By: Dominic Gavan

Tuscarora officially can claim that they have a Dulles District Champion, and his name is Saxon Downs. They can also proclaim that a senior in his second year of wrestling qualified for states. Tuscarora athletics programs are just two years old, but they’re already making waves in the county. Saxon Downs, a freshman, set records by being the first Tuscarora student to ever take first place in the Dulles District Championship for wrestling. Saxon did have a background in Loudoun County Matmen, but high school wrestling is a whole different ball game from a recreation league.
            Wrestling is an under-appreciated sport to begin with, usually just passed off as a weird or overly touchy sport. “Being on the mat and just knowing the outcome of the match is no one’s consequence but your own is an extremely powerful thing!” expresses district champion Saxon Downs. Saxon beat out everyone in his weight class during his matches to put himself at the very top of the ladder. The match itself was decided by points, not a pin. “I was nervous during the second period, but I knew that I could pull through it…I couldn’t just lose in the finals,” happily states Saxon. Saxon did the impossible by claiming the title of district champion as a freshman, and our athletics department couldn’t be prouder.
            Dionte Fitts is a senior probably known better for football then wrestling, yet in his second year of wrestling he qualified for the Virginia State Championship. Dionte started wrestling as a junior, and in his second year he placed fourth in districts and fourth in regionals. Now he has a chance to seriously give Tuscarora High School some recognition by placing in the Virginia State Championship.
            All of our athletics are just in their second year, and a lot of the programs are showing a serious amount of progress from last year. The wrestling program has made serious improvement and shows great promise for next year.