Fomer Florida 2-time wrestling state champ Gabby Tedesco heads to Pan-American Championships

Tedecso finished as 103-pound National Runner-up for Mckendree University this spring

Mckendree wrestler Gabby Tedesco stands by a bird statue at Tampa International Airport Tuesday while waiting for her flight to Peru for the Pan-American Championships. / Submitted by Gabby Tedesco

LAKELAND, FLORIDA – Gabby Tedesco is hoping the strong don’t survive.

The Mckendree University rising-sophomore women’s wrestler will be tackling the international  brackets at the U20 Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru Friday. 

Tedesco is one of two wrestlers with Florida roots qualifying for the tournament, but the former Lake Gibson two-time FHSAA state champion is the lone Sunshine State grappler to represent Team USA. Another wrestler hailing from Polk County, Maya Colon, from Mulberry, will be representing Team Puerto Rico. 

“I believe every bracket is winnable if I put my mind to it, “ said Tedesco, who was preparing to board a flight to Peru Tuesday morning. 

Tedesco (24-3) sprang on to the college scene this past March when she finished as the 103-pound national runner-up at the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships in Coraville, Iowa. She dropped a riveting 2-1 national title match to Olivia Shore (Otterbein). 

Now Tedesco will bounce up in weight, competing in the 110-pound bracket (50 kg) at the Pan-Am Games, where international wrestlers customarily flash superior strength to bulldoze competition. 

“I think a lot of those places are more brawling and more physical,” said Tedesco’s former high school coach, Danny Walker. “The USA team is much-more technical. They are leaps and bounds more technical than other parts of the world right now.”

Tedesco’s college coach,  Alexio Garcia, believes she can utilize some of that superior technical skill, coupled with in-match adjustments, to neutralize the international muscle and emerge on top of the bracket’s heap.

“I do expect her to win it. She is one of America’s untapped potentials,” Garcia said. “Gabby is very tough to wrestle just because she is so aggressive but very technical. She has very dynamic attacks. What makes her dangerous is she knows how to control the pace. We constantly remind her to just keep her foot on the gas.”

Tedesco, who came home to Florida to train for the summer, has been preparing for the Games by rolling around the mats with some of the stronger boys in the Lake Gibson program. 

“She is so technical that she can get into certain situations that other girls can’t. We keep her with the boys because of the strength factor, and that plays a big role. She has to learn how to wrestle through those situations,” Waker said.

“I’ve always told her she could be an Olympian. She can do a lot of things that other female wrestlers can’t do. She is very shifty, dynamic and quick on her feet.”

Tedesco, who plans on taking a shot at qualifying for the Olympic Trials in 2028, doesn’t seem worried about getting over-powered at the Pan-Am Games. She is just focusing on staying humble, reading her Bible and listening to coaching instructions.

“I take it as it goes. I don’t want to over-analyze anything,” Tedesco said. “I never get stressed over wrestling. These conversations come up but I don’t stress about it because they can’t really wrestle at a fast pace. They are just very strong.”

Mckendree is also sending two more wrestlers on the international road, Eduarda Batista, representing Brazil at the Pan-Am Championships and Haylie Jaffe to Madrid for the Spanish Wrestling Grand Prix.

Pan-Am Championship women’s wrestling begins Friday with weigh-ins at 7:30 a.m., wrestling starting at 10 a.m. and finals hitting the mats at 5 p.m.