HS Boys’ Wrestling: Tide’s McFarland advances to Class 3A regionals
Pottsville's Terrell McFarland pins Easton's Justin Cosover in a third-place match at 189 pounds on Feb. 21, 2026, at the District 11 Class 3A Wrestling Championships at Bethlehem Liberty High School. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
BETHLEHEM — Terrell McFarland’s season will continue.
That’s all that matters in late February and early March. Survive, advance and live to compete in next week’s tournament.
Pottsville’s senior 189-pounder traversed through a powerhouse bracket Saturday at the District 11 Class 3A Wrestling Championships at Bethlehem Liberty’s Memorial Gym and took home a third-place medal.
McFarland (40-1) scored a pair of quick falls Friday night — in 34 and 36 seconds — to reach the semifinals. There, Nazareth star Brayden Zuercher topped McFarland 7-2.
The Crimson Tide standout bounced back in the consolations Saturday by racking up a 15-3 major decision over Bethlehem Catholic’s Connor Gillahan.
In the bronze-medal bout, Easton’s Justin Cosover tried to avoid going upper body against McFarland, but that only lasted into the second period. The Tide star trapped both of Cosover’s arms in front of him and whipped the Easton wrestler to his back. The fall came in 1:50.
“It felt really good to get a throw off, especially for third place on my way to regionals,” McFarland said. “I knew coming in it was going to be a tough bracket … but competition is always good. I love it.”
The top five placewinners in each weight class advance to the Northeast Regional on Feb. 27-28 at Bethlehem Liberty High School. The top five at regionals will move on to the PIAA Wrestling Championships on March 5-7 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
“Right now I’ve got to make sure my body is good, make sure I’m healthy, and then train right,” McFarland said. “Don’t overtrain and also don’t overlift and work on things I messed up this weekend.”
Blue Mountain junior Vaughn Helverson took sixth at 285, just missing a trip to regionals. Helverson (25-13) won a pair of consolation bouts Saturday, including a 4-1 decision in sudden victory over Dieruff’s Marcus Soto. In a fifth-place bout, Parkland’s Myles Lysek pinned Helverson in 1:27.
