Exeter Twp. senior Austin DeSanto laid out a plan that would test his conviction at the beginning of the season. He intended to wrestle all season at 132 pounds, get bigger and stronger, then drop to 126 for the postseason and another shot at Franklin Regional stud Spencer Lee.

That plan looked to be in question following the Eagles’ run to the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships last week, but it’s back on, coach Jon Rugg confirmed Thursday afternoon. DeSanto will wrestle at 126 pounds when the Eagles open at sectionals Saturday at Governor Mifflin High School.

DeSanto, who is 42-0 this season and 177-7 in his career, is still in pursuit of his first career state title. Lee beat DeSanto by a 15-0 technical fall in the 120-pound finals in last year’s state tournament. DeSanto finished fifth as a sophomore despite suffering two hard-luck losses.

Instead of opening the individual postseason as a favorite at 132, the Drexel commit is moving down to 126 strictly for the personal challenge.

“In my opinion, it’s about wanting to wrestle the best in the world in Spencer Lee,” Rugg said via email. “As Austin would say, ‘If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.’”

DeSanto started his march toward Lee early in the year when he handled a tough 132-pound bracket at the Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic with a technical fall win over Boiling Springs’ Kollin Myers, a state runner-up in Class 2A last season, and a 6-3 win over three-time state medalist Chandler Olson of Shippensburg, who also projects to drop down to 126 for the individual postseason.

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