ALTOONA - "'Ya know, it's two years in a row you put my medal on backwards,'" Warren coach Glenn Baldensperger said sophomore D.J. Fehlman told him from the medal stand on Saturday.
Baldensperger hopes he gets another chance at the PIAA Tournament this week at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The two-time District 10 champion Fehlman has advanced to states for the first time in his young wrestling career - a career that has seen him win 65 matches in his first two seasons - after finishing second at 126 pounds on Saturday at the Northwest Region Class AAA tournament at Altoona High School.
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Photo from Altoona Mirror
Within his grasp
Warren sophomore D.J. Fehlman, right, battles Punxsutawney freshman Kaleb Young in the championship match of 126 pounds on Saturday at the Northwest Region Class AAA Tournament at Altoona High School. Young earned an 8-0 major decision to hand Fehlman (32-2) just his second loss of the season, but Fehlman punches his ticket to Hershey for the first time with his second-place finish.
Entering the tournament as District 10's top seed at 30-1, Fehlman earned a 12-5 decision over Jersey Shore's Colton Killion on Friday, and a 3-1 overtime decision over Clearfield senior Dylan Graham in the semifinal match Saturday morning to punch his ticket to Chocolatetown.
That's when he was stunned a bit in the region finals in an 8-0 major decision loss to Punxsutawney freshman Kaleb Young, who is 26-1 as the District 9 champion.
"I feel like I've accomplished the main goal of the year so I have a little sense of relief," said Fehlman, "but it still burns a little that I wasn't the No. 1 guy."
Fact Box
Northwest Region Class AAA
Saturday, At Altoona Area High School.
Team key: Allderdice (Ad), Altoona (Al), Bald Eagle Area (BEA), Bellefonte (Be), Bradford (Bd), Brashear (Br), Carrick, (Ca), Cathedral Prep (CP), Central Mountain (CM), Central Tech (CT), Clearfield (Cl), DuBois (Du), East (E), General McLane (GM), Greater Johnstown (GJ), Hollidaysburg (H), Jersey Shore (JS), McDowell (McD), Mifflin County (MC), Meadville (Me), Obama Academy (OA), Oil City (OC), Perry (Pe), Philipsburg-Osceola (PO), Punxsutawney (Pu), Selinsgrove (Se), Shikellamy (Sh), St. Marys (SM), State College (SC), Strong Vincent (SV), Titusville (T), Warren (Wa), Westinghouse (We), Williamsport (Wi).
Second consolation round
106: Aaron Ehrgott (Me) md Kyle Catral (SC) 10-1; Logan Gilbert (Cf) d Noah Ulmer (JS) 6-4; TeNauz Gregory (CP) d Daequan Butler (Pe) 5-2; Charlie Lenox (McD) p Luke Leathers (Be) 2:27.
113: Vinnie Mion (Ca) d Andrew Bullers (Pu) 5-2; Hunter Hendricks (GM) p Kaleb Chase (T) 1:51; Bryce Swauger (Du) p Benji Yates (McD) 2:56; Travis Giedroc (BEA) d Josiah McClarren (Cl) 16-12.
120: Jose Lopez (CT) d Dalton Link (Br) 8-7; Noah Cline (Cl) p Tyler Hepler (Sh) 4:08; Chase Andrus (CM) d Bryan Descavish (PO) 12-10 OT; Isaac Underhill (MC) tf Kody Cox (Du) 15-0 (4:38).
126: Josh Zinkovsky (Ad) p DeShon Hill (OA) 1:52; Coleman Cousins (McD) p Alex Root (CP) 2:18; Noah Stewart (MC) d Anthony Myers (SC) 3-0; Colton Killion (JS) p Marcus Winn (Se) :44.
132: Cody Kirk (Ca) md Darue Johnson (Pe) 10-2; Deane Twitchell (GM) md Jacob Watt (CM) 10-0; Beau Coletta (CP) d Tristan Paul (Sh) 1-0; Josh Schuckers (Pu) d Hayden Swartwood (JS) 1-0.
