McGuffey rounding into form, handles Jefferson-Morgan
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Luke Shingle wrestles Jefferson-Morgan’s Kollin Walker Wednesday night in a 182-pound bout.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Jefferson-Morgan’s Alex Lange, top, defeated McGuffey’s Seth Burgdolt in a 126-pound match Wednesday night.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Dalton Lough defeated Jefferson-Morgan’s Jonathon Wolfe in a 195-pound match Wednesday night.
CLAYSVILLE – Like a fine piece of clay that is in the hands of the sculptor, McGuffey High School’s wrestling team is still a work in progress.
The lineup has talent and experience. It just might take Mark Caffrey a while to form this group into the finished product he envisions.
The Highlanders showed off some of that ability for their head coach and fans Wednesday night with a 52-16 rout of Jefferson-Morgan in a Section 2A dual meet in Class AA.
McGuffey moved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the section. This was the first dual meet of the season for the Rockets.
“Overall, it was a good starter for a single dual meet,” said Caffrey of the fourth-ranked Highlanders. “We have places to get better but we’re off to a good start. … I’ll tell you (how good this team can be) in a couple weeks. We don’t have a (120-pounder) and when you get into the big matches, you have to have all the weights.”
Sparked by pins from Christian Clutter at 170 pounds to start the match and Noah Cline at heavyweight, McGuffey won the first seven bouts and led 37-0 before forfeiting to Mason Palmer at 120. Clutter is coming off a 38-win season in which he won a WPIAL title. The pin of Justin Maddich moved Clutter’s record to 5-1 and put him 23 wins away from 100.
“I was happy with (my wrestling) but never satisfied,” said Clutter. “I could have done a little better but those are things I have to work on during the season.”
The big bout of the night came at 132, where three-time undefeated state champion Gavin Teasdale stopped McGuffey’s Jett Pattison, a WPIAL champion and state qualifier last season. Pattison kept it close early but Teasdale erupted midway through and took a 16-4 major decision.
“I have to be more prepared for people who want to wrestle defensively,” Teasdale said. “It might seem like it’s an easier win to get when their backing up but it’s harder to take the guy down. I’ve got to work on that because people are going to work on the edge.”
Teasdale is coming off a 4-3 decision over Colton Camacho of Franklin Regional to win the 126-pound weight class at the Eastern Area Tournament at Gateway High School over the weekend. Camacho and Teasdale are workout partners at Young Guns Wrestling Club and the two were surprised to find themselves in the same weight class.
“We practice a lot against each other,” said Teasdale. “It was a surprise seeing him in the finals.”
Later in the week, a Tweet by Teasdale appeared to set up a match with Joey Silva of Lake Highland Prep in Florida at the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament at Canon-McMillann High School Dec. 29-30. Silva is top ranked at 132 and Teasdale at 126.
“I did hear from him,” Teasdale said. “My most competitive weight is 126. I don’t know if he’ll come down. I think he’s certified at 132.”
Luke Shingle (182), Dalton Lough (195) and Tyler Maxwell (145) chalked up wins for McGuffey, which also benefited from five forfeit wins.