Dec 29, 2014 4 min read

CANONSBURG – Gavin Teasdale had a few firsts occur in his wrestling career Monday night.

Teasdale, the 106-pound phenom freshman from Jefferson-Morgan High School, trailed for the first time in his young career; was rode for an entire period, another first; and basically had his hands full with Josh Humphreys, a freshman from Huntington, W.Va.

For most wrestlers, that might have been the ingredients for a disheartening loss.

But Teasdale is a phenom, able to turn any difficult situation into something good. And that’s what he did. Rallying from the early 2-0 deficit, Teasdale scored five of the next six points and rode Humphreys for the third period to take a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals of the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School.

The victory puts Teasdale in the semifinals, which begin at 11:30 this morning. Consolation finals are at 5 p.m., Parade of Champions at 7:15 and the finals at 7:30.

Buchanan, Calif., leads the team standings after the first day with 135.5 points, 12 more than Archer, Ga. Franklin Regional is third with 113.5 but has six wrestlers left in the semifinals.

Locally, Waynesburg is sixth with 83.5, Canon-McMillan is 24th with 57.5, Jefferson-Morgan is 26th with 52, Peters Township is 35th with 41 and Trinity is 38th with 39.

Teasdale was one of four wrestlers to make it to the semifinals. The other three were from Waynesburg – A.C. Headlee, a 132-pound senior, and Shaun Wilson, a 138-pound junior, and Colin McCracken, a 182-pound sophomore.

The top eight places in each weight class receive medals.

Teasdale gave up an early takedown to Humphreys, then rallied with an escape, takedown and another takedown to take a 5-3 lead after one period.

Humphreys rode Teasdale for two minutes of the second period, the first time that has happened to Teasdale in recent memory.

“Just because I gave up a takedown, you have to have the mental toughness to come back,” said Teasdale. “I haven’t been down (in the score) in my (high school) career. I’ll just learn from it. I haven’t had anyone ride me. I’ll build from this and learn from it.”

Teasdale, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the country according to Intermat, will take on Gavin Park of Brookville in the semifinals. The winner will wrestle either Alan Diltz of Benton, who beat Canon-McMillan’s Logan Macri 3-2 in the quarterfinals, or Patrick Glory, a freshman from Delbarton, N.J., who upset second-seeded Aaron Burkett of Chestnut Ridge, 8-0, in the quarters.

Teasdale reached the quarters with a technical fall victories over Ryan Hartnett of Reynolds and Ethan Leake of Buchanan, Calif.

Headlee was his dominant self and stayed on track to meet Luke Pletcher of Latrobe, who edged Matt Oblock of Canon-McMillan, 5-2, in the quarterfinals. Headlee scored early and often in an 8-3 win over Michael Bartolo of Reynolds.

“I tell our wrestlers that it’s all how you perceive it in your head,” said Waynesburg head coach Joe Throckmorton. “Whether you are seeded or not or ranked or not, you have to believe. If you feel you are the underdog, then you can feel the fire from that.

“Every year, this is why we wrestle. It’s the first real test of the season and it prepares you for the state tournament. This is why you want to wrestle quality teams. It will be an early test.”

Wilson made a first-period takedown stand in a 3-1 decision over Grant Aycox of Archer, Ga. Wilson will wrestle defending state champion Cameron Coy of Penn Trafford in the semifinals.

“I hit an arm drag to a single,” Wilson said of the takedown. “I almost hit another one before that.”

McCracken trailed 4-1 in the second period, rallied to tie the bout, 4-4, in regulation, then won it with a takedown in the overtime.

“I hit a low single,” said McCracken. “I was not going to give it up.”

McCracken will wrestle top-seeded Kellan Stout of Mount Lebanon in the semifinals.