138: Alex Coudriet (SM) d Steffen Yaskoweak (Wi) 3-2; Perry Arrington (Pu) d Caleb Shively (PO) 12-11; Ken Stoll (GM) d Paul Mancuso (CT) 8-3; Zach Luben (Me) p Joseph Powers (BEA) 2:45.
145: Jared Carlson (SV) p Anntwan Porter (Br) 3:25; Teagan O'Sullivan (CP) p Alex Hargenrader (OC) 4:09; Zach Herman (JS) tf Derek Horner (SC) 22-5 (4:35); Tyler Yetzer (SM) md Jeff Bottenhorn (Pu) 14-2.
152: Ryan Dailey (McD) d Cameron Jacobson (Ad) 11-5; Alex Feldbauer (SM) tf Mark Troisi (Du) 19-1 (3:36); Dijon Deboe (SV) d Richard White (GJ) 9-4; Joshua Corignani (Br) d Michael Beck (Cl) 5-2.
160: Markief Knode (Al) d Dustin Coles (Bd) 5-0; Alexander Stover (SC) p Trevaun Jackson (We) 2:41; Mike Kennelly (Du) d John Rohrbach (Sh) 2-0; Gavin Caprio (CM) p William Gabor (SM) :56.
170: DeAndre Caviness (OA) p Joshua Morrissey (Br) :41; John Prentice (PO) md Louis Crawford (Me) 8-0; Devin Stacey (CM) d Joshua Cameroni (SM) 10-6; Darryl Englehardt (Sh) d Mathew Moonan (Bd) 8-1.
182: Trenton Kephart (Al) p Jaylin Wilkins (Ad) 2:57; Shane Marshall (Du) tf Andrew Boob (Se) 16-0 (3:49); Dennis Lamadue (PO) p Ben Bish (Me) 1:30; Phil Selker (CP) p Dan Henry (Wa) 4:56.
195: Chris McNeal (Wa) p Mike Betz (Ca) 2:52; Kyle Langdon (Bd) p Nate Lose (JS) 1:37; Alex Thayer (GM) p Jamir Guinn (Br) 4:43; Luc Long (CM) d Seth Brown (CT) 6-1.
220: Kyle Kahley (MC) d Nick Gray (PO) 3-1 OT; Cameron Porter (CM) p Jesse Reid (Ca) 3:17; Jake Baker (GM) d Billy Kennedy (Wi) 3-2; Gary Fledderman (SM) p Alex Streich (Wa) 2:52.
285: Scot Augustine (McD) d Deiontre Plott (E) 5-0; Caleb Rhodes (MC) p Michael Wofel (SM) :41; Austin Rosenberry (Al) p Ian Mallory (GM) 1:48; Dan Karpinski (Sh) p Nick Petitti (Du) 4:18.
Semifinals
106: Shae Bloom (Du) d Damian Huff (H) 2-1; Joe Wheeling (GM) md Roshaun Cooley (Wi) 11-1.
113: Jake Gromacki (CP) tf Keanan Bottorf (CM) 19-2 (4:54); Hayden Hidlay (MC) p Aaron Witherite (Be) 4:57.
120: Paul Deitz (McD) d Joel Bowers (Pu) 3-1; Trevor Corl (Be) d John Ciotti (CP) 4-3.
126: D.J. Fehlman (Wa) d Dylan Graham (Cl) 3-1; Kaleb Young (Pu) d Keller Watkins (GM) 5-1.
132: Nick Gibson (McD) d D.J. Hollingshead (Al) 8-3; Christian Stone (Cl) p Lucas Besch (MC) 3:46.
138: T.J. Brandt (Al) d Garrett Brown (Du) 4-1; Shawn Spearman (McD) d Ean Disilvio (Ad) 7-6.
145: Cody Nolan (McD) d Brandon Wilson (MC) 11-4; Nolan Barger (Cl) p Brian Estep (Ad) 1:21.
152: Mike Sutton (GM) d Joe Knarr (Mc) 6-2; Dan Krysiak (CP) d Chad Reese (CM) 3-1.
