Font ResizeHERSHEY -- Clay Gable saved his best performance of the three-day PIAA Wrestling Championships for the biggest stage.
The Dallastown senior totally dominated Clint Morrison of Cedar Cliff, recording a 16-1 technical fall in 5:18 to win Pennsylvania's Class AAA 171-pound championship.
Gable had earned his finals spot with a 9-3 decision over Belle Vernon's Patrick Tasser in Saturday morning's semifinal round.
The Wildcat senior jumped out to a quick lead with a takedown 35 seconds into the bout. He added two back points to take a 4-0 lead into the second period.
After Morrison deferred his choice, Gable took bottom. An escape was followed quickly by a second takedown, which moved his lead to 7-0.
Needing points, Morrison (37-8) chose top, hoping to get back in it with back points, but Gable would have none of it.
The four-year starter
After a brief stoppage for blood, Gable let Morrison up with 54 seconds left in the bout and then nailed down the title with a takedown just 12 seconds later.
Gable finishes his career with a 122-4 record and brings home the first PIAA gold medal since Neil Barnes won the 160-pound crown in 1993.
After watching his oldest son reach the finals, Dallastown coach Dave Gable obviously placed the moment high among his Wildcat coaching moments.
"This is certainly one of the highlights of my coaching experience," he said.
In his semifinal Satuday morning, Gable faced Belle Vernon's Patrick Tasser, who had knocked off the pre-tournament favorite Nick Milano of Erie Cathedral Prep in the quarterfinals.
"Some crazy things happened (in the bracket). ... We knew he was a solid wrestler. He had nothing gimmicky we needed to look out for," the elder Gable said.
The Wildcat senior took control from the outset, scoring a relatively easy takedown just 19 seconds into the bout, the earliest he had scored in any of his bouts of the tournament.
"I snapped him and he went down. I just spun around him," Gable said of his opening points.
From there, Tasser spent 4:31 of the remaining 5:41 on the mat being controlled by Gable. While not registering any back points, the constant work wore down the District 7 wrestler.
His work on the mat is something Gable focused on this season to the delight of his father.
"The past couple of years, (top) would be my weakness. I get in trouble sometimes," he said. "This year, I really worked on controlling the wrists. My dad was telling me all along to do that. Finally, I decided to listen to him and do it this year."
Gable registered two more takedowns, one in each of the last two periods, and then tacked on a reversal to finish off the Leopard senior.
"I've felt confident (all tournament). I've wrestled smart and always been looking to score," the four-year starter said.
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