Wrestling Haverford’s McAdams picks good time to celebrate milestone

FRANCONIA — Seven Delaware County wrestlers fought their way into the semifinals of the District 1 Class 3A Southeast Regional Friday at Souderton High.

It’s safe to say none were happier than Shane McAdams, the Haverford High senior who celebrated his 100th career victory with a 5-1 decision over Austin Boaman of Owen J. Roberts in the quarterfinal round.

All of McAdams’ attempts to keep the potential milestone out of his head went out the window as he grew the lead over his opponent. When it was over, he shared it with his family, who, judging by the creative posters, had all the confidence in the world in the 170-pounder.

“I’ve been thinking about this since my freshman year,” McAdams said. “Once I started getting rolling on top, I was like, ‘I can do this.’ It was close. I knew he could come back. It hasn’t really sunk in. Right now, I’m just focused on getting one or two more wins to go to states. That’s been like a goal. I’m really excited about that.”

Chase Barlow set the tone in the quarterfinal round for the county grapplers with an interesting victory at 132 pounds.

Barlow got smacked in the nose hard enough to hemorrhage blood from the first period on. Eventually he was fitted with a gauze head wrap that still couldn’t stop the bleeding, or his bid to get into the semis.

Barlow defeated Zack Lewis of Quakertown, 6-3, to get within hailing distance of another trip to the states.

“It was very uncomfortable,” Barlow said with a grin. “It’s hard to breathe. It’s a nagging type of thing. Obviously, it was difficult but I’ve seen videos of guys with their face taped over their forehead. It made me feel good. Tough.”

On this night, Barlow was determined to move on no matter the adversity. You could have blindfolded the sophomore and he would have found a way.

“Zack Lewis was a tough wrestler,” Panthers coach Tony Gilliano said. “He’s a funky wrestler. They were in some weird positions. Chase had the willpower to fight through and that’s what he did. He wrestled well. The bloody nose, the wrap around the head, that’s something he’s not used to and can hinder his breathing. But he fought tough and he executed.”

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Haverford’s Shane McAdams smiles after winning his 100th career match, with a 5-1 decision over Owen J. Roberts’ Austin Boaman. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)