160: Ehrin Lee (T) d Ossie Bowers (GM) 3-2; Tyree Spearman (McD) md Trent Zdarko (OC) 13-4.
170: Nicholas Shawley (Be) d Tyler Hendricks (GM) 3-0; Tom Sleigh (Du) p Kyle Rogers (McD) 3:26.
182: Jacob Taylor (BEA) md Jesse Shambach (Sh) 15-5; Blaze Buckwalter (CM) d Chris Laird (GM) 7-3.
195: Landon Hanna (Du) d Mante Barnes (Al) 7-0; Aaron Varner (BEA) p Austin Lewis (Se) 4:48.
220: Nathan Sharkey (BEA) p Dwayne Pepper (Sh) 2:38; Rodjecko Christian (We) d Pat Williamson (E) 6-1 TB.
285: Andrew Welton (CT) p Garrett Poorman (Be) :25; Matthew Barton (H) d Jacob Verchick (Cl) 4-3.
Finals
106: Wheeling (GM) d Bloom (Du) 8-4.
113: Gromacki (CP) d Hidlay (MC) 8-3.
120: Deitz (McD) d Corl (Be) 6-4.
126: Young (Pu) md Fehlman (Wa) 8-0.
132: Gibson (McD) d Stone (Cl) 7-4.
138: Brandt (Al) md S. Spearman (McD) 11-0.
145: Barger (Cl) md Nolan (McD) 13-5.
152: Sutton (GM) d Krysiak (CP) 7-6.
160: T. Spearman (McD) d Lee (T) 3-2.
170: Sleigh (Du) d Shawley (Be)
182: Taylor (BEA) md Buckwalter (CM) 13-5.
195: Hanna (Du) p Varner (BEA) :17.
220: Sharkey (BEA) d Christian (We) 3-0.
285: Welton (CT) p Barton (H) :44.
Third consolation round
106: Ehrgott (Me) d Gilbert (Cl) 4-2; Lenox (McD) p Gregory (CP) 3:18.
113: H. Hendricks (GM) p Mion (Ca) 3:18; Giedroc (BEA) d Swauger (Du) 6-4 OT.
120: Cline (Cl) p Lopez (CT) 2:16; Underhill (MC) d Andrus (CM) 9-3.
126: Cousins (McD) p Zinkovsky (Ad) 1:57; Stewart (MC) d Killion (JS) 6-0.
132: Twitchell (GM) p Kirk (Ca) 2:38; Coletta (CP) d Schuckers (Pu) 4-2.
138: Arrington (Pu) md Coudriet (SM) 8-0; Luben (Me) d Stoll (GM) 4-3.
145: O'Sullivan (CP) d Carlson (SV) 2-0 OT; Herman (JS) d Yetzer (SM) 6-3.
152: Dailey (McD) d Feldbauer (SM) 6-4; Deboe (SV) d Corignani (Bd) 6-3.
160: Knode (Al) d Stover (SC) 4-2; Kennelly (Du) d Caprio (CM) 2-0.
170: Prentice (PO) md Caviness (OA) 11-2; Stacey (CM) d Englehardt (Sh) 11-4.
182: Marshall (Du) d Kephart (Al) 8-4; Lumadue (PO) d Selker (CP) 2-1 TB.
195: Langdon (Bd) p McNeal (Wa) :14; Thayer (GM) md Long (CM) 10-0.
220: Kahley (MC) d Porter (CM) 5-2; Baker (GM) d Fledderman (SM) 7-4.
285: Augustine (McD) md Rhodes (MC) 9-1; Rosenberry (Al) p Karpinski (Sh) 1:43.
Consolation semifinals
106: Huff (H) d Ehrgott (Me) 3-2; Lenox (McD) d Cooley (Wi) 2-0.
113: H. Hendricks (GM) d Bottorf (CM) 7-1; Giedroc (BEA) d Witherite (Be) 8-3.
120: Bowers (Pu) d Cline (Cl) 7-0; Underhill (MC) d Ciotti (CP) 2-0 TB.
126: Graham (Cl) d Cousins (McD) 5-1; Watkins (GM) d Stewart (MC) 3-0.
