Teasdale’s 4th voted top High School Sports Moment
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Marc Billett/For the Observer-Reporter
Observer-Reporter online readers voted Gavin Teasdale of Jefferson-Morgan winning his fourth PIAA wrestling title as the best scholastic moment of 2017-18.
West Greene’s Madison Renner, right, and Lexie Mooney hold the trophy as they celebrate the Pioneers’ win over Williams Valley in the PIAA Class A Championships at Penn State.
The votes are in.
They have been counted.
And we have a winner in the first Observer-Reporter’s Best Moments in High School Sports contest for the 2017-18 season.
The winner is … Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale winning his fourth PIAA wrestling championship.
Teasdale’s victory defeated West Greene’s softball team winning its second consecutive state championship by a margin of 64 percent to 33 percent in the all-Greene County finals.
Teasdale capped an amazing run in the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships with his fourth gold-medal winning performance, a 2-0 decision over Joshua Jones of Saucon Valley in the 126-pound finals at the Giant Center.
Teasdale became only the 13th wrestler in tournament history to win four state titles.
Teasdale finished the season with a 40-2 record and was a school-record 162-2 in his career.
“It’s been my goals,” Teasdale said after the win over Jones.
Teasdale, a Penn State recruit, became the second Jefferson-Morgan wrestler with four PIAA championships, joining Cary Kolat, who capped a 137-0 career in 1992.
With only one starter lost to graduation from its state championship team in 2017, West Greene was a squad with great expectations this spring. The Pioneers split two regular-season games with Monessen and shared the section title with the Greyhounds. West Greene scored three runs in the final inning to rally for a one-run win over Monessen in the WPIAL finals, then rallied again to beat the Greyhounds in the state semifinals.
In the PIAA championship game, West Greene faced Williams Valley for the third year in a row. The Pioneers pounded out 19 hits, which included center fielder McKenna Lampe hitting for the cycle, and won 11-7 to become the first team from Washington or Greene counties to repeat as state champions.
Teasdale advanced to the finals of the Best Moments in High School Sports by defeating Canon-McMillan’s victory in the PIAA Class 6A baseball finals 72 percent to 28 percent. West Greene advanced with a semifinal victory in the bracket-style contest over Ringgold’s PIAA Class 4A baseball championship win, 64 percent to 36 percent.