Apr 1, 2017 4 min read

On the day of Gavin Teasdale’s most significant wrestling matches, there is tension, a churning in the stomach, and a strained look on the face of . . . everyone but Teasdale.

While his family squirms in their seats during warmups and his coaches pace before a match, there is a calmness, born of confidence, to Teasdale’s movements that show not only a belief in his skills but the certainty he can use them to produce a victory.

In the days leading up to the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships, Teasdale showed he would not be affected by the pressures of possibly winning a third straight state title and keeping his varsity record unbeaten.

“He was very calm. He never shows emotion,” said Kristin Haywood-Teasdale, Gavin’s mother. “I expect that out of him. I get nervous more than he does before the big matches, definitely. Gavin is one of very little emotion and (few) words.”

When the whistles sounded to start his matches at the Giant Center in Hershey, Teasdale said a lot with his wrestling. He plowed through four opponents, amassing 80 bout points. His 13-5 decision over Austin Clabaugh of Bermudian Springs in the 126-pound finals gave Teasdale his third title in as many seasons and pushed his career record to 122-0.

For his accomplishments, Teasdale is the Outstanding Wrestler on the Observer-Reporter All-District Wrestling Team.

Joining Teasdale on the first team are Logan Macri (120), Matt Oblock (126), Gerrit Nijenhuis (152) and Brendan Furman (Hvy) of Canon-McMillan; Caleb Morris (132) and Colin McCracken (195) of Waynesburg; Dom Fundy (182) of Beth-Center; Jacob Dunlop (113), Brock Gozdin (152) and Billy Korber (220) of Belle Vernon; Manny Dovshek (113) of Bentworth; Josh Kuslock (138) of Chartiers-Houston; and Jeff Pattison (120) of McGuffey.

Making the second team were Jeff McConn (152), Christian Clutter (160) and Ed Shingle (Hvy) of McGuffey; Tim Hritsko (138) and Blaze Kansco (170) of Canon-McMillan; Trey Howard (145) and Kyle Homet (170) of Waynesburg; R.J. Hall (170) and Trey Lober (Hvy) of Chartiers-Houston; Nick Candelore (126) of Fort Cherry; Colin Dunn (113) of South Fayette; Jimmy Gwyer (120) of Beth-Center; and Zach Hartman (160) and Tyler Seliga (145) of Belle Vernon.

As usual, inclusion in the all-district teams was determined by the accomplishments of each wrestler within his respective weight class.

Canon-McMillan head coach Jason Cardillo is the Class AAA Coach of the Year and Beth-Center’s Gary Welsh receives the honor in Class AA.

Teasdale is 12-0 in state matches, has scored 201 bout points and has shown the ability to adapt to any opponent’s style. Yet he still takes a critical look at his wrestling.

“I don’t think I wrestled the way I should have (in this season’s state tournament),” he said. “I scored points but I made mistakes.”

Teasdale opened the tournament with a 27-11 technical fall win over Nick Vonelli of Notre Dame GP and followed with a 20-5 technical fall over Tanner Ball of Pequa Valley. A 20-5 technical fall over Kollin Myers of Boiling Springs put him in the finals.

Clabaugh Springs gave Teasdale his closest match but still lost a 13-5 major decision.

“I can’t believe how calm he is,” said Jefferson-Morgan head coach Mike Lesko. “He’s so calm and here we are as coaches throwing up in the corner. I think the calmness is instilled in him. Heck, he lives on the mat. It’s his home.”

Teasdale decided to change homes for his college career, decomitting from Iowa and deciding to go to Penn State. It’s pretty common, except when you are a star athlete. Then, it draws attention.

“He has friends at Penn State and I’m sure that helped the decision,” said Lesko.

Teasdale became of the 44th wrestler in state history to win at least three PIAA titles. He can become only the 13th wrestler in the tournament’s past to win four titles. Only five have done it to this point with an undefeated record.

One was Cary Kolat, who like Teasdale came from Jefferson-Morgan High School.

“I’ve looked up to Cary Kolat since I started wrestling,” Teasdale said. “Cary won four PIAA titles and went undefeated in his career at Jefferson-Morgan. When I made it to the varsity as a freshman, I set my goal to become a four-time state champion.”

No one should bet against him.