Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Jett Pattison
School: McGuffey
Sport: Wrestling
Weight: 120
Pattison’s week: Pattison went from not being able to crack the postseason lineup last season to winning his weight class in the WPIAL Section 2 Tournament and WPIAL Class AA Championship. Both events were held over the weekend at Canon-McMillan High School.
Pattison entered the section tournament with a 28-8 record and the top seed. He pinned Josh Agnew of Jefferson-Morgan in 3:57, then stuck Jason Baker of Derry in 3:16 to win the 120-pound title.
The following day, Pattison took a 30-8 record into the WPIAL Championships. He started with an 11-1 major decision over Gary Loeffler of South Fayette and followed with a 9-2 decision over P.J. Smith of Burgettstown in the semifinals. Pattison wrapped up the title with a pin of Trent Bechtold of Burrell in 1:39.
”At the beginning of the year, I didn’t know if this was possible because I was at a higher weight class,” said Pattison. “I was at 32 at the beginning of the season. I was walking around at 138 (at the start of school) and knew I could get to 32. I cut to 126 after Christmas. When the tournaments were done, I went to 120.”
Next up is the PIAA Class AA Southwest Region Tournament at Indiana University, which gets underway at 2 p.m., Friday. Pattison gets Logan Shaffer, a junior from Portage with a 21-11 record, in his first-round bout.
”He was a very good wrestler last year,” said McGuffey head coach Mark Caffrey. “It was just a shame that there were two spots and three guys there. We had high hopes for him this year.”
Blocked: Last season, Pattison had a strong regular season, going 27-7 and eagerly awaiting the postseason. But Gage Nicolella dropped to 126 and Teague Nicolella went to 126, squeezing Pattison out of the lineup. Pattison could have moved up, but the chances of doing well at 138 or 145 were remote.
”It was real frustrating,” said Pattison. “I knew I had my whole high school career ahead of me so I brushed it off and gave it my all this year.”
The Nicolellas advanced to the Southwest Region and Gage finished with a 35-5 record and Teague with a 25-18 record, respectively.
”I used last season as motivation,” said Pattison.
Pattison is wrestling with a chip on his shoulder and his pin of Bechtold sent a message to competitors in his weight class this McGuffey sophomore is not going away quietly.
”After I won my first match (in the section tournament), I realized I had a shot at doing well,” said Pattison. “So I gave it my all.”
Regionalized: Pattison’s goal is to not only qualify for the state tournament, but to medal. The last McGuffey wrestler to qualify for the PIAA Championships was Alex Dunaway in 2010. Dunaway also was the last placewinner in Hershey for McGuffey, taking fourth at 103 the previous year.
”If he keeps his weight down this week and wrestles the way he did (at Canon-McMillan), who knows how far he can go,” Caffrey said.
Gavin Teasdale, the two-time undefeated PIAA champion from Jefferson-Morgan, will be looking for his third regional title this weekend. The 126-pound junior takes on Clayton Royer, a freshman from Penns Valley with a 24-12 record, in the first round at IUP.
Returning champions include Teasdale; Liam Flaherty (132) of Everett; Max Murin (138) of Central Cambria, a state runner-up last season; Rob Patrick (152) of Ligonier Valley; Anthony Walters (195) of Bishop McCort; and Josiah Jones (220) of Bishop McCort.
Compiled by Joe Tuscano