Mar 15, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – A.C. Headlee was looking to punctuate his wrestling season with one more impressive victory.

But as so many other talented wrestlers who compete in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic have discovered, that does not always happen.

Headlee, a senior at Waynesburg High School coming off a PIAA championship gold medal with a thrilling overtime decision against Luke Pletcher of Latrobe, dropped a 6-4 decision to Jared Prince of Palm Harbor, Fla., in the 132-pound bout Sunday.

Headlee and the rest of his Pennsylvania Team members fell to the United States, 31-14. It was the fourth straight loss in this, the 41st edition of the annual event.

In the opener, Illinois won 33-10 over the WPIAL, sending it to a third loss in the last four seasons.

Headlee and Gavin Teasdale, a freshman from Jefferson-Morgan who was in the stands at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House last night, will be honored in a ceremony at 4 p.m. Tuesday on the steps of the Greene County Courthouse.

“A.C. has been a great wrestler,” said Waynesburg head coach Joe Throckmorton. “From his freshman year to his senior year, he improved. That’s why he won the state title.”

After a scoreless first period, Headlee escaped for a 1-0 lead in the second. But Prince, a three-time Florida state champion with a 251-4 record, got a disputed takedown midway through the period. Headlee reversed Prince but almost immediately gave up a reversal to trail 4-3 after two periods. Prince made it 6-3 with a reversal and Headlee could manage only an escape the rest of the way.

“The reversal was the turning point of the match,” Throckmorton said. “It hurt a little bit, especially momentum-wise. But that’s why we do this. It’s a great event … and it lets you see how you stack up against everybody.”

Headlee refused to comment after the match.

Headlee leaves Waynesburg for the University of North Carolina this summer after compiling a 167-16 record and earning three state medals, including the gold at 132 in Hershey.

“We’ve had a lot of great wrestlers come through Waynesburg,” Throckmorton said. “He has to be considered one of the best.”

Austin McDermitt of Burgettstown was one of three local wrestlers competing on the WPIAL team and the only winner. McDermitt shut out Antoine Bess of Fenton, Ill., 9-0, at 113 pounds. Bess was a replacement for McDermitt’s original opponent, Francis Edelen of Oak Forest.

McDermitt was named Outstanding Wrestler for the WPIAL.

“I found out about the change Thursday morning,” said McDermitt, who amassed a 153-32 record at Burgettstown and will head to Pitt-Johnstown to wrestle in college.

“I’ve been coming here since I was in junior high. I used to watch them and dream about being out there.”

McDermitt got a takedown in the first period, then hit a five-point move in the second that put the bout away. He added a two-point nearfall before the buzzer.

Brendan Howard of Jefferson-Morgan got caught in a second-period headlock and lost a 5-1 decision to Michael Cullen of Cary Grove at 120.

“I wrestled him a few years back and beat him 6-5 in a Virginia tournament,” said Howard. “I think it was my eighth grade season.”

Howard finished a stellar career at Jefferson-Morgan with a school record 156 wins to go with his 35 losses. Howard won his first state medal this season, and was a WPIAL champion. He will attend Clarion, choosing it over Pitt-Johnstown and Campbell, where Cary Kolat is head coach.

“I was leaning toward Campbell but then I saw Clarion and loved it,” said Howard.

Jared Walker of South Fayette dropped an 8-2 decision to Matt Rundell of Oak Park-River Forest at 160. Rundell opened a 2-1 lead after one period then hit a takedown and turned Walker for two points in the second period to make it 6-1. Rundell added a takedown after Walker escaped to make it a six-point match.

“I’ve been up here many times,” said Walker, a four-time WPIAL champion and two-time state placewinner who is headed to Kent State to wrestler next fall. His career record is 152-31.

“When I was little, these guys were heroes to me. It was unimaginable that I could be like them. I wasn’t nervous. I just went out and tried to have fun.”

Dave Cook, a former head coach at Chartiers-Houston and Canon-McMillan; and Justin Tracanna, a four-time WPIAL champion and one-time state champion for Jefferson-Morgan; were the local inductees into the Southwestern Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame.