Feb 20, 2016 4 min read

CLAYSVILLE – Jefferson-Morgan sophomore Gavin Teasdale is on a mission. And it’s not one that is going to make anyone else who competes in Class AA wrestling happy.

A returning PIAA champion who is unbeaten in two seasons, Teasdale kicked off his 2016 postseason with three dominating performances at the WPIAL Section 2-AA tournament Saturday at McGuffey High School.

None of his bouts made it into the second period and Teasdale was leading championship match at 113 pounds against Derry’s Shawn Broadway, 5-0, before recording a pin in 55 seconds.

“This year, I’m looking to score as many points as I can to win (Outstanding Wrestler),” Teasdale said of his goal heading into his second high school postseason. “I want to pin my way through (the PIAA tournament). That’s the goal. I want to wrestle to the best of my ability and I want to dominate everybody, make them think they don’t have a chance of beating me and make a statement. I just want to wrestle the same way, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

It might sound like a lofty goal, but most wrestlers don’t have the talent or training partners of Teasdale.

In addition to his daily practices with his Jefferson-Morgan teammates, Teasdale has been working out with Franklin Regional junior and two-time PIAA champion Spencer Lee at the Young Guns facility in Westmoreland County.

Neither Teasdale nor Lee have lost a match at the high school level.

“We work out every night,” said Teasdale, who improved his career record to 72-0 with his three wins Saturday. “It’s not really about competition. We’re just trying to make each other better.”

No scores are kept, but the duo, both of whom are ranked among the best in the country regardless of weight class, test each other.

It’s been good for Lee, in particular. He sat out most of this season with a shoulder injury but is expected to return for the Class AAA individual postseason next week.

“Even at 50 percent, he’ll tech (fall) his way through the states,” Teasdale said of his workout partner. “I don’t think that will be major issue for him. I think he’ll still kill everybody.”

Teasdale hopes to accomplish the same feat.

And he’s not worried so much about the outside perception as he is competing to what he feels is the best of his ability.

“I’m just trying to make myself happy with what I do,” Teasdale said. “I don’t really care what other people think. I’m not worried about what the other person is going to do. I’m worried about my offense. I don’t care if I’m wrestling the best person in the country or a Pittsburgh Steeler. I have the mentality that I’m going to kill you during the match.”

Jefferson-Morgan didn’t make it to the WPIAL team tournament this season and that left the Rockets with more training time on their hands than usual.

It was tough to tell, however, as in addition to Teasdale, Jefferson-Morgan had two other wrestlers win section titles, matching Derry for the most of any school at the event.

Also winning titles for the Rockets, who advanced five wrestlers to next weekend’s WPIAL tournament, were top-seeded Bill Bowlen at 195 pounds and fourth-seeded Trevor Kniha at 160.

Kniha, a senior, missed the first portion of the wrestling season while recovering from a knee injury suffered during football season and brought a 14-7 record into the tournament. But he decisioned top-seeded Jaden Datz of Southmoreland in the semifinals and beat Beth-Center’s Dominic Fundy, 3-2, in the finals.

“I didn’t care where I was seeded,” said Kniha. “It’s the postseason; anything can happen. Hopefully, I can carry it on to next week.”

Bentworth’s Hunter Neeley (145) and Beth-Center’s Tony Welsh (170) also won titles. Both schools qualified six wrestlers for the WPIAL championships.

Despite not having an individual champion, McGuffey had a strong tournament, advancing 12 wrestlers.

The Highlanders had five second-place finishers: Gage Nicolella; Teague Nicolella, Jeff McConn, Christian Clutter and Connor Thompson.

Mapletown advanced three wrestlers, while West Greene had two, including second-place finisher Connor Main at 195.

Charleroi and California advanced one wrestler each, with the Trojans’ James Campbell moving on at 138 pounds despite being the only competitor at his school, which does not field a team.