Lincoln Academy senior Sarah Alley wrestled to Maine Gold on March 12 at the 2011 Maine High School Girls’ Wrestling Invitational, held at the Gardiner Middle School. The meet is the equivalent of a girls’ state championship.
The format was different for the 2011 championships. Instead of standard brackets, the girls were divided into nine weight divisions of four wrestlers each.
Each girl wrestled every girl in her weight division, in a four man round robin with each wrestler getting three matches. A computer program, factoring in pins, decisions and times figured out the winner.
Alley won all three matches, including beating last year’s state champion. Alley defeated Sara Gilbert of Messalonskee by 2-1 decision in her first match of the day. She went on to pin Danielle Richards of Westbrook and Julie Cookson of Old Town to win her weight division (5.1). Alley wrestled at 130 pounds all season for the Eagles.
Alley is the first Lincoln Academy girl to win the state championship. Alley continued to work out with coach Donald Waltz after the regular wrestling season ended. “She never gives up. She never asks questions; she just does it,” Waltz said of Alley’s work ethic.
She is the daughter of Tim and Mona Alley of Walpole.