Teasdale step closer to Powerade title
Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale raches around to get a hold of Battlefield, Va’s Beau Curtis for the eventual win by tech fall 19-4
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Belle Vernon’s Brock Godzin has control of Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer in the 152-pound quarterfinal bout of the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament. Godzin won 9-4.
Canon-McMillan’s Gerrit Nijenhuis (right) wins the 160 quarterfinals against Mt. Lebanon’s Luke Stout 3-1
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan’s Logan Macri beat Latrobe’s Gabe Willochell, 12-5, in the 120-pound quarterfinal match at the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament Friday at Canon-McMillan High School.
CANONSBURG – Gavin Teasdale did exactly what his head coach expected.
Wrestled well under the bright lights.
Looking strong and determined, the three-time undefeated PIAA Class AA champion from Jefferson-Morgan High School breezed through four opponents Friday in the Powerade Christmas Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School.
The last victim was Beau Curtis of Battlefield High School in Virginia, who lost by 19-4 technical fall. Teasdale gets Cole Rhone, a state runner-up from Benton, in today’s semifinals at 11 a.m. If successful, Teasdale gets either Beau Bartlett of Wyoming Seminary or Sam Hillegas, an undefeated state champion from North Hills, in the 7:30 p.m. finals.
“I felt good out there,” said Teasdale. “I tried some stupid stuff out there, but that’s how you get better. It’s OK to give up a takedown if you are 10 takedowns ahead of him.”
Before the tournament, J-M coach Mike Lesko predicted a strong performance from Teasdale, who seemed at ease in front of the packed C-M gym.
Teasdale raised his career record to 133-0 with the four wins and is looking to become only the seventh wrestler in the history of the tournament to win four gold medals.
“It would be a big accomplishment,” Teasdale said. “I put in a lot of hard work.”
Canon-McMillan had two wrestlers – Logan Macri at 120 and Gerrit Nijenhuis at 160 – advance to the semifinals. Waynesburg also had two advance to the semis: Jackson Henson at 138 and Kyle Homet at 170. Belle Vernon has three: Brock Godzin at 152, Zach Hartman at 160 and Scott Joll at 170. The WPIAL has 23 wrestlers in the semifinals.
Macri scored six points in the first period on the way to a 12-5 decision over Gabe Willochhell of Latrobe. The second-seeded Macri draws Doug Zapf, a defending state champion from Downingtown West, in the semifinals.
Nijenhuis battled hard, peeling off strong takedown attempts by Luke Stout of Mt. Lebanon for a 3-1 decision. Nijenhuis, a third-place finisher at 152 pounds in Hershey last season, gets No. 2-seed Zach Hartman of Belle Vernon in the semifinals.
“They both wrestled solid,” said C-M head coach Jeff Havelka. “They both expected to win, and we want to do the same thing (today). We told them to go out and wrestle hard. We have the same expectations. And if we do what we can do, that will take care of (winning).”
Henson, a two-time West Virginia state champion while at University High in Morgantown, won an 8-3 decision over Luke Martin of Parkersburg South in the quarterfinals and meets second-seed Jack Davis of Wyoming Seminary today. Henson is the third seed.
Homet stopped Isaih Casto of St. Alban’s, Wva., 11-3 inn the quarter. Next up for the top-seeded Homet is fourth-seeded Jasonn Montgomery of Bethel Park.
