As John Callahan described his "pretty crazy ending," another district champ stopped by to congratulate him.

"Way to keep wrestling, good job," Bethlehem Catholic's Andrew Dunn said.

Callahan, a Freedom High senior, did just that Saturday, winning the District 11 Class 3A wrestling title at 195 pounds with a takedown in the waning seconds. Though his season is far from over, Callahan called the victory a career highlight.

"All year I said my one goal was to win a district title, more than anything else," Callahan said. "More than qualifying states."

Callahan's win punctuated a shining tournament for Freedom, which placed second to Bethlehem Catholic, the team's best finish at districts since 1977. The Patriots, who won a school-record 25 dual meets, advanced seven wrestlers to this week's PIAA Northeast regional tournament at Liberty. And Brandon Hall was named District 11's 3A coach of the year.

Callahan's 2-1 victory over Emmaus senior Thomas Alcaro came down to a thrilling, and disputed, finish. Alcaro led 1-0 late in the third period, when Callahan got in deep on a shot.

Alcaro defended it well, so Callahan (20-3) said he switched tactics and tried to finish in the headlock position. The buzzer sounded without a call, and the officials huddled for what Callahan called "the longest five seconds ever."

"Then he came out with 'two,' and I've never been more excited," Callahan said.

A future linebacker at Amherst, Callahan didn't even plan to wrestle last season. But he watched some of Freedom's early matches and realized what he was missing. After the bout, Hall brought up their talk last fall, when Callahan said he wasn't going to wrestle.

"Yeah, he mocked me," Callahan said. "But this is great. It's something I can always look back on. When I'm 40, I can say, 'I won districts once.'"

Read the original post:

For Freedom's Callahan, winning districts might be sweeter than going to Hershey