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Fankhouser captures District 10 title at 120; 10 Dragons move on to Northwest Regional

Warren’s Jake Fankhouser wrestles Cathedral Prep’s Andrew Stark in the 120-pound final of the District 10 Class 3A Championships Saturday at McDowell Intermediate High School. Fankhouser scored a reversal with 20 seconds left in the match to claim a 4-2 win.

ERIE – All things considered, Jake Fankhouser and his Warren teammates had themselves a pretty good weekend.

Fankhouser left McDowell Intermediate High School with a District 10 Class 3A Championship at 120 pounds and nine other Dragons kept their seasons alive with top four finishes to qualify for next weekend’s Northwest Region Tournament in Altoona. Fankhouser was one of three Warren wrestlers to appear in the championship finals along with fellow seniors Jake Engstrom at 138 and Nick DeSimone at 160, and the Dragons went on to finish third in the team standings behind Cathedral Prep and General McLane.

“It was above expectation,” said Warren coach Dean Johnson. “They just did awesome. After our last dual meet, we kind of took up the mantra ‘we’re driving the bus now.’ We determine who gets on and how long we ride.

We put two stops on the blackboard – one here at McDowell, another in Altoona and we end up in Hershey. They really bought into that.”

Fankhouser’s win in the 120-pound final made him Warren’s first district champion in two years. D.J. Fehlman claimed the program’s last title in 2015 before going on to become a starter at Lock Haven University.

Warren’s Jake Engstrom tries to free his leg from Cathedral Prep’s Marques McClorin during Saturday’s 138-pound final at McDowell Intermediate High School.

It was a tight match between Fankhouser and Cathedral Prep sophomore Andrew Stark. Fankhouser took Stark down in the first period, but Stark answered with a reversal in the second to tie the match, 2-2. That score held as the two battled through the third period, then Fankhouser scored a reversal of his own with 20 seconds left in the match and held on for a 4-2 victory.

“I thought he wrestled a really smart match,” Johnson said. “He’s got such uncanny balance and he moves a little different than what people are expecting. It’s that balance and strength that has really come a long way. I remember when he was in seventh grade as a little 70-pounder, he just kept working and working and working, getting stronger and stronger. He’s developed a style that’s hard to wrestle against and I think that’s what frustrated (Stark). I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Engstrom’s bid at 138 came up just short against Prep freshman Marques McClorin. He fell behind 4-0 early in the match before closing the gap with a reversal near the end of the second period, then cut the deficit to one with an escape one minute into the third. McClorin was able to fend off Engstrom the rest of the way to take a 4-3 win.

At 160 pounds, DeSimone squared off against one of the area’s best in Prep junior Dazjon Casto. Casto put DeSimone in a hole with a near fall early in the first period and kept building for an 18-5 victory. With the win, Casto became one of only a handful of wrestlers to win a district title at two different schools after his 152-pound championship competing for McDowell last season.

“Jake Engstrom was right there, he just kind of ran out of time,” Johnson said. “The boy Nick wrestled is in a class by himself. Nick’s got nothing to be ashamed of, he wrestled him tough. You’ll run into guys like that sometimes – he’s ranked pretty high in the state, I think second or third.”

Warren’s Nick DeSimone and Cathedral Prep’s Dazjon Casto lock up during the 160-pound final Saturday at McDowell Intermediate High School.

The Dragons had another seven wrestlers in the consolation finals, four of whom took home third-place medals in their respective brackets.

At 106 pounds, Avery Smith claimed an 8-2 decision over Anthony Moffatt of East after defeating McDowell’s Matthew Munsch in a close 11-10 match. Alex Weston went to overtime with Meadville’s Trent Tidball at 132, eventually scoring a takedown to win by a score of 5-3. Blake Ristau beat Strong Vincent’s Arian Pulliam in a 4-0 decision at 152 and Brett Cummings received an injury default to take third at 170.

In the 145-pound consolation final, Owen Balas nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback against Nick Rinella of Meadville but ultimately fell by a score of 7-6. Alex Anderson was defeated by McDowell’s Hayden Butterfield at 113 pounds and John Fankhouser fell to Oil City’s Mitchell Rossey in the 126-pound bracket. As fourth-place finishers, all three will move on to regionals next week.

“I was kind of hoping we’d get 12 through, but you’re always hoping for more,” Johnson said. “Avery Smith was probably the one that surprised us. In his match to get in the third/fourth, he had to come from behind and he clamped a cradle on the guy and got the back points. Probably a lot of people didn’t expect him to be in there.”

Cathedral Prep ran away with first place in the team standings behind a school record eight district champions. Along with the titles won by McClorin and Casto, the Ramblers had first-place finishes from Brady Sittinger at 113, Tyler McKinney at 126, Albert Taylor at 145, Carter Starocci at 152, Luigi Yates at 170 and Kawaun DeBoe at heavyweight. Other winners were General McLane’s Andrew Brest at 106 and Ethan Laird at 195, McDowell’s Leno Ciotti at 132 and Jake Paulson at 182, and Meadville’s Jeff Craig at 220.

Warren’s Alex Weston takes control over Meadville’s Trent Tidball in the third-place match on Saturday. Weston won with a takedown in overtime.

The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the Northwest Region Tournament next Friday and Saturday in Altoona.

“I’ve really been blessed to have such a great group,” Johnson said. “I’ve got three eagle scouts on the team and three other boys that will probably be eagle scouts next year. They just have a good work ethic, everybody gets along. You dream of having things come together like this, but they really bought into working hard and it shows.”

Warren’s Avery Smith works against East’s Anthony Moffatt in Saturday’s 106-pound consolation final. Smith took third in District 10 with a decision win over Moffatt.

Warren’s Owen Balas hangs on to Meadville’s Nick Rinella during Saturday’s 145-pound consolation final.

Warren’s Blake Ristau wrestles against Strong Vincent’s Arian Pulliam in the 152-pound consolation final Saturday at McDowell Intermediate High School. Ristau won via a 4-0 decision to finish third in the district.

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