Powerade Christmas Tournament
At Canon-McMillan High School
Quarterfinal Results
106-Kurtis Phipps (Norwin) dec. Brady Sherback (Greater Latrobe), 8-2; Alejandro Herrera-rondon (Seneca Valley) dec. Tim Levine (Wyoming Seminary), 1-0; Kyle Burkholder (Hempfield) pinned Gary Steen (Reynolds), 1:32; Wil Guida (St. Pauls – MD) dec. Trent Valovchik (Burrell), 7-4
113-Beau Bayless (Reynolds) pinned Ethan Berginc (Hempfield), 0:41; Christian Fisher (Mifflin County) dec. Nic Botello (Wyoming Seminary), 4-0; Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep – FL) pinned Frankie Bonura (Moon), 2:55; Ryan Sullivan (Shaler) MD Ian Oswalt (Burrell), 15-4
120-Louis Newell (Seneca Valley) dec. Jj Wilson (Ceder Cliff), 5-2; Darren Miller (Kiski) dec. Cameron Enriquez (Stroudsburg), 7-0; Doug Zapf (Downingtown West) dec. Brandon Wittenberg (Battlefield – VA), 5-2; Logan Macri (Canon-McMillan) dec. Gabe Willochell (Greater Latrobe), 12-5
126-Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson Morgan) TF Beau Curtis (Battlefield – VA), 19-4 3:35; Cole Rhone (Benton) dec. Mason Franks (Connellsville), 12-5; Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary) pinned Patrick Noonan (Stroudsburg), 2:31; Sam Hillegas (North Hills) TF Kenny Kiser (Saegertown), 16-0 3:24
132-Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep – FL) pinned Bryce Barclay (Ridgeway), 5:14; Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic – NJ) dec. Colton Camacho (Franklin Regional), 2-1; Carson Manville (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Caleb Morris (Waynesburg), 5-1; Jordan Ward (Moeller – OH) dec. Bodee Tolbert (Bishop McDevitt), 7-0
138 Cole Matthews (Reynolds) MD River Curtis (Battlefield – VA), 11-3; Noah Levett (Kiski) dec. Imran Heard (St. Pauls – MD), 7-5; Jackson Henson (Waynesburg) dec. Luke Martin (Parkersburg South – WV), 8-3; Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Noah Castillo (Lake Highland Prep – FL), 8-2
145-Frankie Gissendanner (Penfield – NY) MD Tanner Updegraff (Bishop McDevitt), 17-3; Kolby Ho (DuBois) dec. Job Chishko (Penn Trafford), 8-6; Ricky Cabanillas (DePaul Catholic – NJ) dec. Cam Connor (Kiski), 5-2; Luke Kemerer (Hempfield) dec. Ryan Vulakh (Pope John Paul II), 5-1
152-Josh Humphreys (Parkersburg South – WV) pinned Trey Howard (Waynesburg), 1:18; Trey Kibe (Mifflin County) dec. Cooper Kropman (Penfield – NY), 10-6; Brock Godzin (Belle Vernon) dec. Cole Spencer (Pine Richland), 9-4; Justin Mccoy (Chestnut Ridge) MD Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary), 11-2
160-Carter Starocci (Erie Prep) pinned Zane Hinzman (Parkersburg South – WV), 1:56; Erich Byelick (Lake Highland Prep – FL) MD Nick Delp (Kiski), 12-2; Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan) dec. Luke Stout (Mt. Lebanon), 3-1; Zachary Hartman (Belle Vernon) pinned Ron Miller (Battlefield – VA), 5:09
170-Kyle Homet (Waynesburg) MD Isaiha Casto (St. Albans – WV), 11-3; Jason Montgomery (Bethel Park) dec. Max Cosmides (Lake Highland Prep – FL), 10-3; Scott Joll (Belle Vernon) MD Chris Cantoriano (Clovis West – CA), 8-0; Jared Mcgill (Chestnut Ridge) pinned Ty Gross (Seneca Valley), 2:57
182-Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County) TF Max Hale (Downingtown West), 21-6 5:19; Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Luigi Yates (Erie Prep), 6-1; Tim Wallace (Albert Gallatin) dec. Jack Parr (St. Pauls – MD), 3-1 SV; Cody Mulligan (Saegertown) TF Donovon Ball (Ceder Cliff), 20-5 5:06
195-Gavin Hoffman (Montoursville) TF Jarod Miller (Reynolds), 17-2 2:34; Austin Cooley (Wyoming Seminary) MD Xavier Molnar (Brookville), 19-7; Ryan Reyes (Clovis West – CA) dec. Nathan Mankey (North Hills), 4-3; Jake Thompson (Moeller – OH) dec. Nate Ansell (Connellsville), 4-0
220-Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South – WV) pinned Cameron Wood (Montoursville), 1:09; Dominic Deluca (Derry) dec. Tyler Cook (Brookville), 2-1 TB2; Ian Edenfield (Laurel Highlands) MD Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary), 14-0; Ben Goldin (Lake Highland Prep – FL) pinned Trevor Hankins (Moeller – OH), 3:47
Hvy-Josiah Jones (Bishop McCort) dec. Zack Albertson (Battlefield – VA), 10-3; Corey Dodson (Albert Gallatin) dec. Louden Haga (Parkersburg South – WV), 7-2; Nathan Hoaglund (Mt. Lebanon) dec. Curt Ruff (Lake Highland Prep – FL), 3-2; Kawaun Deboe (Erie Prep) pinned Colby Whitehill (Brookville), 1:31