J-M’s Teasdale struggles but advances
CANONSBURG – Even when Gavin Teasdale is not at his best, he’s still better than most.
Teasdale, the undefeated freshman from Jefferson-Morgan, gave up nine points in his quarterfinal round bout in the PIAA Class AA Southwest Region Tournament Friday night at Canon-McMillan High School.
And he still won by 11.
Teasdale showed some vulnerabilities on the mat, put himself in danger of going to his back, and was nearly headlocked along the edge by Hunter Campbell, a sophomore from Cambria Heights who finished third in District 6. But he still managed to win 20-9 and assured he advances to the state tournament.
The top six wrestlers in each weight class advanced to the PIAA Class AA Championships, which get under way Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Teasdale was one of just eight area wrestlers who advanced to today’s semifinals at 11:30 a.m.
The finals are at 5 p.m.
Chestnut Ridge leads the team scoring with 48 points, followed by Berlin-Brothersvalley with 45.5, and Huntingdon and Jefferson-Morgan, which are tied for third at 37. Burrell is fifth with 30 points.
Teasdale, a WPIAL champion who received a first-round bye thanks to his top seed, felt he made too many mistakes in his match against Campbell.
“I just wrestled bad,” said Teasdale, now 40-0. “I left my arms open, I let him get to my wrists, I have to wrestle better than I did today.”
Teasdale draws Derrick Christie, a freshman from Westmont-Hilltop, in the semifinals. Also in the bracket but on the opposite side is Aaron Burkett, a District 5 champion from Chestnut Ridge who lost to Teasdale, 7-5, in overtime in the finals of the Bedford Tournament in January.
Austin McDermitt of Burgettstown not only had to fight off Corey Christie of Burrell, but had to do it with a damaged thumb on his right hand. He dislocated it earlier in the season and it tends to pop in and out of place.
Oh, and he has a bruised knee and a sprained ankle.
Other than that, he’s fine.
“It really doesn’t affect me,” said McDermitt, who ran his record to 37-2. “I wish I didn’t have the tape on my hand.”
McDermitt will take on Colin Glorioso of Huntingdon, who is top seeded at 120. Interestingly, the two met in 2013 in the regional tournament when McDermitt was the top seed at 106. Glorioso won the title. They also met in the state tournament last year.
“They wrestled enough that we have some tape on (Glorioso),” said Burgettstown head coach Terry Havelka. “He’s a solid wrestler who stays in good position. His best position is top. He scores a lot from there.”
In the bottom bracket of the 120 weight class, Jefferson-Morgan’s Brendan Howard had an easy time stopping Braeden Swab, a freshman from Central. Howard, a WPIAL champion, won by 20-4 technical fall. Howard draws Carnell Andrews of Westmont Hilltop, a freshman who was third in District 6, in the semifinals.
Bill Bowlen and Ian Wolfe also advanced to the semifinals for J-M. Bowlen made it with a 7-1 decision over Taylor Foster of Juniata and will take on Storm McDonald of Berlin-Brothersvalley in the semifinals.
Wolfe, a third-place finisher in the WPIAL, pinned No. 2 seed Shane Davis of Chestnut Ridge in 3:16 to advance to the semis. Jacob Beistel of Soutmoreland waits.
Mike Carr (138) and Jared Walker (160) of South Fayette were the other two local wrestlers to make the semifinals.
McGuffey had a rough first round, losing all five rounds. Gage Nicolella, a WPIAL champion, was pinned by Izac Benson of Huntingdon, a fifth-place finisher in District 6. Nicolella won his consolation round match and can still advance today.