Wrestling: Six Panthers advance to second day of Championships

Six Pitt wrestlers advanced to the second day of the NCAA Championships, but all were eliminated… Six Pitt wrestlers advanced to the second day of the NCAA Championships, but all were eliminated from the competition on Friday.

The Panthers finished with eight wins and 15.5 points.

At 197 pounds, No. 7 seed Zac Thomusseit won his first two matches on Friday before losing to Oklahoma State’s Clayton Foster and Virginia Tech’s Sonny Yohn, the No. 2 and No. 9 seeds, respectively. He was one victory shy of earning All-American status.

In the consolation bracket, Anthony Zanetta, 125 pounds, and Tyler Nauman, 141 pounds, won their first matches.

After defeating Steve Bonanno of Hofstra, Zanetta fell to Michigan’s Sean Boyle.

Nauman picked up a shut out win, 3-0, over Cornell’s Hicks Manson but then lost to Stephen Dutton of Lehigh in the final seconds.

Donnie Tasser (157 pounds), Max Thomusseit (184 pounds) and Ryan Tomei (285 pounds) dropped their opening matches of the day.

Tomei earned the Panthers’ highest seed, entering the NCAA Championships as the No. 6 seed. A redshirt senior, he finished his career with a 109-34 record.

Check The Pitt News later this week for a complete recap of the NCAA Championships.

Editor’s Note: Donnie Tasser is a staff writer for The Pitt news.