The Dragons set a program record with the 10 wrestlers who advanced in 2018, and matched that total again this year despite the number of qualifying competitors being reduced from four to three.

“This is a great group of kids who love the sport and work hard,” Warren assistant coach Paul Streich said.

Last year, Warren came away from the District 10 Class 3A Tournament with silver and bronze. This season, they’re bringing a gold medal with them too.

Avery Smith won a thrilling bout against Erie Cathedral Prep’s Jamale Cook at 120 pounds for the title.

Warren wrestlers celebrate after advancing 10 grapplers on to the regional tournament for the second consecutive year. The Dragons have six bronze medalists, three silvers and a gold.

“This is awesome,” Smith said.

Neither wrestler was able to score in the first period and they went into the second deadlocked at 0-0. Smith elected to start the second in the bottom position and earned an escape point. It was the only point of the period. Cook chose to start the third on bottom and Smith was able to keep him there through the first minute of the period. Cook was able to escape midway through and the match looked like it might be headed to overtime. Smith made a sneaky quick shot with just under 30 seconds left and secured a takedown.

He kept glancing at the clock as time wound down and sat up into a double bicep pose once the final whistle blew.

“I was just thinking I had to keep him down and finish the match,” Smith said.

Dragons fans traveled well for the event and they erupted for a second time as Smith gave them a fist pump on his way to the scorer’s table.

Warren’s Avery Smith smiles with his bracket and gold medal atop the medal stand at Meadville High School, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Smith won the District 10 Class 3A 120-pound title.

“Avery works hard and continues to get better,” Streich said. “This is a long grind and he embraces it. He’s the type of kid everyone looks up to.”

Warren also got four silver medalists in Ryan Madigan (126), Zack Zinger (160), Jamo Douvlos (170) and Joey Arnold (195). Donovan Fiscus (132), Alex Anderson (138), Kyle Swick (145), John Fankhouser (152) and MaBrukhe Tagba (182) all came away with bronze. The performance led the Dragons to a second place finish in the team standings as well.

The wrestlers weren’t the only ones walking away with hardware either. Streich was voted District 10 Class 3A Assistant Coach of the Year by the other coaches in attendance.

“(The kids) are the ones who put in all the work,” Streich said. “We’re just here to give them the guidance they need.”

About the only damper on the evening was the absence of head coach Dean Johnson who was forced to miss due to injury.

“We sorely missed Coach Johnson tonight,” Streich said.

The Dragons now turn their attention to the Northwest Regional next Friday and Saturday in Altoona.

“We expect to have the same consistent, workmanlike attitude there,” Streich said. “We have to have the same attitude in Altoona as we did here