Category: 2024-2025

The Downingtown East Wrestling team capped off an exciting season with its annual end-of-season banquet, recognizing the hard work, dedication, and achievements of its athletes. This special event also welcomed the Lionville Middle School wrestlers, reinforcing the strong bond between the programs as the next generation of Cougars prepares for the future.

The evening was highlighted by the presentation of team awards, celebrating individual excellence, resilience, and improvement.

Downingtown East High School Award Winners:

🏆 Top Gun: Caleb Aikens (11th Grade) – A relentless competitor, Caleb made a high impact on the mat, always seeking bonus points for the team.

🏆 Cougar MVP: Declan McDowell (11th Grade) – Declan’s outstanding performance and leadership set him apart as the team’s most valuable contributor this season.

🏆 DEHS Most Outstanding Wrestler (DEHSMOW): Valen Piff (12th Grade) – This prestigious award, recognized on the school’s perpetual plaque, honors Valen’s excellence and dedication throughout his high school career.

🏆 Most Improved: Christian Fosmire (11th Grade) – Christian’s hard work and determination paid off as he showed the most growth over the course of the season.

🏆 Lion Heart Award: Colin Smith (9th Grade) – A true warrior, Colin battled through challenges, demonstrating perseverance and an unwavering commitment to his team.

🏆 Rookie of the Year: Chris Munoz (12th Grade) – In his first and only season of wrestling, Chris made an immediate impact on the team. His ability to step into the sport as a senior and compete at a high level was nothing short of impressive.

Lionville Middle School Award Winners:

🏆 MVP: Charlie Dunbar – Charlie led by example, proving to be an essential part of the middle school team’s success.

🏆 Most Improved: Beau Carlson – Through dedication and effort, Beau made significant strides in his performance this season.

The banquet was a night of reflection and celebration, honoring not only individual accomplishments but also the teamwork and camaraderie that define the Downingtown East wrestling program. As the Cougars say goodbye to their seniors and look ahead to the future, the foundation remains strong, and the program continues to build a legacy of excellence.

Congratulations to all the award winners and the entire team on a fantastic season!

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The official 2024-2025 wrestling season finished this weekend for the Downingtown East Cougars. The remaining wrestlers, Christian Fosmire (114) and Declan McDowell (133) battled hard, but were unable to secure one of the coveted 5 place-finishes needed to advance. Christian finished 1-2 and Declan went 0-2 as the tournament was challenging from the start. Congrats to them for making this stage of the game and putting forth full effort for DE. Now is time for reflection and goal-setting. It is easy to see just what this sport takes and what type of work must be put in to ensure improvement. Like many wrestling connoisseurs say, “it is not rocket science.” Wrestlers must study, work, refine, mostly when their future opponents are not doing those things. This is the only way. Best of luck to all, and see you at the DE Wrestling banquet on 3/10! INVICTUS

On Saturday 2/22, Downingtown East sent their top 13 wrestlers to the District 1 South tournament at Oxford HS. The district is now 21 teams in size and the competitive edge gets sharper each year. Only the top six in each weight class qualify for next weekend’s regional tournament at Souderton HS. In the end, DE finished in 15^th place and qualified two wrestlers for progression. Juniors Christian Fosmire (114) and Declan McDowell (133) both made it to the bronze medal match and placed 4^th. Congratulations to them for grinding out the needed wins. Much appreciation also goes out to seniors Chris Munoz (121), Valen Piff (127), Frankie Hydutsky (145), and Scott Zhang (160) who laid it on the line at districts and came up short, but have fought for the blue and gold all season long. Now, a new week is on the horizon and our two remaining wrestlers have a shot to fight their way into the top 5 and carve out a spot at the PIAA State Tournament. Good luck gentlemen!

