When asked how it felt to be the only girl in the state of Maine to win a Regional Championship, Kristen Jewett's reply was ``It felt absolutely wonderful!''

The crowd seemed to share Kristen's feelings on Saturday, as there were shouts and whistles of joy after she beat her opponent by one match point, thereby taking the title of Western Maine Champion for the 112 pound class home.

``Kristen started the season with reasonable expectations. Her goal was `to beat a guy,' but in the end she did much more than that.

``I felt like it was my time to win, and this was better than winning a regular match because you get a medal and a wall chart. My goal now is to place in states and continue to improve,'' she said.

The win didn't come as a surprise to Kristen. She was confident she would defeat her Dirigo opponent Josh Bissell.

Since her last interview in December, Kristen said she has improved her skills. ``I don't lose as much,'' she said. ``The matches are getting much closer.''

Carol, Kristen's mother, couldn't be more excited about her daughter's accomplishment.

``I think it's fabulous!'' she exclaimed. ``I was so excited for her.''

Although Carol is getting used to watching her only daughter compete, Saturday's event proved to keep her on the edge of her seat.

``The first time I went to see her last year I held my breath. Now I've come to relax,'' Carol said. ``Except on Saturday when I was filming her on my camera. I knew it meant so much to her to win.''

Kristen's mother offers her encouragement on and off the mats. That encouragement goes a long way for female wrestlers, as Kristen can attest. When asked to give words of advise to other female wrestlers she said, ``Offer encouragement. Don't get discouraged. Don't quit. The practices are hard and the wrestling is hard as well.''

Determination is a key element in competition. Kristen's determination keeps her adrenaline flowing, despite the odds.

Not only is she determined about learning new skills on the mats, she displays that drive to learn in the classroom as well. The Wiscasset High School sophomore has been an honor student since she started.

``It's really difficult, especially with the away meets,'' she said. ``As soon as I get home I have to do my work. But I still get it all done no matter.''

Getting the job done is something she has grown accustomed to. Last year she placed second in the Western Class C regionals, fifth in the states, and second against Hyde school.

Coach Guest was pleased with Kristen, as well as the rest of the team.

``I'm happy with the way we wrestled today. It's the end of the season and everyone is on top and wrestling hard. Our goal as a team was to get to the states, and we qualified every single person on our team. All of our kids were in the top three,'' Guest said.

This is the third year in the past four years that every wrestler on the team qualified for states. Four years ago every athlete made the state except for one.

Not only that, as the runner-up, Wiscasset wrestlers have proved to be just one step behind overall in the Western Maine Championships.

Senior wrestler T.J. James however is by no means a runner-up. James defeated his first opponent by pinning him in 50 seconds and his second opponent in 22 seconds.

The 140 lb. wrestler earned his Western Maine state championship for the third year in a row on Saturday. At Wiscasset's last event in the KVAC tournament on Saturday, January 30, James grabbed first place.

``T.J. was selected as first team all conference for KVAC wrestling,'' Guest said. ``The coaches had no problem selecting him because of his sportsmanship, attitude, and wrestling skills.''

James is undefeated with a 33-0 record.

Colton Tlumac and manager Megan Smith-Pinkham were selected for academic all state conference for KVAC's on Saturday as well.

``Megan has been a big help for me during the past three years and she deserves it,'' Guest said.

According to Guest, to be selected a student must maintain a 90 or better grade point average throughout high school.

Wiscasset High School wrestlers will move on to the state championships in Lincoln, Maine at Mattanacook Academy. The event begins at 10 a.m.

``We expect to be in the top four in the state this weekend,'' Guest added.

For more information, see results and individual records on the sports page.