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Mepham’s Hernandez is national wrestling champ

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Mepham High School senior Louis Hernandez can add one more achievement to the long list of accolades he has earned while wrestling for the Pirates –– national champion.

Hernandez competed in the FloNationals tournament at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from April 4 to 5. After compiling a 6-0 record in the competition, with two pins and two major decisions, he was crowned champion in the 152-pound weight class.

To capture the title, Mepham assistant coach Sean Arresto said, Hernandez defeated Kyle Bova, Pennsylvania’s state champion, in a tight bout. Although Hernandez trailed 2-0 in the final match after an early takedown, he quickly came back after an escape and takedown of his own.


Bova earned an escape, and Hernandez nearly nabbed another takedown at the buzzer, but time ran out. Arresto said Bova managed to ride out Hernandez for the entire second period, as he had nearly two minutes of riding time entering the third period, with the score tied at three.

Hernandez chewed down some of that riding time early in the third, but Bova managed an escape for a short-lived 4-3 lead. The Mepham senior quickly took down the Lock Haven University-bound wrestler to take a 5-4 lead, but Bova still had over 1:30 of riding time. So, Arresto said, Hernandez had to do some work on top to run the clock down to under a minute to avoid giving up the riding point.

“Not only did Louis run the riding clock down, but he was able to ride Bova out for the rest of the match to earn the victory and the national championship,” Arresto said. “The coaching staff would like to congratulate Louis and his family on this amazing accomplishment.”

With the victory, Arresto said, Hernandez became the first Long Islander to win a title at FloNationals. The win came after another successful season for Hernandez, who has yet to declare where he will attend college.

Last month, Hernandez became the third two-time New York state champion in Mepham High School history. He defeated Anthony Deprez of Hilton, 8-4, in the 152-pound title match at Albany’s Times Union Center on March 1. Hernandez, who joined Mike Arena (1983-84) and Alan Stock (1966-67) as back-to-back state champs for the Pirates, won the 145-pound crown last winter.

Arresto said Hernandez celebrated his victory with a fellow Long Island wrestler with Mepham ties. An hour after Hernandez’s match, 120-pound Nick Piccininni, a student at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, bested the top-ranked wrestler in the country, Luke Pletcher. Mepham alumnus Bill DeSario – who was the Pirates’ first-ever state wrestling champion in 1964 – coaches Piccininni, who is Hernandez’s friend.