Several Main Line wrestlers headed to Hershey

Several Main Line high school wrestlers finished in the top five at the PIAA Class 3A Southeast Regional Wrestling Tournament at Souderton High School March 1-2, punching their entry ticket to the PIAA 3A state wrestling tournament at Hershey March 7-9.

Here’s a look at how the Main Line squads fared at the PIAA Class 3A Southeast Regionals:

James Lledo, Lower Merion >> The junior James Lledo finished second at 170 pounds. Lledo, who has a 26-3 record this season through Regionals (91-21 for his high school career) and a sectional title, started off Regionals in strong fashion, earning a technical fall (15-0, 4:28) against Hatboro Horsham’s Patrick Chapman in his opening match; then pinning Ricky McCutchen of Owen J. Roberts in 4:49. In the semifinal, Lledo defeated Andrew DiBernardo of West Chester East, 14-9; then lost to Maximus Hale of Downingtown West, 13-9, in the championship final.

Christian Hodges, Lower Merion >> The junior 132-pounder, who came into Regionals with a 32-2 record (95-21 for his high school career) and a sectional title, lost his opener at Regionals, 7-5, to Neshaminy’s Zachary Martin; then bounced back for two wins, defeating Pottstown’s Demond Thompson, 7-0, then edging Norristown’s Isaiah Tucker, 1-0. Unfortunately, Hodges lost his next match, 3-2, to eventual third-place finisher Domenic DeFalco of Quakertown, ending his season.

Andrew Coughlin, Lower Merion >> The senior 126-pounder (27-12) lost his Regional opener to eventual champion Braden Ricchini of Council Rock South; rebounded to defeat Dominic Chaclas of Unionville, 5-4, then lost to Strath Haven’s Chase Barlow 9-0, ending his season.
As a team, the Aces finished 24th in the field of 59 teams, with 24.5 points. First-place finisher Council Rock South earned 197.5 points.

Roberto Lesser, Harriton >>The junior 138-pounder finished fifth at Regionals, earning a trip to Hershey. In the fifth-place match, in which the winner heads to Hershey and the loser ends his season, Lesser won a 5-4 decision against Gavin Hoillingsworth of Garnet Valley.
Lesser (35-5 this season through Regionals, 75-18 for his high school career to date) started the tourney with a 5-1 win against Alec Schrum of North Penn; lost to Antonio Petrucelli of Owen J. Roberts, 12-4; defeated West Chester East’s Jamison Eadie, 4-2; defeated Dominic Stoughton of Central Bucks South, 7-5; then lost to Kibwe McNair of Methacton 7-0 before bouncing back with a 5-4 win in the fifth-place match.
Ram junior 132-pounder Luke Fink (18-9) lost two matches at Regionals, the first one to eventual third-place finisher Domenic DeFalco of Quakertown.

Paul Pelham, Conestoga >> The Pioneers senior finished fourth at 220 pounds, earning a spot at States. Pelham, who has a record of 34-4 through Regionals (92-17 for his high school career), came into Regionals on a 20-match win streak, and opened with a pin at 3:18 against Upper Darby’s Patrick Kerwood and a 4-2 win against Logan Flynn of Hatboro Horsham. After losing to Paolo DiSanto of Plymouth Whitemarsh, 2-1, Pelham came back with a 7-6 win against Terrance Averett of Glen Mills.

Morgan Lofland, Conestoga >> The sophomore Lofland (30-12) finished sixth at 132 pounds. He opened with a pin in 1:38 against Oxford’s Landon Meredith; lost to eventual second-place finisher Gunnar Fuss of Harry S. Truman; earned a 12-2 major decision victory against Alex Johns of Spring-Ford; defeated Christian Reed of Penncrest, 6-2; then lost to Council Rock South’s L.J. Kahn and Neshaminy’s Zachary Martin.
Sophomore 126-pounder Liam Walker (23-14) and junior 182-pounder Matt Hamilton (30-8) also competed at Regionals, losing two matches.
As a team, the Pioneers placed 25th out of the 59 teams at the tournament.

Shane McAdams, Haverford High >> The junior 182-pounder (34-5) went 2-2 at Regionals, starting the tourney with a pin at 3:23 of Conestoga’s Matt Hamilton, then losing to eventual second-place finisher Chase Mielnik of Downingtown West. McAdams earned a win against Marple Newtown’s Armen Dervishian, then lost to Wissahickon’s Daniel Keller.

Bobby Hydrisko, Radnor >>The junior 160-pounder (20-13) won one of three matches at Regionals. He lost to Austin Filippone of Garnet Valley, rebounded to pin Souderton’s Troy Mokluk in 4:27; then lost to Roman Moser of Methacton.
Senior 145-pounder Jahmair Rider (23-5) and freshman 10-pounder Damian Falcone (19-19) also competed at Regionals, losing two matches.