Mar 6, 2018 4 min read

Not many wrestlers or coaches in Pennsylvania have found themselves in position to be part of four individual PIAA wrestling championships.

Beginning Thursday morning at the Giant Center in Hershey, Jefferson-Morgan High School’s Gavin Teasdale and Rockets’ head coach Mike Lesko get dibbs on that hot seat.

Teasdale, who suffered the only two defeats of his school-boy career this season, is seeking his fourth state championship. If he is successful, he will join a dozen others who have achieved the ultimate in high school wrestling in Pennsylvania.

Teasdale will compete at 126 pounds, “completely healthy and ready to go,” according to Lesko.

Teasdale is trying to join fellow Rocket – Cary Kolat (1989-1992) – as a four-time PIAA champion.

The task is a large one when considering an entire career.

“It would be a great accomplishment (to win four titles),” said Teasdale after winning a fourth regional title two weeks ago at Indiana University. “My goals now are high, like looking towards the NCAAs and Olympics. These titles will come if you have your goals set on something bigger and tougher.

“When I go out there, I’m focused on nothing else but winning. Just winning.”

Some say factors beyond skill and excellence are vital. It takes luck, health, and razor-sharp focus to accomplish the feat.

Lesko, and his assistant – Alex Evanoff – enter the state tournament with a clear objective for their star pupil.

“We want to keep him focused on the goal at hand,” Lesko said. “He walked through the regional (tournament more than a week ago) not having much competition and that has to be a little boring.

“He has to have some fun along the way. We want him to have a little fun. But when the lights are turned on him – like they will be at Hershey – he’s going to shine.”

Ron Headlee’s approach going into the PIAA tournament as Kolat’s coach in 1992 was basic and to the point.

“With Cary, I was always pretty confident,” Headlee said. “He was just on the next level. To him, it was just another state title. I wanted him to feel pleased, content, and accomplished.”

Kolat was so dominant in his career that the wrestling mat was actually a comfort zone.

During the week of his pursuit of No. 4, Kolat had to deal with some trash talking made by Boiling Springs’ Chris Bohn in newspapers in the Harrisburg and Hershey areas.

Kolat’s teammates and coaches had some fun with him.

“There was that going on,” Headlee said. “Our guys were kind of kidding him and that did put a little more on him. But Cary handled that part and he gave a little bit of it back to his teammates.”

He also “gave it” to Bohn, in the finals. Bohn had made some comments that – at the least – caught Kolat’s attention.

The bout was physical and Bohn hung in as best he could. But Kolat not only had won his fourth crown, he also sent a message loud and clear – in a physical way. He was in control of the match, physically beat Bohn down and ended up winning by default.

“The hard part sometimes for guys going for four state championships or some record is that people like to cheer for the underdog,” Headlee said. “People want to see the best challenged or put in position to lose or be defeated.

“The one thing I told Cary was that he didn’t have to do anything special other than win. He was always special on the mat. He loved to be creative and that is what made him so good and fun to watch. He was always one move ahead in thinking. I myself even got caught up in waiting to see what he would do next. The bottom line was getting the win. Who would have thought Spencer Lee would have lost last year.”

Lesko agreed, four one-point wins will make Teasdale legendary.

“Gavin is not going to change his way,” Lesko said. “He’s going to come at his opponent. When the win is in hand, take it. That’s the hard thing. He won’t stop wrestling.”