Feb 17, 2017 3 min read

CANONSBURG – If there is one flaw to the new format in Class AA postseason wrestling, it is this: There is little time to celebrate a section title.

Maybe some congratulatory hugs, a few handshakes and some small talk, then off to bed to rest for today, when the WPIAL Championships take place. Spots were reserved today for the top four wrestlers in each weight class of the three sections in Class AA.

Both events are taking place on the nine-mat setup at Canon-McMillan High School on back-to-back days, the first time this format has been tried. Wrestling begins today at 11 a.m.

“I’m just looking at it as a regular tournament,” said Nick Candelore, a junior from Fort Cherry. “I’m just going to go out there and try and place.”

Candelore came into the 126-pound weight class as the top seed, pinned Brendan Weil of South Park in 1:05 in the semifinals and outdistanced Joey Dunn of Chartiers-Houston, 24-11, in the finals. It was Candelore’s third section title in as many years.

“I was just trying to take good shots and finish them,” Candelore said. “I wrestled (Dunn) three years ago in ninth grade. I just wrestle. I don’t care about scouting anyone. I just go out and do my best.”

Jett Pattison of McGuffey celebrated his first Section 2 title – a pin in 3:18 of Derry’s Jason Baker – by doing what he always does after similar victories: he ran sprints in the hallway.

“At first, I used more of a defensive tactic, then I decided to open up against him,” Pattison said of Baker. “I tried to take good shots. He was a weight below me but I dropped at the end of the year. I watch my buddy wrestle him.”

Pattison, a sophomore with a 30-8 record, might have the most appropriate first name for wrestling – Jett gives the impression of something strong and fast – and he definitely has great bloodlines. His uncle is Jason Barr, a multi-sport athlete at McGuffey who went on to have a standout college football career at Washington & Jefferson College.

“He lives in West Alexander and works in the oil and gas industry,” Pattison said.

Manny Dovshek of Bentworth lived up to his top-seed at 113 pounds in Section 2 by winning the title. He pinned Nick Yeskey of Southmoreland in 41 seconds then knocked off Doug Bittner of Mt. Pleasant, 4-2, in the finals.

“I was just focused on getting my weight down (to prepare for this tournament),” said Dovshek, a junior with a 24-3 record. “I worked out a little bit. Last, year, I beat (Bittner) 1-0 in the consolation finals of the section. Working on my moves, getting stronger. I worked out in the weight room every day with my team and then a couple hours after practice.”

Gavin Teasdale, a two-time undefeated state champion from Jefferson-Morgan, breezed through the Section 2 tournament, pinning McGuffey’s Jake Garrety in 26 seconds in the semifinals and winning by a 19-3 technical fall over Shawn Broadway of Derry in the finals.

The two wins push Teasdale’s record to 29-0 this season and 111-0 for his scholastic career. The junior is chasing a third consecutive state title and hopes to be the second four-time undefeated PIAA champion from his school. Cary Kolat went 137-0 from 1989-92.

Dalton Simonelli of Avella, the top seed at 160 pounds in Section 1, scratched before the tournament began. Simonelli, a senior, had a 10-3 record.