staff writer
Year seven was good for Caribou wrestling coach Todd Albert. As a team, the Vikings were Aroostook County champions, fifth in Penobscot Valley and third in Eastern Maine. With an overall record of 26-9, the Vikings had a solid season on the mats, led by Carlin Dubay, named Wrestler of the Year in the state of Maine. Dubay won the New England championship last year, a first for Caribou.
Staff photo/Abigail Hunt
The Caribou Viking wrestling team is, front row, left to right, Brian Vrieze, Lance Jandreau, Morgan Swan, Danielle MacDonald, Meagan Wood, Dustin Green and Jason Case. In the back, left to right, assistant coach Thomas Beckum, Bruce Brayall, Jon Brewer, Levi Swan, Deion Caudill, Nick Michaud, Levi Bither, Jake Michaud, Colby Conroy and coach Todd Albert.
Even before Albert began moving into his eighth year as varsity coach, he knew this winter would be a time of rebuilding. “This season is what some teams call a building year. We have a lot of inexperienced athletes that will get better as the season goes along. This also is a very young team that has promise for the future. As long as the team works hard and has fun, we should have a good year.”
The youth that Albert references is best seen in his list of current wrestlers. Weighing in at 135 lbs., Jon Brewer is the only Viking senior. Danielle MacDonald and Andrew Adams are the team’s two juniors, weighing in at 119 and 285 respectively. Meagan Wood, Lance Jandreau, Jake and Nick Michaud, Levi Bither and Levi Swan are all sophomores and freshmen Dustin Green, Colby Conroy, Morgan Swan, Deion Caudill and Bruce Brayall complete the team.
Because Albert is approaching this year from a constructive outlook, both he and assistant coach Thomas Beckum are able to pour their energy into as much individual growth as possible.
Albert’s pace is slow, but steady. “I’m looking for improvement throughout the year, and for the wrestlers to put forth their best effort. We will work hard to get in good shape, and hope to peak at the end of the year,” he said.
Perhaps the team’s greatest strength and weakness lie in its overall diversity.
“The keys for a successful season are for us to work hard and improve. To fill as many weight classes and win as many matches as we can. We have some very talented and experienced wrestlers and some that are new to the sport. So getting the new kids up to speed as quickly as we can so that they are able to contribute to help the team in the dual meets. If we motivate each other and become aggressive on the mat, we should have a successful year,” summarized Albert.
In their most recent meet at Caribou, the Vikings were 3-0 against Hermon, John Bapst and Old Town.
Against Hermon, Caribou’s Deion Caudill, weighing in at 171 lbs., pinned Bruce Brayall, contributing to the Vikings’ 42-41 victory.
Going up against John Bapst, Jason Case pinned Russell Coatain at 112 lbs., and Danielle Macdonald pinned Patrick Hall at 119 lbs. Despite multiple pins by John Bapst, Caribou came out on top with a 48-30 finish.
The Caribou Vikings had mulitple pins against Old Town, lifting them to a dominating 66-12 victory. Deion Caudill pinned Trevor Neal and Levi Swan weighed in at 215 lbs. to pin JB athlete John Taylor.
Though the Viking team is still young, their rapid progress over the past few weeks boldly shows the efficient practices Albert has with his team.
Caribou competes in an invitational this Saturday against Hermon, and again Dec. 30 at Dexter.
