Donegal serves up the main entrée: BEEF! 

This past weekend (12/17-12/18), DE Wrestling braved the first ice and snow of Winter to go out and face the monster known as the Donegal Holiday Tournament at Donegal HS. Known as Mt. Joy, the town hosted wrestlers from throughout the state, but the only visible joy came from those who stepped on the line and made it through the battle. Teams like East Stroudsburg South, Troy, Upper Dauphin, Notre Dame and Canton travelled the miles to compete. In the end, the Cougars placed 6th out of 16 teams, finishing with 118.5 points. Lead by champion Brendan “Beef” McGinley (285), they had 8 total place winners with Lukas Richie (120) placing second, Brett Horne (132), Connor Birzes (145), Jake Neubaum (152), and Josh Wileczek placing 4th, Zach Aceto (220) placing 7th, and Jack Lawton (160) finishing 8th. Beef McGinley highlighted the tourney as the very last match where he defeated the top seed  Brandon Tomeo of Camp Hill 12-5. Congratulations to the Cougars for being the highest finishers from District 1 and continuing to compete at a high level despite their overall youth and inexperience. Next up, the Ralph Wetzel Classic in Hatboro; time to once again ready the troops! Merry Christmas to all!

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The Cougars bring home silver from diamond spring water country!

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On Saturday 12/10, the Downingtown East Wrestlers headed westward and competed in the annual Ephrata duals. Despite the young and fresh nature of the team, the Cougars performed like journeymen and collected 4 dual meet wins before falling in the event’s final. They defeated Ephrata 52-18, Biglerville 45-21, Hanover 59-12, and Reading 35-30. In the final, East gave maximum effort, but struggled against PIAA state ranked Spring Grove and lost on a 54-15 score. Undefeated Cougars on the day were Connor Birzes (145), Josh Wileczek (195), and Brendan McGinley (285). Congrats also go out to first time varsity DE wrestlers Kyle Mittelstadt (126), Spencer Uggla (138), Jett Lucas-Murphy (145), PJ Grubb (170), Kyle Hodges (182), and Zach Aceto (220) for picking up their first wins in blue and gold and contributing to a great day for the team. The Cougars now have a week to train, re-focus, and set their sights on the newly scheduled Donegal Invitational next weekend. Best of luck to all!

Downingtown East tackles second and final scrimmage!

On Saturday 12/3, the Cougar grapplers travelled for their last scrimmage before opening weekend. They made their way over to “Ram country” in Spring City/Royersford to train with Springford, Haverford HS, and Quakertown. The event had all the makings of a pre-competition grudge session with lots of drilling, situational wrestling, and plenty of live goes. It was great to see the efforts of our athletes new to wrestling like Will Vincent, Jake George, Marena Warta, Kyle Hodges, Aidan Virelli, and Alex Hoke. The coaches are very proud of them as well as the veteran wrestlers who put in two hard hours of work to get ready for the last week of practice before our opener in Ephrata. Well done team! Now, the time for first weigh-in and first official combat is fast approaching. Remember your goals and stay the course!

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Cougars Welcomed Many Alumni Back to the Training Grounds to Practice

This final weekend of November 2016 saw the Downingtown East Cougar wrestlers open up their den to DE alumni and teams from around the area to train and sharpen up the skills. On Friday 11/25, the Cougars welcomed many alumni back to the training grounds to practice, teach, and share old war stories. Current college wrestlers such as Wade Cummings (NC State), Billy McGinley (Ursinus), James Meyer (Kutztown), and NCWA wrestlers like TJ Nelson (PSU), Jude McDowell (PSU), James Strommer (Bloom), and Jason Gibson (WVU) all reunited at the DE wrestling room to give back to the current crop of young East wrestlers. The next day, DE hosted a tough group of local programs for their annual “first-weekend” scrimmage. Teams such as Norristown, Springfield (D), Lower Merion, Father Judge, Pequea Valley, and Malvern Prep brought their best and brightest to mix it up with the Cougars and burn off the Thanksgiving excess! The event was an intense two hours of training and a great stepping stone for the official start to competition in two weeks. We want to thank everyone who shared a great weekend of wrestling action with Downingtown East and give thanks for all of the opportunities we have in this greatest of sports!

