Mar 19, 2016 6 min read

Gavin Teasdale’s goal heading into the PIAA Wrestling Championship – and for the season, actually – was to score as many points as possible.

He constantly said if he used that strategy, success would follow.

Mission accomplished.

Teasdale roared into Hershey the way the Tasmanian Devil did in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. His different tact produced a second consecutive gold medal, this time in the 113-pound weight class in Class AA. It also preserved a second straight undefeated season and kept him on path to become a four-time state champion.

He can credit the new strategy for producing 96 bout points, one of the highest in the tournament’s history after the technical fall was introduced by the National Federation of State High Schools Association to limit scoring in 1985.

Teasdale had four technical falls, the final one 23-8 over Kollin Myers of Boiling Springs in the finals that produced a second PIAA title. Teasdale took Myers down seven times – and that was just in the first period – and had 10 before the bout was stopped.

Teasdale’s domination made him this year’s Outstanding Wrestler on the Observer-Reporter’s All-District Team.

The sophomore from Jefferson-Morgan joins 27 other wrestlers who earned a spot on the two teams.

Included with Teasdale on the first team is Class AA state champion Mike Carr of South Fayette. Carr, a senior, won the 145-pound title.

Other first-teamers included Zach Hartman (132), Jared Verkleeren (145), Austin Bell (170) and Milton Kobaly (182) of Belle Vernon; Cole Rush (126), Shaun Wilson (138) and Colin McCracken (182) of Waynesburg; Rasaun Culberson (220) of South Fayette; Doug Gudenburr (138) of Ringgold; Bill Bowlen (195) of Jefferson-Morgan; Mike McAleavey (220) of Peters Township; and Tony Welsh (170) of Beth-Center.

The second team includes Logan Macri (113), Matt Oblock (126) and Brendan Furman (Hvy) of Canon-McMillan; Caleb Morris (126), Terry Victor (152) and Kyle Homet (160) of Waynesburg; Manny Dovshek (113) of Bentworth; Jacob Dunlop (106) and Mitch Hartman (160) of Belle Vernon; Dom Fundy (160) of Beth-Center; Brad Hucic (220) of Burgettstown; Trevor McIntyre (Hvy) of Fort Cherry; Dom Provenzano (182) of Chartiers-Houston; and Ben Previte (152) of South Fayette.

Mike Lesko of Jefferson-Morgan is the Coach of the Year in Class AA and Mike Doppelheuer of Belle Vernon in Class AAA.

As usual, inclusion in the all-district teams was determined by the accomplishments of each wrestler within his respective weight class.

Teasdale’s point splurge came at a cost. He lost a bet with Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee, who won his third consecutive state title last weekend, on who could get the most pins in Hershey. Lee had four, winning the Outstanding Wrestler trophy in the process. Teasdale was pleased with his performance, outscoring opponents, 96-38.

“I had a lot more fun scoring points than my freshman year,” said Teasdale. “I didn’t score as much points as I intended to do last year. I wanted to make it different and I did.”

Teasdale opened the tournament with a 21-5 win over Luke Pipa of Bishop McDevitt, then rolled over Brian Friery of Lewisburg, 24-9, and made the finals with a 28-13 technical fall over Bronson Garber of Upper Dauphin.

Teasdale’s second title and undefeated record puts him in some elite company. Only six wrestlers in the history of the PIAA finished their varsity career with at least three state titles and an undefeated record. Lee has a chance to become the seventh. Another also attended Jefferson-Morgan: Cary Kolat, whose four titles and 137-0 record is legendary.

“He’s in his own league,” said Teasdale. “I’ve looked up to him his whole high school career. He looked to pin everybody and put as much pain on his opponent as he could. I’m trying to do the same thing he did.”

But the two are very different wrestlers with opposite styles. Teasdale depending on speed and quickness and Kolat depending on brute strength.

“Gavin is so dominant, one of the best in the state on his feet,” said J-M head coach Mike Lesko. “He was taken down once and gave up one reversal all year. Now, Kolat, there’s a comparison to Jefferson-Morgan, both are undefeated, but they are totally different (wrestlers). Gavin goes one way to the title and gets it and Cary goes a whole different way. The ooohs and the ahhs are the things that are starting to come for Gavin.”

Lesko does admit there are aspects that could bond the two wrestlers.

“He’s not going to be Kolat; he’s going to blaze his own path,” Lesko said. “When it’s all done, we’ll see what happens. Will they be four-time undefeated champions? We can’t compare that yet. They were two-time champions as sophomores and are on the same track. That’s what you can say now.”

One aspect that intrigues Lesko is Teasdale’s desire to make sure his wrestling evolves. He doesn’t want it to be stale.

“It’s awesome to sit there and watch him,” said Lesko. “Knowing what he’s been through and put in, there is no break. You know this kid is going out there and will give 100 percent. You see it in his eyes. You know, he says, ‘I’m going to try something different. I’ve beaten people with my old style so let’s try this.’ That’s the fun part for a coach. It’s hard to stop him because if you try to stop a couple moves, he’s do a different one. It’s hard to do anything against him because he’ll come up with something different. That’s how his mind works.”

Observer-Reporter’s All-District Wrestling Team

Outstanding Wrestler – Gavin Teasdale, Jefferson-Morgan

Class AA Coach of the Year – Mike Lesko, Jefferson-Morgan

Class AAA Coach of the Year – Mike Doppelheuer, Belle Vernon

First Team

Austin Bell, 12, Belle Vernon, 42-3, 170

Bill Bowlen, 12, Jefferson-Morgan, 38-4, 195

Mike Carr, 12, South Fayette, 43-0, 145

Rasaun Culberson, 12, South Fayette, 49-10, 220

Doug Gudenburr, 12, Ringgold, 38-7, 138

Zach Hartman, 10, Belle Vernon, 45-8, 132

Milt Kobaly, 12, Belle Vernon, 35-12, 182

Mike McAleavey,, 12, Peters Township, 38-4, 220

Colin McCracken, 11, Waynesburg, 39-12, 182

Cole Rush, 12, Waynesburg, 32-13, 126

Gavin Teasdale, 10, Jefferson-Morgan, 36-0, 113

Jarod Verkleeren, 11, Belle Vernon, 35-5, 145

Tony Welsh, 12, Beth-Center, 39-2, 170

Shaun Wilson, 12, Waynesburg, 39-8

Second Team

Manny Dovshek, 10, Bentworth, 27-14, 113

Jacob Dunlop, 11, Belle Vernon, 39-13, 106

Dominic Fundy, 9, Beth-Center, 36-11, 160

Brendan Furman, 12, Canon-McMillan, 40-6, Hvy

Mitchell Hartman, 12, Belle Vernon, 40-12, 160

Kyle Homet, 10, Waynesburg, 32-10, 160

Brad Hucic, 12, Burgettstown, 34-16, 220

Logan Macri, 10, Canon-McMillan, 39-8, 113

Trevor McIntyre, 12, Fort Cherry, 28-16, Hvy

Caleb Morris, 10, Waynesburg, 35-8, 120

Matt Oblock, 11, Canon-McMillan, 39-10, 126

Ben Previte, 12, South Fayette, 44-15, 152

Dom Provenzano, 12, Chartiers-Houston, 27-13, 182

Terry Victor, 12, Waynesburg, 31-10, 152