Surprise, surprise, Teasdale top seed in weight class at Powerade
The Powerade Wrestling tournament seeds have been released and Gavin Teasdale is the top seed in the 120-pound weight class.
The Jefferson-Morgan junior, who has two states championships and an 87-0 record to his name, has been wrestling at 126 this season but will drop down for the tournament.
Many fans of the sport were hoping to see Teasdale and Franklin Regional senior Spencer Lee battle to see who is the best in the region, but the future Iowa teammates decided that they didn’t want to compete against each other. Both wrestlers are training partners at Young Guns Wrestling Club and friends off the mat. Lee is the No. 1 seed at 126.
Teasdale is picked by most to win his third Powerade title in as many years, but No. 2 seed and Wyoming Seminary freshman Beau Bartlett is highly regarded and comes from one of the top prep teams in the country. Bartlett won the prestigious Ironman Wrestling tournament.
“He (Bartlett) is a counter wrestler that will look to capitalize on your mistakes, so I have to being able to get to his legs on my shot, but I really can’t afford look ahead,” Teasdale said. “The only time I would wrestle him would be in the the finals and the Powerade is the second toughest tournament in the country for a reason so I can’t afford to look past anyone. I will have three tough matches to just get to the finals.”
Teasdale knows that with success comes attention, and social media has taken that attention to a new level, but the junior is really not worried about it.
“I’m used to all that attention, especially with social media and all that,” Teasdale said. “All of the top wrestlers have to get used to it. I just have to keep training and working to get better.”
The Powerade began in 1967 as the California State Wrestling Tournament and has evolved over the years. It is labeled the toughest tournament in Pennsylvania and No. 2 in the United States by Wrestling Report. The 50th anniversary of the prestigious event will feature the most teams in its history with 50.
Back in the tournament after about four years off is Albert Gallatin. The Colonials’ Tim Wallace is the No. 4 seed at 170. The junior won a WPIAL championship last season.
“We are excited to be back in the Powerade,” Albert Gallatin coach Duane Dupont said. “Obviously, we are excited for Timmy, but this will also benefit the whole team to wrestle some of the best in the country. It is high-level competition and we are ready to go.”
Belle Vernon’s Zachary Hartman is the No. 2 seed at 160. Hartman was the runner-up in last year’s Powerade, and the junior finished his season fifth at the state tournament in Hershey.
Hartman’s teammate Jacob Dunlap earned a No. 3 seed at 113. Dunlap was fourth in last season’s Powerade and qualified for the state tournament. Dunlap has already placed in one top-notch tournament this year with an eighth-place finish in the Ironman Tournament.
Waynesburg Central’s Colin McCracken earned a No. 4 seed at 195. McCracken was sixth in last year’s tournament and finished seventh at states.
Belle Vernon senior Billy Korber (220) grabbed a six seed after taking seventh last season. Teammate Brock Godzin (152) was seventh last year as well and is also a six seed.
The Raiders’ Caleb Morris drew the No. 7 seed at 132. Morris is a returning state qualifier and was seventh at last year’s Powerade.
Connellsville doesn’t have a seeded wrestler but will be in action.
Wrestling begins today at 8:15 a.m. with pigtail, round of 32 and round of 16 action. Consolation bouts for the pigtails and the first round will follow.
The second session on Day 1 will start at 6 p.m. with the second consolation round, and quarterfinal action begins at 7:30 p.m. and will run simultaneously with the third round of consolations.
Day 2 starts with the fourth round of consolations at 9:30 a.m., and the semifinals and fifth round of consolations will be contested at 11 a.m. The sixth round of consolations are at 1 p.m.
The final session begins at 4:30 p.m. with the consolation finals and the finals begin at 7 p.m. A video tribute to celebrate 50 years of wrestling at Powerade and the Parade of Champions will be precede the finals.
The entire tournament takes place at Canon-McMillan High School and will be streamed live on FloWrestling.