On Saturday 12/6, the Cougar grapplers went to spring water country to take on a host of challenges at Ephrata’s annual Winter duals. East finished the day with a 3-1 mark, defeating Garden Spot 48-18, Daniel Boone 59-12, and Biglerville 50-14, but fell to Mifflin County 27-38 in the final. It was a back and forth battle between the two teams, but Mifflin was able to get the bonus points needed to distance themselves and secure the win. Going 4-0 on the day were Brett Horne (106), James Strommer (113), Wade Cummings (126), and Billy McGinley (220). Suffering only one loss were Jude McDowell (138), Austin Lillis (145), James Meyer (160), and the break-out wrestler of the season so far, Owen Morris (HWT). The highlight wrestler of the event was Nik Zimmerman (120), who earned a 2-2 record, but worked above and beyond to compete at one of the most difficult weight classes in the tournament. On the JV mats, congrats to Jarrett Hansen (113), Shea Milligan (126), and Josh Wileczek (220) for going undefeated and setting the pace for East JV squad! Now that the smoke has cleared, it’s time for the Cougars to lock in and focus on next week’s competition, the prestigious “King of the Mountain” tournament in Lock Haven, PA. See you in Mattown USA!!!
PIAA Wrestling Scrimmages Week Two
This last weekend of November boasted the second window for PIAA wrestling scrimmages across the commonwealth. Our Downingtown East wrestlers travelled to PAC-10 powerhouse Springford, to take on the hosts, Quakertown, and Haverford Township. Once again, the gym was filled with talent and the wrestling was high-octane. After losing to Springford in last season’s District Dual semifinal, the Cougars found themselves in many familiar match-ups as James Meyer (160) battled Frankie Krauss and Alec Horne (170) went some tough rounds with Steve Rice. On the lower end, Wade Cummings (126) forced some highlight action with Springford’s PIAA medalist, Ryan Hayes. In the middle, senior Austin Lillis (145) did some terrific work against Springford’s Matt Krieble and Quakertown’s Tanner Seislove. Over in the “big boy room,” junior Brent Czajkowski (182) looked sharp against a room full of heavy bulldogs trying to sharpen their teeth. At the scrimmage’s conclusion, the team reviewed their day’s work and saw that much improvement had been made to go along with the bumps and bruises. Next weekend, the Cougars open up at the Ephrata Duals and the official whistles start to sound. Good luck Cougars!
PIAA Wrestling Scrimmages Week One
The first weekend of official PIAA wrestling scrimmages filled the gym at Downingtown East with numbers of anxious grapplers ready to turn on the heat. DE wrestled Norristown, Father Judge, Springfield (D), Octorara, and Lower Merion during a high intensity Saturday morning of drilling and live wrestling. Highlights included a heated battle between senior captain James Meyer (160) and PIAA place-winner from Judge, Idris White. A little further down the mat, junior Owen Morris (220) took on regional place-winner Shaheed White of Norristown while teammate James Strommer (113) banged heads with Shaheed’s favorite lightweight, Eric Fuentes. Nik Zimmerman (120), Wade Cummings (126), and Jude McDowell (138) also helped set the tone with lots of action in the neutral position and some grinding rides on top. Look out for Freshman Brett Horne (106); his development jumped a level as he put on a notable display against an array of lightweight opponents. Great job by all DE wrestlers today, including our returning football players, and good luck with practice week 2! Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, but not too much!!!
Car Wash
Hi Coaches, Parents & Wrestlers,
Thank you all for supporting today’s car wash. Due to everyone’s teamwork it was a great success and we raised $935.58.
Thanks again,
Lisa Zimmerman
Bucknell Camp
During the week of 7/7, the Cougars travelled to ol’ Lewisburg, PA to compete in the annual Bison System team competition camp held at Bucknell University. By the end of the campaign at Gerhard Fieldhouse, our grapplers finished 10-1, falling only to Voorhees NJ in the final, 34-36. We were the only team in the competition to have a pure team, or all participants from one high school. Wade Cummings (132) and Billy McGinley (220) went 11-0 on the week, while Nik Zimmerman (126), James Meyer (160), Owen Morris (195), and Alec Horne (170) all finished 9-2. Austin Lillis (138) and Chris Harootunian (HWT) went 8-3 to cap off successful runs. Congrats to the team for a great Summer performance and for getting to learn wrestling from some of the best such as Quentin Wright, Ricky Bonomo, and Frank “The Tank” Molinaro, who share 6 NCAA titles between them. Have a wonderful “rest of the Summer,” and continue to work towards your goals!
Downingtown East Wrestling 