Milford’s Kilgore grabs hold of title

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Correspondent photo by DAVID BEACH Milford High School’s Josh Kilgore gets the upper hand during his 189-pound semifinal match against Newport’s Zachary Hays.

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BEDFORD – Josh Kilgore was in big trouble.

For the second time in Saturday’s 189-pound championship final, Kilgore was squirming on his back, cradled by his opponent, Plymouth’s Jake Bissell.

Kilgore kicked and rolled as Bissell seemed to squeeze his way to a pin. But each time it seemed the match was about to end, the Milford High School senior wiggled just enough to put some air between his shoulder and the mat.

And finally, Kilgore struck.

“I just put my knee too close to my head a few times,” he said. “He got me in the cradle once, but we went out of bounds. The second time, I pulled him over. Whenever I get into a cradle, I usually turn it over to the head because it switches into that front headlock. That was plan if he got me in it again, but I didn’t want to go over there.”

In seconds, Kilgore went from losing the match to pinning Bissell at the 2:47 mark of the match to win the 189 class at the Division II Championship Meet at Bedford High School.

“When you let a cowboy like that get you on your back, he’s going to pin you,” Milford coach Justin Hammerstrom said. “He had his chance and he got it. I told him before, do not stop moving wherever you are.”

It was the second straight division title for Kilgore, who won at 171 as a junior.

“The big story for us is Josh Kilgore, winning two years in a row and going up (a weight class) and winning it,” Milford coach Dana Bourassa said. “It’s why they call him the Tennessee Terror. Did you see him out there?”

Con-Val took home first place with 188 points, the first wrestling title in school history. The Cougars’ Jacob Essex was named the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler after upsetting Goffstown’s Mal Shea in the 140 final.

Shea hadn’t surrendered a point in the tournament, but the two went into the third period tied 7-7. Essex went ahead 9-7 and eventually pinned Shea at the 5:07 mark.

Goffstown finished second, recording 179½ points, and Plymouth came in third with 174. Hollis/Brookline (118 ½) took fourth while St. Thomas (99) was fifth and Bedford (97) came in sixth. Milford (71½) finished up 11th, Campbell (31) came in 14th and Souhegan (22½) was 17th.

Kilgore was the lone local champion, and he was joined in the finals by teammate Joe Albina, a freshman who fell to John Stark’s Cody Wilkins, 10-4, in the 160 championship match.

To reach the final, Albina upset the top-seeded wrestler at 160, Con-Val’s Chad Brouillet. Albina had a 10-5 lead with about a minute left when Brouillet made a comeback, tied the score at 10 and almost ended the match with a pin. Instead, Albina picked up points for a reversal and held on for the win.

H/B’s Brian Jennings overcame illness to reach the final at 215. In the semifinals, Jennings got sick during the match, but regrouped and pinned Goffstown’s Dan Considine with one second left on the clock.

Jennings eventually fell to Craig Cook of Con-Val, 6-0, in the final.

“We wrestled well today,” H/B coach Brian Bumpus said. “I came in thinking top five and we took fourth. Jennings has been sick for a couple of weeks. His semis match, pulling it out at the end was huge. It was a big boost for us.”

Zach McPherson (103) and Taylor Landry (152) finished third for the Cavaliers, while Zack Jennings (125) and Jake McPherson (130) came in fourth. Campbell’s Dan Mack (285) also finished fourth to become the school’s wrestler to advance to the Meet of Champions. The top four finishers in Division II advance.