Wrestling: Three Panthers place as Pitt finishes 12th at Midlands Championships

After the first day of the Midlands Championships, the No. 21 Pitt wrestling team sat in ninth… After the first day of the Midlands Championships, the No. 21 Pitt wrestling team sat in ninth place. But when the tournament concluded the following day, the Panthers finished 12th.

“The competition the second day is much stiffer,” Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “We just didn’t have the intensity the second day that we did the first.”

The Panthers (6-1-1) had five wrestlers advance to the second day of the tournament, held Dec. 29-30 in Evanstown, Ill. Three wrestlers ­— Anthony Zanetta, Eric Albright and Ryan Tomei — placed in the tournament.

“It’s the best [tournament] we’ve hit this year,” Stottlemeyer said.

Zanetta went 2-1 on the first day of the tournament, earning a 4-0 decision against Ilyass Elmassouri of Rider and a 9-4 decision over Northern Iowa’s Caleb Flores. Zanetta lost to Brandon Precin of Northwestern, the top seed in the 125-pound bracket, in the quarterfinals sending him to the consolation bracket. Precin went on to win the championship in that weight class.

The freshman’s record reversed the second day of the tournament. After beating Michigan State’s Eric Olanowski with a 4-3 decision, Zanetta dropped his next two matches. He lost a 4-1 decision to No. 5 Matt Steintrager of Central Michigan and then a 5-3 decision against No. 7 Jason Lara from Oregon State. Zanetta finished eighth in his bracket.

“He had a great first day,” Stottelmyer said. “He’s young and still learning. This tournament will help him get better.”

Senior Eric Albright advanced to the semifinals of the 149-pound weight class after earning an 8-0 major decision against Central Michigan’s Justin McDermitt, a 4-3 decision over Greg Lewis of Clarion and a 9-6 decision over Bucknell’s Kevin LeValley.

Albright was pinned in his first match of the second day by Iowa’s Brent Metcalf, the top seed and eventual winner of the bracket. After losing to Iowa State’s Mitch Mueller, Albright won his last match thanks to a medical forfeit by Central Michigan’s Anthony D’Alie to place Albright fifth.

Heavyweight Ryan Tomei pinned his first two opponents of the tournament, Dustin Bles of Triton in 4:49 and Iowa State’s Eric Thompson in 5:56, before falling to No. 4 Dom Bradley of Missouri 5-3.

On his second day of competition, Tomei beat Ed Bordas of Rider 3-1, but then lost to No. 1 Aaron Anspach of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club via pinfall. He finished out his tournament earning a 3-0 decision over Rutgers’ DJ Russo to place Tomei seventh.

“The heavyweight division was just stacked,” Stottlemyer said. “It was good for him in terms of just seeing the competition.”

Sophomores Tyler Nauman and Matt Wilps also wrestled on the second day of the Midlands. Both wrestlers lost in their first matches of the consolation rounds to end their tournament.

Iowa, the No. 1-ranked team in the country, won the tournament with a total of 168.5 points, in their third consecutive Midlands title. No. 2 Iowa State finished second with 144.5, and No. 4 Central Michigan came in third with 118.0. Six teams ranked in the top-10 in the most recent InterMat and wrestlingreport.com rankings sent competitors to the Midlands.

“There are a lot of top programs in that tournament, and that’s why we go there,” Stottlemyer said. “We’re trying to be a top program.”

After hosting a meet this weekend against Waynesburg, Columbia and Eastern Michigan, the Panthers open up the Eastern Wrestling League action next week when Lock Haven comes to the Fitzgerald Field House Jan. 15. Stottlemyer thinks having his team compete against some of the best wrestlers in the country will help improve the Panthers as they continue to compete.

“Having that experience, you’re better prepared,” Stottlemyer said. “The biggest part of our schedule is ahead of us.”