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Teasdale honored at J-M for winning 4 state titles

By Rob Burchianti rburchianti@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
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Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard

Jefferson-Morgan four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale speaks at the citation and award presentation honoring him in front of his J-M classmates and faculty on Thursday afternoon. Teasdale’s 2018 PIAA Most Outstanding Wrestler trophy sits in the background.

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Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard

Jefferson-Morgan four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale accepts a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, noting his accomplishment. Teasdale was honored at a citation and award presentation held in front of his J-M classmates and faculty on Thursday afternoon.

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Jefferson-Morgan athletic director Scott Moore addresses the crowd during a special citation and award presentation for Rockets' four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale at J-M on Thursday afternoon.

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Four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale smiles as his coach, Mike Lesko, speaks during a citation and award presentation held for the J-M senior at his high school on Thursday afternoon.

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Jefferson-Morgan wrestling coach speaks at a special citation and award presentation held at the high school in honor of four-time state wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale on Thrusday afternoon. State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, a Jefferson-Morgan graduate and the master of ceremonies of the event, looks on in the background.

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Jefferson-Morgan senior and four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale addresses the crowd during a citation and award presentation held at J-M on Thursday afternoon. Teasdale can be seen with his 2018 state gold medal on the television in the background with his 2018 PIAA Outstanding Wrestler award sitting below.

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A banner honoring Jefferson-Morgan senior Gavin Teasdale and Rockerts graduate Cary Kolat for both winning four PIAA wrestling titles was part of the backdrop for a special citation and award presentation for Teasdale at J-M on Thursday afternoon.

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Jefferson-Morgan four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale holds a special plaque given to him by Ryan Belsk (left)i, mayor of Rices Landing, acknowledging Teasdale's four PIAA gold medals. Teasdale was honored at a citation and award presentation held in front of his J-M classmates and faculty on Thursday afternoon.

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The crowd fills in the auditorium at Jefferson-Morgan High School before a special citation and award presentation for Rockets senior and four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale on Thursday afternnon.

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Jefferson-Morgan senior and four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale (gray shirt) poses with his family and relatives after a special citation and award presentation held for Teasdale at Jefferson-Morgan High School on Thursday afternoon.

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Jefferson-Morgan senior and four-time PIAA wrestling champion Gavin Teasdale (back row, middle) poses with J-M elementary students after a special citation and award presentation held for Teasdale at Jefferson-Morgan High School on Thursday afternoon.

JEFFERSON — Gavin Teasdale has given a tremendous amount of effort throughout his four years at Jefferson-Morgan on his way to winning four PIAA championships.

On Thursday, at his high school, he was given a special day of celebration.

Teasdale was honored at a citation and award presentation hosted by state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, in front of the school.

Teasdale was flattered by the event.

“It’s definitely great knowing you have support throughout the community, throughout the whole journey,” Teasdale said afterwards. “It’s great getting recognized by the whole county and the whole state, it’s a big accomplishment. Just looking back on it when I started wrestling in fourth, fifth grade, you never dreamed of this.

“Hard work can get you all that, but believing in yourself I think is the biggest thing.”

Teasdale joined J-M graduate Cary Kolat as four-time state champions, as very unique accomplishment by one school, as Snyder noted.

“Your school district is the first school district in Pennsylvania history to have two four-time state wrestling champs,” Snyder said. “And we have a little message to you from the first young man who did that.”

With that, a video message sent by Kolat was played with the now Campbell University wrestling head coach congratulating Teasdale on his achievement.

“Watching you wrestle from your freshman year to senior and achieve that has been awesome,” Kolat said in his message.

“It’s also very amazing that those two men grew up in the same small town of Rices Landing, Pennsylvania,” Snyder added.

Ryan Belski, mayor of Rices Landing, presented Teasdale with a special plaque that acknowledged all four PIAA gold medals.

“I remember some 18 years ago standing in the elementary gymnasium watching the great Cary Kolat wrestle in the Olympics,” Belski said. “It brought a sense of pride … to our little school and our little town. It made you proud of where you came from.

“Little did we know that we’d be seeing another great wrestler some 18 years later achieve some of the same goals that Cary Kolat did, both of them from the small town of Rices Landing.

“He has the heart of a champion. Gavin, you are a truly amazing and hard-working and humble young man, and the town of Rices Landing, Jefferson-Morgan School District and the entire state is proud of you for what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done.”

The Greene County Board of Commissioners, Blair Zimmerman, Dave Coder and Archie Trader, also honored Teasdale.

“Not only is he the best in Pennsylvania he is one of the best in the United States of America,” Zimmerman said.

J-M athletic director Scott Moore commended Teasdale as well.

“Achievements like this don’t come easy,” Moore said. “It takes dedication. It takes commitment. He fought through some tough times this year. But in the end he was the one standing on top of the podium. We’re very proud of his accomplishments. Penn State is getting a great guy.”

Teasdale has accepted a full scholarship to Penn State, which recently won the NCAA team championship for the seventh time in eight years.

Eric Cowden, speaking for state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, offered congratulations from himself and Bartolotta, as did Brandon Robinson, J-M middle/high school principal, who talked about Teasdale’s personality.

“Gavin has always been that light-hearted person. He’s always been that person to crack a joke and make you smile,” Robinson said. “He’s always been humble through all his accomplishments. We appreciate Gavin and everything he’s brought to us. He’s a great kid. We can’t wait to watch him win an NCAA title in his future.”

Snyder presented two citations from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, one honoring Teasdale and one honoring J-M superintendent Joseph Orr and Rockets wrestling coach Mike Lesko.

Lesko lauded his champion wrestler on his four state gold medals.

“It’s so hard to attain this goal,” Lesko said. “Gavin, you can ask him the days that we put in, the hours that he put in. He had a 162 wins and only 30 other wrestlers lasted the six minutes with him.

“As for me as a coach sitting in his corner, there’s not much I can say. He did all his work. He did it in the practice room. That’s where you win your matches. You don’t win your matches in that six minutes. … We won it in the practice rooms. He didn’t just finish in our room after two hours, he’d go every night to another practice for two hours, do his homework in a truck on the way to practice, come home at 11:30 at night and then do it all again.”

Lesko also thanked assistant coach Alex Evanoff for all his contributions to the team and Teasdale.

“I knew if I trained hard I would eventually reach my goals,” Teasdale said when he addressed the crowd. “Every practice I would go into it with the mindset of getting better each day, whether it was one percent better, two percent better each day.”

Teasdale has one last match coming on Sunday when he will be the feature showdown at the 44th annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House. He will compete for the Pennsylvania All-Star team against Patrick Glory of Delbarton School in New Jersey for the United States All-Star team.

“I’m going out there and letting it all fly out,” Teasdale said, looking ahead to Sunday. “I’ll throw in the kitchen sink. This one’s going to be fun.”

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