Dec 29, 2015 3 min read

CANONSBURG – It’s a bigger, stronger version of Gavin Teasdale that is on the wrestling mat this season.

The undefeated state champion from Jefferson-Morgan got a chance to show off his new form Tuesday in the first three rounds of the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament and the results were impressive.

The sophomore defeated Colton Beck of Saegertown by technical fall, 17-2, then took an 18-6 major decision from Daniel Percelay of DePaul Catholic, N.J., before ripping up Jaxson Roney of Plainview, Okla., 22-9. That’s a combined 57-17 score if you struggle with math, and moves his varsity record to 54-0.

The victories advanced Teasdale to today’s semifinals, where he takes on Matt Parker of Pennridge.

“I got thrown at Worlds over the summer and I said I’m never going to let that happen again,” Teasdale said. “From there on, I’ve been working on upper body so that’s going to help me.”

Another strategy Teasdale honed was doing more in smaller spaces on the mat.

“I know kids are going to back out on me,” he said. “I have to cut off the mat and make them wrestle me. I got better at scrambling and can bring them back in.”

Jefferson-Morgan head coach Mike Lesko said Teasdale’s strength is making a big difference this season.

“He’s definitely not a 106 pounder,” he said. “Now, is he a 120 pounder? I don’t know. That will be a huge decision. … We wanted to test the waters here and (113) is a better weight class than (120).”

When Belle Vernon left Canon-McMillan’s gym after last year’s tournament with a fourth-place finish, most wrestling fans felt this was a team that could step into the role Franklin Regional had as tournament favorite.

The Leopards have not disappointed. With a strong first-day effort, Belle Vernon was in good shape to win the team title at Powerade. And that includes knocking off Wyoming Seminary, which is shy three starters because of injuries.

“I told our wrestlers to live for today, not for tomorrow,” said BV head coach Mike Doppelheuer. “So far, we’re having a great tournament. We had eight guys in the quarters and even the guys who got a loss are battling back through. Hopefully, we can get 13 on the medal stand. To win the team title would be a proud moment for our wrestlers and coaches. It will give our guys confidence and show they can compete with the best of them.”

Belle Vernon took eight wrestlers – Jacob Dunlop (106), Zach Hartman (132), Brock Godzin (138), Jarod Verkleeren (145), Derek Verkleeren (152), Mitch Hartman (160), Austin Bell (170) and Milton Kobaly (182) – and came away with three advancing to the semifinals: Dunlop, Hartman and Bell.

Belle Vernon is in first place with 128.5 points, and Wyoming Seminary is second with 117. Wyoming Seminary, the No. 1 team in the country in most polls, were missing Nick Reenan, top ranked in the nation at 182. Kiski is third at 115.

Ethan McCoy of Latrobe, the No. 2 seed at 126 pounds defaulted to Kordell Rush of Pennridge after hitting his head on the mat and suffering some dizziness. … Kobaly pinned defending state champion Greg Bulsak of South Park in the second round, then lost to Jake Woodley of North Allegheny in the quarterfinals. … Daniel Planta of St. Paul’s, Md., the No. 2 seed at 120, lost to Jack Davis of Wyoming Seminary, 3-1.