Wrestling finalists showed their medal
It was a scholastic wrestling season filled with golden moments and gold medals.
Mike Doppelheuer of Belle Vernon, Mike Lesko of Jefferson-Morgan and Joe Throckmorton of Waynesburg each propelled their teams to successful runs in the postseason, accumulating eight PIAA medals that included two gold medal performances.
The three are finalists for this year’s Wrestling Coach of the Year award at the Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Banquet.
The trio will be honored, and the winner announced, at the Tri-County Athletic Directors Coach of the Year Banquet at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 26 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.
Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and are on sale at Washington High School, 201 Allison Avenue, Washington, Pa., 15301. Reservations can be made by calling athletic director Joe Nicolella at 724-223-5085, ext. 2091.
All proceeds from the banquet benefit Special Olympics.
Doppelheuer led Belle Vernon to the Section 2-AAA title and earned the top seed in the WPIAL Team Tournament, thanks to a win over powerful Franklin Regional in the regular season. Belle Vernon made it to the team finals but fell to Franklin Regional in a rematch.
In the state team tournament, Belle Vernon advanced to the semifinals before dropping a 2-point decision to Cumberland Valley. The Leopards finished with a 22-3 record. Belle Vernon advanced five wrestlers to the PIAA Championships and three – Jared Verkleeren (4th at 120), Austin Bell (3rd at 170) and Zach Hartman (7th at 120) medaled.
Lesko brought four wrestlers to the PIAA Individual Championships and each left with a medal. Gavin Teasdale became the first state champion for J-M in two decades when he won the 106-pound gold medal. Ian Wolfe was fourth at heavyweight; Bill Bowlen sixth at 182; and Brendan Howard seventh at 120.
Teasdale finished the season undefeated and won section, WPIAL and regional titles in the process. He also was a Powerade champion. Lesko led the Rockets to second place in the Section 2-AA Team Tournament and fourth place in the WPIAL Team Tournament.
Throckmorton was in the corner for one of the most dramatic finals at the PIAA Individual Championships, when A.C. Headlee won a 7-2 decision over Latrobe’s Luke Pletcher, a two-time defending state champion, to win the 132-pound title. It was the first PIAA wrestling title for Waynesburg since Corbin Semple won at 171 pounds in 2003.
Headlee defeated Pletcher in the WPIAL Championships the previous week, when Pletcher entered the tournament as the No. 1 wrestler in the country at that weight class. Throckmorton led the Raiders to a second-place finish in the Section 4-AAA and fell to Belle Vernon in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Team Tournament.