Once again, Downingtown East played host to the finest JV grapplers in Chester County on Monday for the annual JV Championships held in Boyer Gymnasium. With 3 mats loaded all day, President’s Day saw wrestling action from morning till evening. The Cougars sent their full JV contingent to compete, and the DE booster club ran the event like a well-oiled machine. At the day’s end, East crowned 3 champions in Chris Munoz (121), Declan Jewell (133), and Mo Elkhouly (152). They also had runner-up Garrett Knott (152) and 3^rd place finishers Mike James (107), Noah Fosmire (114), Tommy Robson (145), Nick Capell (152),  and Nick Romano (172). It was a great day for DE Wrestling with all competitors getting multiple matches and a good look at where they will be in their possible line-ups for next season. Congrats to all! Next up, a week of training for the Varsity as they prepare for the District 1 South tournament held next Saturday at Oxford HS. Good luck Varsity!

Cougar light-weight Rylan Piff (118) took to the mats at the District 1/12 Girls Tournament over the weekend. Held at William Tennent HS, the event brings in the best girls from southeast PA and the city. Rylan went 5-2 over the two-day event and finished with a solid 4^th place, qualifying her for next Sunday’s regional at Quakertown, further representing the blue and gold! Battling day in and day out on a boys team prepared her and now she has sights on continuing her push for the PIAA state tournament. Good luck to Rylan as the next step lies in front of her!

On Saturday 2/8, the Cougars travelled deep into Delaware County to compete in their final varsity event of ‘24-‘25. The Interboro Bucs hosted an 8-team invitational down by the Delaware River, and East brought their final 13 wrestlers to bang heads! After all was said and done, the Cougars finished in second place with 184 pts, just a hair short of champions Conwell-Egan Catholic who finished with 186.5. There was some great action on the day, but East was unable to snag the total place-finishes needed to bring home top honors. Declan McDowell (133) and Cade McDowell (172) took championship golds, while Christian Fosmire (114) and Valen Piff (127) settled for silver. Frankie Hydutsky (145) fought back from a semi-final loss to take the bronze. It was East’s fourth second place finish of the season, but definitely something to build on. Next up, the Chester County JV Championships held in our own Boyer Gymnasium on 2/17, and then the District 1 South Tournament at Oxford HS on 2/22. Best of luck to all team members as the season gears up for a furious finish!

In 2025’s edition of “the Battle of the Brandywine,” the West Whippets travelled to Devon Drive for the annual showdown. Their firepower proved too much for the Cougars and the visitors won 33-24. Unable to score consistent bonus points or secure the coveted 7th win, East fought valiantly but came up short. Frankie Hydutsky (145) and Caleb Aikens (215) collected the only solid bonus points of the evening with techs, while Cade McDowell (189) and Nick Capell (152) won major decisions. Scott Zhang (160) earned a decision and Christian Fosmire (121) overcame a significant size difference and scoring deficit to win 7-6. East’s JV contingent were more successful with a 42-23 victory and 9 of 13 bouts won. Corbin Cywinski, Jacob Lucier, Jonah Myers, Tommy Robson, Garrett Knott, Mo Elkhouly, Pat Macauley, Karsten Hodge, and Liam Aikens all posted wins. East Varsity finishes the dual meet season 9-3 while the JV concludes at 6-2. Next up, the final regular season event for Varsity at Interboro this weekend and the JV county championships on 2/17! GO COUGARS!

The first weekend in February of 2025 did not change any Cougar grappler mindset! The team kept its foot on the gas and hosted non-league Wissahickon for another solid victory! At the end of the morning dual, East won 66-11 and stayed sharp as the final week of the regular season lies in front of them. Valen Piff (127), Declan McDowell (133), Nick Capell (152), Scott Zhang (160), Cade McDowell (172), Caleb Aikens (189), and freshman Gabe Masunungure (285) secured falls for the team. It was indeed a dominant performance! In the JV scrum, Garrett Knott, Mo Elkhouly, and Joe Duque led the effort to edge the Trojans 18-17. It was indeed a THRILLA! There’s no time for rest as the Cougars host crosstown rivals Downingtown West next Wednesday for “The Battle of the Brandywine!” Best of luck Cougars!!