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Exeter’s Austin DeSanto majors 4-time state champ in Pennsylvania's loss to Team USA at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic
Exeter’s Austin DeSanto did it again, this time at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic.
Fresh off an improbable win over Franklin Regional three-time world champion Spencer Lee at the PIAA wrestling championships, DeSanto hung an 18-5 major decision on Justin Mejia, a four-time state champion from Clovis (Calif.) High School. Mejia just became the second wrestler in California history to win four state titles.
DeSanto entered the weekend ranked No. 4 nationally at 126 pounds, while Mejia checked in at No. 3. DeSanto is a Drexel commit; Mejia will wrestle at Illinois.
DeSanto turned the match into a blowout early with two takedowns in the first period, three more in the second and a final push for eight points in the third period.
DeSanto reversed Mejia early in the third and spent most of the period riding him out, turning him for three nearfall points with 17 seconds remaining. Mejia shook loose from that position, but DeSanto pushed to the buzzer, as he usually does, with his sixth takedown of the match.
He brought the Fitzgerald Field House crowd to its feet and gave Pennsylvania a 13-12 lead at the time, but Team USA stormed back for a 28-20 win. For his efforts, DeSanto was named Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Wrestler.
“I’m kind of mad at myself that I rode him on top and only scored three points,” DeSanto told FloWrestling after the match. “[I have to] get back in the room and start working on every position.”
DeSanto had a big-time supporter in his corner in Lee, who was Pennsylvania’s honorary captain after a knee injury sidelined him from action. Lee cheered on DeSanto two weeks after DeSanto handed him the first loss of his prep career, 6-5, in the 126-pound state finals. DeSanto scored the winning takedown at the buzzer in that one.
Lee's support wasn’t lost on DeSanto.
“Spencer Lee is awesome,” DeSanto told FloWrestling. “He gave me a confidence boost I could beat this kid. He’s just a nice kid all around. I really like him. I feel like he’s going to come back like 10 times stronger and surprise a lot of people.”
Team Pennsylvania won back-to-back matches to open the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic as Huntingdon’s Jacob Oliver scored a wild decision over Jake Allar of St. Michael (Minn.) in the opening bout at 160 pounds. Bethlehem Catholic’s Mikey Labriola scored a late takedown to take a 3-2 decision from Kaleb Romero of Mechanicsburg (Ohio).
Team USA won the next four straight matches before Brookville’s Gavin Park scored a big upset at 106 pounds with a 10-5 win over Brandon Courtney of Desert Edge, Ariz. DeSanto kept the momentum going with his 18-5 win over Mejia, but the USA stars won three of the next four bouts to secure a 28-20 win.
One of the match’s final turning points came in the second-to-last bout at 145 pounds, when Austin O’Connor of Saint Rita (Ill.) turned a tight contest into a fall over Hempfield Area’s Jared Verkleeren. O’Connor won the Turning Point Award for that win, which stretched the Team USA lead to 28-17 with one bout to go.