FALCONER, N.Y. - Warren's 2012-13 wrestling season is off to a strong start.
After winning their season-opening dual, and narrowly losing to powerhouse Cathedral Prep, the Dragons opened the tournament season Saturday in Falconer, N.Y., with a second-place finish at the Falconer Duals.
Warren finished the weekend with a 4-1 record.
"If this had been a tournament, we may have had some kids who wrestled two matches and been out," said Warren coach Glenn Baldensperger. "With a duals format, all of our kids were able to get five matches and a lot of quality mat time.
"Going into the weekend we knew we'd be forfeiting the 99-pound and 113-pound weight classes so we really didn't know what to expect," added Baldensperger. "I wouldn't say we've wrestled our best and there's still lots of room for improvement. But finishing up 4-1 is pretty good and I really can't complain too much."
The Dragons started the session with four consecutive victories, earning a place in the championship finals. The Dragons topped Southwestern, 61-21, Cassadaga Valley 55-21, Pine Valley 47-36 and Maple Grove 38-19.
In the finals, Warren wrestled strong, but was knocked off by tournament winner Lake Shore, 38-29. Lake Shore made the finals after upsetting host Falconer in the fourth dual of the day for each team.
Four Dragons wrestlers finished with perfect 5-0 records, including D.J. Fehlman at 132 pounds, Jonah Hordusky at 138 pounds, Chris McNeal at 182 pounds and Alex Streich at 220 pounds. 152-pounder Garrett Smead finished 4-1.
The Dragons will try to continue their impressive start to the season Tuesday when they travel to Erie for a showdown with Central Tech.