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Congratulations to DE Wrestlers selected to Daily Local News “All-Area Team!”

The following Downingtown East wrestlers were selected for the 2015-2016 Daily Local News “All-Area” team:

1st Team
James Strommer (113)
Wade Cummings (126)
Nik Zimmerman (138)

2nd Team
Brent Czajkowski (182)

Honorable Mention
Lukas Richie (106)
Connor Birzes (132)
Jude McDowell (152)
Alec Horne (160)
Josh Wileczek (195)
Owen Morris (220)

Congratulations go out to these team members for receiving the honors!!!

2015-2016 Cougar Wrestling finishes on the podium!

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Downingtown East Wrestling closed out their 2015-2016 campaign on Saturday evening at the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA. The PIAA State Championships bring the strongest wrestlers from across this great state to battle for the illustrious medals awarded to the top 8 competitors in each weight class. After many bumps, bruises, and even tears, the Cougars finished their season with another state medal, a 5th place finish for senior captain Wade Cummings at 126 lbs. Wade went 4-2 at the tournament securing his second state medal and finishing with a career record of 181-14 wearing the blue and gold. His efforts and achievements will go down in Downingtown East wrestling history. Seniors James Strommer (113) and Alec Horne (160) also finished their high school careers in Hershey, going 0-2 in the event, but experiencing the thrill of unparalleled wrestling competition they’ll never forget. Congratulations and gratitude go out to these three Cougars, as well as their teammates, for a season filled with remarkable achievement and memorable moments! Good luck to all of the seniors as they step into the next phase of their academic/athletic careers and always remember that you will be in our thoughts! The coaching staff would like to personally thank the wrestlers, parents, boosters, and fans for making 2015-2016 a wrestling season for the ages. INVICTUS

The Cougars punch 3 tickets for Hershey!

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The District 1 Regional wrestling tournament found its way to a new venue, Souderton HS this past weekend. As always, the 64 high school region sent its best athletes to the competition to battle for the 4 coveted spots per weight class and only shots at the PIAA tournament. The Regional was fast, furious, and emotional, and the Cougars gave their maximum effort. By Saturday night, East captured 4th place in the team race with 71.5 pts. behind Pennridge, Council Rock South, and eventual champions, Boyertown. Wade Cummings (126) captured his 2nd regional gold, while James Strommer (113) and Alec Horne (160) finished in 4th, all qualifying for the illustrious PA state tournament held next weekend in Hershey. Owen Morris (220) took alternate honors by securing 5th, and Lukas Richie (106) set himself up for next season by finishing 6th. Congrats also go out to Connor Birzes (132), Nik Zimmerman (138), Jude McDowell (152), Brent Czajkowski (182), and Josh Wileczek (195) who fought bravely at the event, but came up just short of extending the journey. The Downingtown wrestling community wants to thank all of the wrestlers for their weeks and months of dedication; we wouldn’t be at this point without all of your contributions. Best of luck to the remaining 3 qualifiers as they enter the final week of PA wrestling competition! Bring home some hardware from Chocolate-town boys!

D-East wins next stage of post season, pushing 10 through to the Regional!

Districts 2016Oxford High School hosted this year’s District 1 Central wrestling tournament, replacing last season’s “snow-covered” Wissahickon. The scenery might have changed, but the results came back in the same style! Downingtown East wrestling captured the team title in a dominating fashion, amassing 154 points and outpacing the rest of the field by 62 points. They qualified 10 wrestlers for next weekend’s regional tournament and collected their 4th straight District 1 Central crown. Led by champions James Strommer (113) and Wade Cummings (126), East put 7 in the finals, and had 3 wrestle back to take advancement honors. Lukas Richie (106), Nik Zimmerman (138), Alec Horne (160), Brent Czajkowski (182), and Owen Morris (220) claimed silver medals, while Connor Birzes (132) and Jude McDowell (152) wrestled back hard for the bronze. Josh Wileczek (195) stretched to the limit and collected a 4th place qualifying bid, and heavyweight Brendan McGinley (285) secured a 5th place alternate bid. The Cougars displayed a memorable team effort and reaped the rewards of such a display. Congrats to them as they march forward to the Regional tournament at Souderton HS and those coveted bids to PIAA Hershey. Good Luck gentlemen!