132: Hollingshead (Al) d Twitchell (GM) 8-1; Besch (MC) md Coletta (CP) 11-3.
138: Brown (Du) d Arrington (Pu) 4-3; Disilvio (Ad) d Luben (Me) 7-0.
145: Wilson (MC) d O'Sullivan (CP) 4-1; Estep (Ad) d Herman (JS) 5-2.
152: Knarr (MC) d Dailey (McD) 8-4; Reese (CM) tf Deboe (SV) 16-0 (4:15).
160: Bowers (GM) p Knode (Al) 2:39; Kennelly (Du) d Zdarko (OC) 3-2.
170: Prentice (PO) d T. Hendricks (GM) 6-3; Stacey (CM) p Rogers (McD) :28.
182: Marshall (Du) p Shambach (Sh) 4:29; Laird (GM) d Lumadue (PO) 5-0.
195: Barnes (Al) d Langdon (Bd) 4-3; Lewis (Se) p Thayer (GM) 3:46.
220: Kahley (MC) p Pepper (Sh) 3:38; Baker (GM) by disq. over Williamson (E) 4:36.
285: Augustine (McD) d Poorman (Be) 3-2; Rosenberry (Al) d Verchick (Cl) 2-1.
Consolation finals
106: Lenox (McD) d Huff (H) 4-0.
113: H. Hendricks (GM) d Giedroc (BEA) 6-2.
120: Bowers (Pu) p Underhill (MC) 2:43.
126: Graham (Cl) d Watkins (GM) 7-2.
132: Hollingshead (Al) p Besch (MC) 3:27.
138: Brown (Du) p Disilvio (Ad) 3:44.
145: Estep (Ad) d Wilson (MC) 9-2.
152: Reese (CM) d Knarr (MC) 1-0.
160: Bowers (GM) md Kennelly (Du) 8-0.
170: Prentice (PO) d Stacey (CM) 3-2.
182: Laird (GM) d Marshall (Du) 5-1.
195: Barnes (Al) d Lewis (Se) 3-2.
220: Kahley (MC) d Baker (GM) 3-2
285: Rosenberry (Al) d Augustine (McD) 3-1 TB.
Last year, Fehlman won the District 10 title at 120 pounds as a freshman, before coming a reversal and takedown away from advancing to states. As a freshman, he lost to Clearfield's Christian Stone, 6-4, in overtime of the third-place match. He finished fourth at regions. The top three in each weight class advance to the PIAA Class AAA Championships.
This year Fehlman took down Clearfield's Graham with five seconds to go in overtime to advance to the championship match.
"Definitely that's the most nervous I've been in a while," said Fehlman of the match that guaranteed him his first trip to states. "I'm going to go down (to Hershey) and try my best, and whatever happens, happens. If you go down and win two matches, you get a medal."
Baldensperger said Fehlman "made it happen" this year.
"I'm, obviously, satisfied with the weekend," he said. "The win over Graham was an achievement; I mean the kid's solid. It took us to the final seconds in the match to finally get a takedown and put the match away."
Baldensperger said Young"definitely outwrestled us" in the final. "He was just better in some positions," he said.
That being said, Fehlman adjusted after his first loss of the season, to General McLane's Keller Watkins, and will adjust ow, said Baldensperger.
Other Dragons that will grow from the experience as regional qualifiers include sophomore Alex Streich and junior Dan Henry.
"Alex just had a wonderful sophomore season," said Baldensperger. "Alex has come an awful long way the last couple of years. He's a fast learner and works his tail off. Really, he's one point from getting himself into the semis."
Streich was 1-2 at 220 pounds, but finishes his sophomore season with 27 wins.
Henry was 0-2 at 182 after advancing due to a withdrawal, finishing fifth at the District 10 championships.
Warren senior Chris McNeal (23-9) was 1-2 at 195 pounds.
"Hats off to Chris, who did the best he could ... with the injuries he battled through," said Baldensperger.
Here are Saturday's results from the Northwest Class AAA Wrestling Tournament at Altoona Area High School: