The Dragons rolled to wins over Girard, Seneca and North East, fell to Cranberry and finished with a win over Erie. Three individual wrestlers, Ryan Madigan, Avery Smith and Zack Zinger went 5-0 on the day, while Alex Anderson finished with a 4-1 mark.

“We had a great day,” Warren assistant coach Paul Streich said. “We were able to get 19 guys into the varsity lineup during the day. All of the guys were selfless in sharing the starting spots and everyone took advantage of the opportunity.”

Warren opened the day with a 57-17 win over Girard. The Dragons got pinfall victories from Connor Papalia, Smith, Anderson, Donovan Fiscus, Zinger, Mabrukhe Tagba and Joey Arnold, plus Christian Papalia’s forfeit victory for bonus points. Madigan defeated Ethan Herman 3-2, John Fankhouser topped Mitchell Martinez 7-3 and Brandon Daugharthy beat Trey Ryan 9-8.

The Dragons took on the Bobcats in the second match of the day and came away with a 56-24 win. Smith, Madigan, Anderson, Arnold and Connor Papalia pinned their opponents, while the Dragons got extra bonus points with forfeit wins by Joe Letko, Nick Gorton, Zinger and Tristan Dolan.

Photo submitted to the Times Observer Warren’s Alex Anderson tries to turn Girard’s Dakota Slomski in their 132-pound match during the Major Tom Carr Duals at Erie High School, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018. Anderson picked up a second period pinfall victory to help the Dragons to a 57-17 win. Anderson went 4-1 on the day, as did Warren as a whole, as the Dragons took second place at the event.

Warren and North East battled to an 18-18 tie midway through match No. 3 on the day. The Dragons opened with pinfall victories by Smith, Madigan and Anderson, but the Grapepickers countered with three straight pins of their own from Devin Miscarella, Deven Kimmy and Dylan Muscarella. The Dragons took control of the match with four consecutive forfeits; Alex Zariczny, Zinger, Daugharty and Tagba, and Arnold’s pinfall win. North East won the final three matches, but it wasn’t enough to make up the difference.

“It was a true team effort,” Streich said.

Madigan opened the match with Cranberry with a pin. The Berries won the next five matches, four by decision and one by major decision to take a 16-6 lead. Zinger got the Dragons back in it with a major decision at 170, but Jesse York picked up a quick pin for Cranberry at 182 and Seth Yeager beat Tagba, 11-9, in overtime to put the Berries in control. Cranberry picked up pinfall wins in the next three matches before Christian Papalia and Smith closed out the 43-22 loss on a positive note for the Dragons with pinfall wins in the final pair of matches.

Warren closed out the day with a 48-24 win over the Royals. Anderson (pin), Fiscus (decision), Kyle Swick (pin) and Fankhouser (forfeit) staked the Dragons to a 21-0 lead. After Erie’s Patrick Young picked up a pin, Zinger got the points right back with a pin of his own. Capice Hall picked up another pin for the Royals at 182, but Tagba came right back with a pin for the Dragons. Erie got a decision and pinfall in the next two matches before Connor Papalia received a forfeit at 106. The Royals got their last points of the match with a decision at 113 before Smith (decision) and Madigan (pin) closed things out for the Dragons.

“Although we were unable to reach our ultimate goal of being champions, I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of all the boys,” Streich said.

Photo submitted to the Times Observer Warren’s Joey Arnold controls Girard’s Zachary Decker in their 220-pound match during the Major Tom Carr Duals at Erie High School, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018. The Dragons went 4-1 on the day to take second place at the event.

The Dragons are currently 0-3 in dual matches on the year, but have been in all three matches until the end. Streich said he believes this performance at the Carr Duals could be what pushes them through as they enter the second half of the season.

“I think it proves to the guys that they work they are doing is not for nothing, that they can win and that nobody is unbeatable” he said. “We truly are improving every day and I am very excited to see what the future brings.”

Warren will get to wrestle in front of its home crowd for the first time this season when the Dragons welcome McDowell to the Joseph A. Massa gymnasium Wednesday. The match is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start and is the second half of a double-event with the Lady Dragons basketball team hosting Jamestown (N.Y.) kicking things off with the varsity game set for a 6:15 p.m. start. Junior varsity girls basketball gets things going at Warren Area High School at 4:45 p.m. If the basketball games finish early, the start time for the wrestling match will be adjusted accordingly. Junior high wrestling begins at 4 p.m. at Beaty. One ticket will get patrons entry to both the basketball games and wrestling match.