Javien DeLeon’s ticket to Hershey was 29 seconds away and then it was gone at last week’s 3A East Super Regional at Quakertown.

DeLeon held a 4-2 lead over Downingtown West’s Keanu Manuel with 29 seconds left in the third period of their 120-pound consolation semifinal until an illegal slam cut short the Liberty junior’s hopes of qualifying for Hershey.

Manuel was ruled unable to return to action by a medical professional and just like that, DeLeon’s run to Hershey came to an end, as only the top-four wrestlers advanced to this weekend’s PIAA tournament at the Giant Center.

DeLeon wound up taking fifth in the tournament after pinning Boyertown’s Jay Maldonado in 2:18 in the fifth place match.

He will be the first alternate called if anyone in the 120-pound bracket can’t compete this weekend, including Manuel, who appeared to be dealing with concussion symptoms.

Still, head coach Brandon Hall knows it’s a tough pill to swallow for anyone to have their season end the way it did for DeLeon.

“He’s up with 29 seconds left and you’re in control of the match and to lose like that is just tough,” said Hall. “He’s had a great season and we certainly thought he was medal worthy.”

DeLeon pinned Maldonado in his quarterfinal round, but then ran into Bethlehem Catholic’s Dante Frinzi in the semifinals and lost by a 13-2 major decision.

That then paired him with Manuel, where DeLeon gained the advantage in the match with a takedown in the third period with 1:16 on the clock.

“From a coaching and wrestling standpoint, it’s completely out of your control in a situation like that where medical professionals make a decision like that,” Hall said. “That’s the hardest part of this. If it happens this week that he gets an opportunity to wrestle in Hershey, he’ll be ready, but we’re not counting on it.”

DeLeon was Liberty’s only participant at the event, while Freedom’s Connor Bevan (138) was also flying solo for the Patriots. His season came to an end too with a 1-2 finish at the tournament, capped off by a 9-4 defeat to Trent Kochersperger of Kennett in the consolation semifinals.

Bevan was already playing with house money at the tournament, as he advanced to regionals as an alternate, only to place there and push through to super regionals.

Even though it was disappointing to see the season come to a close, Freedom head coach Dante Terenzio was happy to see Bevan get extended run in the postseason.

“The past eight days or so, we’ve enjoyed the ride with Connor,” said head coach Dante Terenzio. “This was bonus time for us and we’re really proud of what he was able to accomplish. If there was one guy on our team that deserved this, it was Connor.”