Rockets’ Teasdale named to Team Pa.
Jefferson-Morgan senior Gavin Teasdale has been named to the Pennsylvania All-Star Team at the 44th Annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on March 25 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field House.
The Pennsylvania team is usually not announced until the state championships are concluded in March, but an exception was made for the Rocket senior.
“Gavin really just wants to get the season over with,” Jefferson-Morgan coach Mike Lesko said. “He has been back to his old self and is very focused. He is really not thinking about the Classic right now. He is solely focused on winning a fourth state championship.”
Teasdale, a Penn State University recruit, is a three-time PIAA Class AA Individual Champion.
The United States team has been announced, and if Teasdale wrestles at 126 pounds in the Classic, he would most likely be matched up with Delbarton High School’s Patrick Glory from Randolph, New Jersey.
Teasdale defeated Glory in the 2014 Powerade Christmas Tournament Finals, 13-3, and 6-5 in the 2015 finals, but Glory got the better of Teasdale in the “Who’s No. 1” event at Bethlehem in October. The match doesn’t factor in official high school records. Glory won one state championship in his first three years of high school and is headed to Princeton.
“Gavin really wants to wrestling him (Glory) again,” Lesko said. “Gavin beat him for his first two Powerade titles as a freshman and sophomore, but he is ready to wrestle him again. He is really trying to stay away from the hype for the rest of this season.”
The Classic opens with a team of WPIAL All-Stars against a team of all-stars from Indiana at 4 p.m. before Team Pennsylvania battles Team USA at 6 p.m.
Teasdale and his Jefferson-Morgan teammates compete Friday in the Section 2-AA Individual Championships before wrestling in the WPIAL Class AA Individual Championships on Saturday. Both tournaments are held at Canon-McMillan High School, and is the second year in a row under the current format.
The PIAA Class AA Southwestern Regional Individual Championships are held Feb. 23 and 24 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Ed Frey Arena inside the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex. The state tournament is held March 8-10 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
“I like that they have the section tournament and WPIALs in two days, but I wish we didn’t have that extra week between regionals and states,” Lesko said. “We just want to get the season finished and wrestle as soon as possible, but it does give another week of practice.”