Teasdale selected for Pittsburgh Classic
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Jefferson-Morgan senior Gavin Teasdale has been selected to wrestle in the 44th annual Pittsburgh Wrestling ClassicMarch 25 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald FieldHouse.
Teasdale, a Penn State recruit ranked No. 3 in the country at 126 pounds, has won three WPIAL Class 2A titles and three PIAA titles during his career. He has a 28-2 record this season and is 150-2 for his career.
“As a best practice, the Wrestling Classic committee selects the Pennsylvania and WPIAL all-star teams after the PIAA state championships in Hersey,” Classic chairman Kraig Nellis said. “Each year we assess certain wrestlers and circumstances, and will select a PA all-star prior to the championships when we feel it’s in the best interest of the event.”
Nellis referred to other wrestlers who have been chosen prior to the state tournament.
“In the recent past, we’ve selected [Franklin Regional’s] Nico Magaludis (2011), [Derry’s] Jimmy Guilibon (2012), [Canon-McMillan’s] Cody Wiercioch (2013), [Kennard Dale’s] Chance Marsteller (2014) and [Latrobe’s] Luke Pletcher (2015).
“This year the committee felt it made good sense to select Gavin Teasdale because of his accomplishments and national ranking in his weight class.We’re thrilled that Gavin has accepted the invitation to compete.”
Teasdale suffered his first high school loss in the finals of thePowerade Christmas Tournament when he dropped a 4-3 decision to Wyoming Seminary’s Beau Bartlett. His second setback came last weekend at the Beaver Local tournament. He moved up to 132 and dropped an an 8-4 decision toWeirton’s Caleb Rea in the finals.
Teasdale’s opponent in the Wrestling Classic is Princeton recruit Patrick Glory, a New Jersey state champion from DelbartonHigh School.
The United States all-star team will face Pennsylvania’s all-star team in the feature match at 6 p.m. A team of WPIAL all-stars will face a team of Iowa all-stars in the preliminarymatch at 4 p.m.
Beaver Local
Nine WPIAL wrestlers won titles at the 27-team Beaver Localtournament.
West Allegheny won the team title and had five individuals win titles: Jordan Watters (113), Dante Flati (145), Ty McGeary (152), Dan Clements (170)and Rocky McGeary (220).
North Allegheny placed second and had two champs: Freddy Junko (113) and Jon Hoover(160).
West Mifflin’s Gerald Brown (285) and Chartiers Valley’s Shamil Zaynullaev (195) alsowon titles.
Seneca Valley advances
Seneca Valley thought its dual season had come to an end when it lost in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals to Hempfield on Jan. 31. The following afternoon, the Raiders were informed that Hempfield had used an academically ineligiblewrestler.
That put Seneca Valley back in the tournament and the Raiders made the most of it. They lost, 47-17, to CanonMcMillan in the semifinals, but rebounded to finish third and earn the school’s first PIAA berth with a 39-31 win againstWaynesburg.
“We weren’t supposed to be here, but we deserved to be here,” Seneca Valley coach Kevin Wildrick said. “We proved it with the win over Waynesburg. I’m just excited for the kids to be in the PIAA team tournament for the first time.”
Seneca Valley posted a 60-11 winagainst City League champion Carrick in its PIAA debut Monday in the preliminary round. That earned the Raiders a trip to Hershey for the first round. They faced District 12 champ Archbishop Wood Thursdaynight.
Carrick City champ
Carrick claimed its third consecutive City League title with a 52-17 win against Allderdicein a match held Jan. 27. Devontey Cunningham (132) and Justice Jones (138) had pins for Carrick, while Seth Finnegan (152) won by major decision.
Jones,a senior, is a two-time City League champion who has a 24-2 season record. Cunningham is a freshman who has a 9-5 record. Finnegan is a sophomore who has a 16-7 record.
The Raiders qualified for the PIAA Class 3A team tournament, but were defeated, 6110, by WPIAL third-place finisher Seneca Valley in Monday’spreliminary round.
The City League individual tournament will be held Feb. 17at Carrick High School.
Section tournament
Twenty-three individuals enter Friday’s Class 2A section tournaments with at least one section title to their credit. All three section tournaments will be held at Canon-McMillan for the second consecutive year. The top four finishers in each weight class from each section advance to the WPIAL championships Saturday at the samesite.
The WPIAL individual section tournaments in Class 3A will be Feb. 24. The sites for the four tournaments are: Kiski Area (Sec. 1), Connellsville (Sec. 2), Fox Chapel (Sec. 3) and Trinity(Sec. 4).
The top five finishers in each weight class from each sectionadvance to the Class 3A WPIAL/Southwest Regional March2-3 at Canon-McMillan.
ThePIAA tournament, both 3A and 2A, will be March 8-10 atGiant Center in Hershey.