Lakeland native Gabby Tedesco hopes to grow wrestling after winning gold at Pan Am games

High school wrestler hopes to grow sport after winning at Pan Am games

Lakeland native Gabby Tedesco hopes to grow wrestling after winning gold at Pan Am games. FOX 13's Mark Skol Jr. reports.

LAKELAND, Fla. - Gabby Tedesco sure knows how to stand out in the wrestling world. 

"I knew I was born ready for this," Tedesco said. 

The Lakeland native just came back from Peru where she won the gold medal at the U20 Pan American Games in the 50 KG weight class. 

"I was very proud of myself because, emotionally, physically, everything, I thought the odds were stacked against me," Tedesco said.

Even when no one thought she could win, she was able to get it done.

What they're saying:

"As soon as I got over there and pinned the girl, I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' I think the most exciting thing was running with the flag," Tedesco said. "That was pretty cool."

Running with the flag and representing the United States is special, but she wants to do that on the biggest stage at the Olympics.

"I know my senior year of college, that's when the Olympics is in 2028," Tedesco said. "I will go and train for that."

Other sports news: Sickles High School alum Jordan Yost loving first taste of pro-baseball

It's something that has been on her radar since her days at Lake Gibson High School.

"I told her a year and a half ago, I honestly think you have a shot to make an Olympic team," Lake Gibson head coach Danny Walker said. "Now, to see she is on the cusp of that, she is working towards that. It's amazing."

The backstory:

It's especially amazing knowing where she came from. Tedesco claims she went 2-20 during her first-year wrestling at Lake Gibson and wanted to drop the sport after losing that much. 

"I wanted to quit so badly but my coaches they saw so much potential in me, and I stuck it through," Tedesco said. "I am so glad I did."

Now, she feels like she can taste the Olympics. She's so close to that goal that she has been able to train at the official Olympics training facility in Colorado Springs against Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt.

"I was like, 'Oh my gosh,' I called my parents and was like, 'She got me in a leg lace, but I defended it,'" Tedesco said. "It was so cool."

However, what she thinks is even cooler than wrestling on a stage as big as the Olympics is growing the game and being a face for girl wrestlers. 

"I know a lot of girls that don't want to wrestle because they feel like they are in a male sport," Tedesco said. "I don't want them to feel that way. Just being an advocate for women's wrestling would be really cool."

It's that mentality that has her hometown beaming with pride. 

"The fact she has started in this room and has grown to where she is and to be one of the most successful female wrestlers to come out of this program but not only that but this area," Walker said. "To do everything she has done is just amazing."

Tedesco doesn't just talk the talk. She walks it too. She hosted a clinic in July at Lake Gibson High School to teach wrestling. 

What's next:

She'll be entering her sophomore year at McKendree where she aims to win a national championship.