Competition will be fierce in 2A individual tournament

Tri-State Sports & News Service

Three WPIAL champs, one WPIAL runner-up and a two-time top-four finisher.

That’s the recipe for the toughest weight class at Saturday’s WPIAL Class 2A individual tournament.

“The 126-pound weight class is definitely loaded,” McGuffey coach Mark Caffrey said. “There will be a lot of good wrestling in that weight class, a lot of good competition.”

Jefferson-Morgan senior Gavin Teasdale (27-2) is the headliner at 126. The Penn State recruit has won three WPIAL titles, three Southwest Region titles and three PIAA crowns.

Teasdale is one of three entries at 126 that has previously won a WPIAL title. McGuffey junior Jett Pattison (29-8) won at 120 last year. Freedom junior Z..J. Ward (27-4) is a two-time WPIAL finalist who won at 106 as a freshman.

Burrell junior Bryan Gaul (29-10) and Derry Area senior Shawn Broadway (35-3) are also entered at 126. Gaul placed second in the WPIAL as a 106-pound freshman and third last year at 113. Broadway is a two-time WPIAL top-four finisher and a two-time PIAA qualifier.

“Teasdale is obviously a strong favorite considering his resume, but you never know what will happen,” Derry Area coach Mike Weinell said. “Shawn has not wrestled Teasdale this year, but he has faced the other three and beat them.”

Teasdale, Pattison and Ward are among 11 entries in Saturday’s WPIAL Class 2A tournament, which will be held Saturday at CanonMcMillan, who have a WPIAL title to their credit.

Southmoreland senior Tyler Griffiths (14-4) is a two-time WPIAL champ. He won at 120 as a sophomore and last year at 132. A football injury slowed his progress at the start of the season. He competed at 152, but dropped to 145 at the end of the regular season.

“Tyler had to sit out a little bit earlier in the season,” Southmoreland coach Steve Santia said. “He also went

Individual rankings, including matches through Feb. 11. post-gazette.com. through a growth spurt. He’s been working hard to get his conditioning to where it’s been in the past.”

Griffiths is entered at 145 with South Side Beaver senior Joe Demor (29-1), who was a WPIAL runner-up at 132 as a sophomore. Demor missed most of last season with a broken hand.

“Joehas been healthy this year,” South Side Beaver coach Bear McCoy said. “He’s worked very hard to fix the only hole in his game. He used to have a hard time getting out when in the down position. Only one kid hasridden him this year.”

The other seven returning champions are in different weight classes.

• Bentworth senior Manny Dovshek (16-4) is a three-time WPIAL finalist who won at 113 last year. He returns as the favorite at 120.

• Burrell sophomore Trent Valovchik (29-11) is the defending champ at 103.

• Frazier sophomore Thayne Lawrence (18-1) won at 138 last year and is now at 152.

• McGuffey junior Christian Clutter (34-2) has moved to 170 after winning at 160 last year.

• Beth-Center junior Dominic Fundy ( 29- 2) placed third as a 160-pound freshman, first as a 182pound sophomore and is back at 182.

• Freedom junior Bryson Miller (25-4) is the defending champ at 195.

• South Side Beaver senior Bishop McCoy (28-1) has moved up to 285 after winning at 220 last year.

“I can’t wrestle Bishop any more,” joked Bear McCoy, his father. “We both weigh about 275-280, but I’m 43 years old. He hurts me. He is so strong. Fortunately, he works out a lot at Young Guns Wrestling Club with some of the best heavyweights in Class 3A.”

Section tournaments

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 tournament.

Teasdale and Fort Cherry senior Nick Candelore (21-3 at 138) are the only three-time section champs. Candelore is in Section 1 and Teasdale in Section 2.

Five others have won two section titles: Ward and Burgettstown senior P.J. Smith (29-7 at 132) in Section 1; Griffiths and Elizabeth Forward senior Freddie Howard (19-9 at 113); and Gaul in Section 3.

City League

Three wrestlers enter Saturday’s City League tournament at Carrick High School as two-time champions.

The host Raiders have three returning champions, including senior two-time champs Justice Jones and James Howard. Both are three-time finalists.

Jones (31-2) placed second as a 138-pound freshman, first as a 152-pound sophomore and first last year at 138. He returns at 138.

Howard (24-11) has moved to 220 after competing at 285 the past three years. He placed second as a freshman andwon the past two years.

Allderdice’s Jamil Prude (15-8) is the other two-time champ. He won two titles at 106, then placed third at 120 last year. He returns at 120.

The other two returning City League champs are Carrick senior Joe Dang (17-11) and Brashear senior Sabivumva Wilson (12-6). Dang has moved up to 113 after winning at 106 last year. Wilson is the defending champ at 195.