Gavin Fehr faced a moment of truth in his state consolation bout with Nik Fegert of Curwensville.

Down 2-1 with 43 seconds left on a restart he confided, “I just kept thinking, ‘If I lose this match, my season’s over,’ so I had to keep pushing and put everything into it. I knew he was strong up on top, so I couldn’t tie up with him. I had to get a shot from space, which I don’t normally do, it was a little out of my comfort zone.

“When I got in on him, I felt good, but he had me in the strong hips. I saw the leg and I just tripped it and it worked out for me.”

The entire sequence from grasping the leg to the official signaling “Two red!” with 0:01 on the clock lasted 32 seconds.

The win not only extended Fehr’s season, it helped suppress the impact of his excruciating round one loss, where he dropped a 4-3 decision to Quaker Valley’s Logan Richey in tiebreaks on a stalling call.

Catty’s 145-pounder saw his state tournament come to an end in the next round after a 15-0 technical fall against Gage Wentzel of Montoursville, the eventual 5th place finisher in the weight class.

“I went in with a game plan against him, but it wasn’t working,” Fehr confided.

He finishes his Rough Rider wrestling career with a 112-38 record, the fifth most wins Catasauqua history.

A dejected Fehr offered some final thoughts.

“I’m glad I was at least able to win a match yesterday and make it today. I’m a two-time state qualifier. Two-time making it to the second day. I guess that’s nice, but it definitely didn’t end how I wanted it.”

An emotional Joe Russo recounted watching Fehr develop as wrestler and a person,

“He started at 5 years old. I coached him since then. It’s hard to the see the heartbreak. It’s hard to see them want something so bad and all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. I told him I wished I could have done more for him.”

Russo finished, “In some ways he’ll always be the little kid, 5 years old, little Mohawk wrestling a novice tournament. And here we are. That’s a hell of a ride.”