Teasdale halfway to goal; Beistel sets history
Holly Tonini
Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale scored his second state title in the PIAA Class AA State Wrestling Championships last year and is setting loftier goals this year.
Beth-Center's Anthony Welsh wins third by beating Towanda's Dayton Wickwire in the PIAA 170-pound Class AA consolation final.
Jefferson-Morgan's Bill Bowlen placed second in the PIAA 195-pound Class AA championships against Greenville's Blake Reynolds.
Holly Tonini
Southmoreland’s Jacob Beistel hugs his dad Kurt after becoming his school’s first ever state champion wrestler.
Holly Tonini
Southmoreland’s Jacob Beistel is crowned state champion after the 285-pound title bout.
Southmoreland's Jacob Beistel faces off with Cambridge Springs' Zach Stafford in the PIAA Class AA 285-pound Championship bout.
HERSHEY — There are gold medal performances and there are gold medal performances.
And then there’s Gavin Teasdale. He’s minted, plated and as brilliant as any gold anywhere.
The Jefferson-Morgan High School sophomore put on that kind of performance this weekend at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.
He won his second PIAA title, finished the season with a 36-0 record and is a perfect 82-0 in two seasons.
But all of that pales in comparison to how he did it.
The soft-spoken Teasdale came to Hershey with a couple specific goals: win all four of his matches by technical fall and score 100 points in his matches.
Good on one, almost on the other.
Teasdale’s individual match scores were: 21-5, 24-9, 28-13 and 23-8. That adds up to 96 points scored and 35 allowed. That total is the most points ever scored in the state tournament.
And those allowed? All came about when Teasdale chose to let his opponent up so he could take them down again.
He registered 14 takedowns in his semifinal match and 10 in his final match Saturday.
“My plan was to come up here and score as many points as I could,” he said. “I accomplished that. I think I really turned it up the last few weeks, didn’t overlook anybody and think I came here ready.”
He was more than ready. He threw a variety of takedown shots at freshman Cole Wetzel of Boiling Springs and the youngster had no idea what hit him.
“When you watch something like that, you realize just how special that kid is,” J-M coach Mike Lesko said. “Yes, he came with the idea of getting tech falls all the way through. He wasn’t being selfish. It’s a matter of him being at such an elite level, he needed to set a goal for himself. And he got it.”
Teasdale alluded to his elite-level aspirations when he talked about what having two titles meant.
“I want to be a world champion,” he said. “And the only way you can do that is if you win your state title. So I’m halfway to my goal.”
The Rockets came within 20 seconds of having two state champions. Bill Bowlen, a senior 182-pounder, was locked in a tight, tense battle with Montoursville sophomore Gavin Hoffman and got to the final 20 seconds leading 3-1.
The two got into a scramble situation, rolling through it twice. The first time through, Bowlen couldn’t get control. The second time, Hoffman did to tie the match. And as he tried to escape, he got caught in one of Hoffman’s favorite tilts and gave up three near-fall points and the match, 6-3.
“I went from a great high to be heartsick, all in just 20 seconds,” Lesko said. “He gave every effort to win that state title, but this one will sting, no doubt about it.”
Beth-Center’s Anthony Welsh battled back through the consolations to finish third, defeating Dayton Wickwire, 4-1.
It was an historic day for Southmoreland wrestling. The Scotties had not won a PIAA title in school history until 285-pounder Jake Beistel knocked off Zach Stafford of Cambridge Springs, 3-2.
“I’ve been in the sport so long that getting a state title is not something I had to have, I’m more proud of the character of the kids, but damn this feels good,” said Southmoreland coach Ryan Shaw, whose last time sitting in the corner consisted of winning a title. Shaw is leaving coaching to pursue other opportunities.
The win was the 150th in Beistel’s career, a school record. He became the seventh WPIAL Class AA wrestler to win a title Saturday.
“It feels pretty good,” Beistel said with a big smile. “It’s like a weight off my shoulders. I’ve had a lot of support from the school and the community and it’s great to pull it off. Obviously it’s a great feeling to go out on top.”
The win ended Beistel’s wrestling career as he won’t wrestle when he attends St. Francis University this fall. He’ll play football instead.
Mt. Pleasant 285-pounder Josh Lind finished seventh with a 5-3 win over Freedom’s Evan Sweesy.