Mooresville’s Teeter Targets State Title at 175 Pounds

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Drew Teeter took sixth place at last year’s NCHSAA 4A State Championships at 157 pounds, and now the Mooresville High School sophomore is wrestling at 175 with bigger goals this season. North Carolina’s new eight-class system means 1A and 2A will combine for the individual state tournament while 3A through 8A stay separate. That will lead to seven state champions in each weight class, which doesn’t sit right with Teeter. “I wouldn’t really consider myself a state champion,” he said. “I think a state champion is someone who can beat anybody in the state at 175 or whatever your weight class is.”

Teeter has had a solid 2025-26 season so far with only four losses. He feels like he could have won those matches.

He’s also pulled off some upsets, including one against a state champion. “This season’s been going really well. I took like four losses so far, and they’re definitely matches that I could have won,” Teeter said. “I’ve also had some matches where I’ve upset some people. And kind of shocked the state a little bit.”

People were surprised by the state champ win, but Teeter wasn’t. “I think it’s a shock to people because people don’t know how hard I work,” he said. “It was a state champ and they just expected me not to beat that type of guy. I know how hard I work and I know what I’m capable of.”

In the offseason, Teeter went to Northeast Regionals and took second in both freestyle and Greco. He also competed at Fargo but fell a match or two short of placing. He wrestled Jayden O’Farrell in the regional finals. O’Farrell ended up second at Super 32. “Every time I got out of position, he scored points on me, and that’s how he ended up beating me,” Teeter said. He added that offseason work is key. “I’ve been training a lot in the off-season because I know that off-season is what really prepares you for in-season.”

Teeter had sinus surgery early in the season and missed about a month. He came back strong and won the Hough (Husky) Invitational. “I won that tournament strictly based off of my positioning, and my grandpa just telling me what to do, and my coaches telling me what to do,” he said. “I definitely did not have the conditioning… but if I just use all my skills, then I can pretty much win any match.”

Drew Teeter with his grandpa Bill Mayhew after the 2025 state wrestling tournament.

His grandfather is Bill Mayhew, who’s the winningest wrestling coach in North Carolina history with more than 900 dual meet wins. He’s in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Mayhew helps Teeter a lot. “His impact has been a lot. He takes me places, he motivates me, he shows me what I need to do, what I’m doing wrong,” Teeter said. “Whenever I’m feeling down, he just knows exactly what to tell me. And whenever I’m about to lose a match, he tells me exactly what to do to win it.”

Teeter likes to use the underhook. He’s worked on it a good bit. “If you let me get to an underhook, I can pretty much do anything with it. I’ve definitely tweaked that a lot and I’ve made it my best series,” he said. “Greco helps with everything upper body… you can do lat drop, you can switch it to like an arm drag—like you can do anything.” He gets tips from Mitch Jacobs, who won a state title in 2016 for Mooresville..

Teeter trains at Darkhorse Wrestling Club and Believe To Achieve, or B2A. At B2A, Coach Jeff McIntosh works with him on Greco and freestyle. McIntosh “Coach Jeff… he just knows a lot of Greco and freestyle,” Teeter said. His main practice partner is Ammon Scott, who’s in the Class of 2028 and wrestles around 150 pounds. “He’s definitely the hardest worker in there… He weighs like only 150 and I weigh 175, but just him pushing me so hard just helps me so much. He improves my speed, my athleticism, my strength.”

Mooresville’s dual meet team is ranked No. 2 in the west for 7A. They’ve been training together at Darkhorse. Teeter thinks they have a shot at states. “I think our dual team could probably win states,” he said. For himself, he wants to do well at regionals and states. “I want to win regionals and I want to win states and I want to do it by tech or pin. I don’t want anybody to come close to beating me.”

Teeter tries to wrestle at a fast pace like Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink. “His pace is really well and he keeps it on them,” he said. He trains hard every day with morning workouts, practice after school and extra sessions at Darkhorse or with his brother. “I push myself to the limit… so that way whenever I’m in the match, it doesn’t feel as hard.”

After this season, Teeter plans to wrestle in the Cadet world team trials, Fargo, Northeast, Southeast and Super 32. He’s looking forward to June 15 when college coaches can start contacting him. “I hope that the coaches can see all my potential and what I’ve already accomplished,” he said.

When he’s not wrestling, Teeter likes being outside. He goes hiking in the mountains, to the beach and climbs trees. He makes TikToks but doesn’t play video games much. His family does handstand contests at the beach each year. He can hold one for about two minutes.

Teeter has advice for younger wrestlers. "Stay disciplined and listen to your coaches," he said. He learned that the hard way in eighth grade when he stopped listening and struggled. Things turned around after his freshman year when he lost in the semifinals at regionals to the state champ, then got upset in the first round at states. "I was still ranked first in the state, but I lost in the semis at regionals... then I got upset in the first round at states," Teeter said. "I was like, 'Dang, I really need to listen to my coaches more.'"

Teeter has the work ethic and support to take another step this year. Last season’s sixth place was a good start. Now he’s aiming higher at 175 pounds.