up in weight classes after official seeding and tournament weigh-ins have concluded. This holds true in Maine for co-ed competitions, which include the Class A and Class B championships. However, there is no specific language for how that is carried out at the Maine State Girls Wrestling Championships.
Noble appealed the ruling after the meet, setting up a review.
“I think this kind of brought that to light (during the meet),” Noble coach Kayleigh Boucher said. “These girls are working hard all year and I know how hard they work, that’s why I advocated for them and our administration advocated for them, to get them what they’ve earned. And this is what they’ve earned.”
The MPA said in its statement that, “upon review, the committee determined that while the decisions made during the event were consistent with the intent of the bulletin, the current written language does not specifically prohibit a wrestler from changing weight classes, nor does it address scoring eligibility in that circumstance.”
Mt. Blue coach Mike Hansen said Thursday that his school will appeal the MPA’s decision to award co-champions.
“I’m happy to see that the top three teams in the state were so close and that it was a competitive battle right to the end,” Hansen said. “We’re happy to share the title with (Noble), but were hoping to be the sole champions, but it is what it is.
“The fact that their wrestler missed weight at 138 pounds is unfortunate for their wrestler, and they got her to compete two weight classes above, which was more favorable to them for the team race, so they were able to score some points at 152, rather than the points they couldn’t score at 138, and that was enough to get them a co-championship. It’s unfortunate for the teams and champions at 152 that didn’t miss weight, because they were deprived of their fair chance of making the New England Qualifier and a state championship podium.”
This is the second state title for Noble, and first for Mt. Blue. The Knights won the inaugural team title in 2024 and Massabesic won it last year.
