Ferens joins list of CAHS' elite wrestlers

During the 2001-2002 wrestling season, Connellsville's John Ferens added his name to an elite group of Falcon grapplers as he reached the 100-win plateau for his career.

The Connellsville senior hit the century mark this past December when he scored a 13-5 major decision over Waynesburg's Corbin Semple in his last bout at the Powerade Tournament.

With that victory, Ferens became only the 14th wrestler in Connellsville history to reach the milestone.

"It feels real good," Ferens said of his accomplishment. "It's an honor to be up there with all those other guys."

Other 100-plus winners for Connellsville include Ron Doppelheuer Jr. (144), John Richey (143), Matt King (143), DeWitt Driscoll (140), Kevin Saniga (138), Drew Joseph (125), Brian Martin (124), Chad Jesko (119), Chris Liston (117), Steve Peperak (11), Tom Dolde Jr. (102), Justin Martin (102) and Lonnie Davis (101).

All these wrestlers had an edge on the mat, and Ferens is no exception.

"His talent and his strength are very good," Connellsville coach Tom Dolde said. "He does the basics very well. He is aggressive by nature."

Ferens has five Pennsylvania Junior Olympic titles to his credit, and so far in high school, he has racked up a total of 110 wins, which ranks him 11th on Connellsville's all-time list.

But Ferens will have an opportunity to move up on that list as he and his teammates will compete in the 2-AAA Sectionals, which will be held at Connellsville on Saturday.

But Ferens is hoping that his season doesn't end on Saturday.

"I want to go to states and place as high as I can," Ferens said.

If Ferens makes it to the state tournament at Hershey, he'll have to perform in some pressure situations. But that shouldn't be a big concern for him.

"He's good in tight situations," Dolde said as he noted that Ferens is 15-2 in playoff competition. "He rises to the occasion."

And when his high school career is done, Ferens hopes to continue to wrestle in college.

"I think he can be a good college wrestler if he gets in the right situation," Dolde said.

"I'm not sure where I want to go yet," Ferens said as he recognized the efforts of players and coaches who have helped him in his career to this point. "But I definitely want to go to college and keep on wrestling."