PROSPECT PARK — Strath Haven’s Alex Thornton and Andrew Reilly were longshots to reach the medal round of the District 1 Class 3A South sectional, let alone qualify for next week’s South East Regional.
Thornton, a sophomore who wrestled on the JV team for most of the season, was filling in for Ben Milligan at 139 pounds after Milligan’s season was brought to a close due to concussions. Reilly entered the tournament as the No. 12 seed at 160 pounds, based solely on his sub .500 record.
Both, though, beat the odds.
Thornton was the surprise of the tournament. He went 3-2 to finish in fourth place and punch his ticket to the regional. Reilly battled to second place to earn a trip to Souderton and help the Panthers claim the team title by 22 points over Plymouth Whitemarsh (187-165).
Thornton had to win a wrestle-off with teammate Adam Papi just to earn the right to compete in the sectional. He did wrestle five varsity matches during the season, four in the Panther Duals and against Bensalem in another dual meet, according to pa-wrestling.com. Thornton went 1-4 in those matches yet he was not fazed by the spotlight.
“I came here expecting to do OK,” Thornton said. “But when it came down to it, I just went out there with a mindset that I had nothing to lose. If I lose, my season is over. If I win I go to regionals. I really had the drive to win.”
Thornton’s only two losses were to Interboro’s Gabe Oliva, in the quarterfinals and the third-place match. He lost by pin both times. He beat Lower Merion’s Sam Soeffling in the opening round, 5-0, pinned Sean Casey of Plymouth Whitmarsh in the second round of consolations in 3:45, decked Peter Phan of Cheltenham in the third round of consolations and then scored a 6-4 overtime victory over Ridley’s Tim Wickham to reach the third-place match and qualify for the regional.
“It was 4-4 and I got a takedown in overtime,” Thornton said. “That’s the most tired I’ve ever been after a match but it put me in a spot where I felt good.”
Reilly scored a major decision over Wissahickon’s Nelson Stubbs (18-10), beat Upper Dublin’s Tommy Clayton (17-14) and recorded a major decision over Lower Merion’s Sam Lledo (13-5) before being pinned by Ridley’s David Rainey in the final in 2:36. Reilly came into the tournament with a 16-20 record.
“The same thing happened at Centrals,” Reilly said. “I got a low seed but that just makes me more determined to do better.”
Thornton and Reilly were among seven Strath Haven wrestlers to qualify for the regional. Sam Milligan (189), Anthony Crawford (215) and Ben Farabaugh (285) all won titles. It was the second straight district title for Milligan and Crawford. Michael Spielman (152) took third and Sam Harrington (133) placed fourth for the Panthers.
Haverford’s Cole McFarland was named the Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 144-pound championship. He pinned Interboro’s Colin Magee in the quarterfinals in 32 seconds, scored a technical fall over Upper Dublin’s Zach Gallagher in the semis (16-1) and decked Hatboro-Horsham’s Ryan Allgeier in 0:47 in the final.
“These awards are a reflection of the work I put in,” McFarland said. “I like winning these awards. It makes me feel good about myself.”
In all, 23 Delco wrestlers qualified for the regional. Ridley’s Rainey (160) and Curtis Nelson (107), Interboro’s Anthony Lascio (121) and Haverford’s Luca Romasco (172) all won titles. Academy Park’s James Wallace (121), Ridley’s Nick Dellarocca (127) and Rocco Hartfuss (152) placed second. In third were Interboro’s Ryan Rossiter (127) and Gavin Oliva (139) and Ridley’s Chris Nesbitt (133). Micha Lozano of Haverford (107), Taiyo Mogaji from Penn Wood (145) and Claude Pierre-Louis (189) and Savon Morris (285) from Ridley finished fourth.
The day, though, belonged to Strath Haven and head coach Tony Gilliano credited the team’s schedule for its success Saturday.
“We didn’t have an easy schedule,” Gilliano said. “Not a lot of our guys have .500 records but they’re battle-tested. I told my kids all week that we’ve been in the deep water and it paid dividends today. I was really proud of our guys. They wrestled well.”
