Panthers split matches, stay unbeaten in conference

‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt wrestling team was on both sides of a dominating performance in its last two… ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt wrestling team was on both sides of a dominating performance in its last two matches, dropping only one match against Cleveland State last Wednesday, but winning just one against Kent State. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The matches followed a trend for the Panthers this year, as they defeated Eastern Wrestling League rival Cleveland State, but lost to Kent State, ranked No. 24 going into the match. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt is 3-6, with all three wins coming in EWL bouts and all six losses coming against ranked out-of-conference opponents. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We thought [a difficult schedule] would benefit us,’ said Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer. ‘In order to do well in the season-end tournaments you need to see the best guys out there, and we’ve done that.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ With the win over Cleveland State, Stottlemyer, already Pitt’s all-time wins leader, became the first coach in Pitt history to reach 250 career wins. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It doesn’t matter whether it’s one or 250,’ said Stottlemyer. ‘It’s a win. We’ll take it.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ If the Panthers’ future follows their past results, they should have a strong end to the season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Next up, Pitt welcomes EWL foe West Virginia to the Fitzgerald Field House Saturday at 7 p.m. The Panthers end their regular season with two more conference matches, against Clarion and Edinboro, before taking part in the EWL Championships and NCAA Championships. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt 38, Cleveland State 3 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers got off to a strong start, winning the first bouts of the match, with Jimmy Conroy and Tyler Nauman earning Pitt bonus points. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In the 133-pound match, No. 17 Conroy had four takedowns and two near falls on his way to a 15-4 major decision, giving Pitt a 7-0 lead after two matches. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ No. 10 Nauman continued an impressive freshman season by earning six more points for the Panthers. Cleveland State’s Lawrence Cavello started off strong, taking down Nauman early in the first period, and then scoring two points for a reversal. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Nauman tossed Cavello down to the mat, covered him up and scored his team-leading ninth pin fall of the season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Stottlemyer said he’s pleased with Nauman, but he and the freshman know that the ‘best has yet to come.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Nauman also leads the team with 22 wins this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘He has a chance to go to nationals and do something, not only this year but in years following,’ said Stottlemyer. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Right behind Nauman is sophomore Ethan Headlee. In the 165-pound match, Headlee scored a pin fall. It’s his eighth pin fall of the season and 21st win overall. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Freshman A.J. Brentzel scored a 14-3 major decision in the 174-pound match. He was filling in for fellow freshman Phil Sorrentino, who normally wrestles in that weight class, but was out because of an in illness, said Stottlemyer. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The only loss on the day for Pitt came in the 157-pound match, as freshman Alex Munoz dropped a 6-4 decision. Munoz led 3-2 with less than 25 seconds to go, but gave up a takedown and the lead. Munoz was awarded a point for accumulating more than a minute of riding time, sending the match into overtime. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In the extra period, Munoz was taken down for the loss. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Conditioning is a big part of this sport,’ said Stottlemyer. ‘You can’t score and then just hang out. You score and score again. You don’t sit on leads. If you do, that’s what happens.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Kent State 27, Pitt 3 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Conversely, Pitt managed to win only one match when it traveled to Kent State on Saturday. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Guys realized this was a fiasco,’ said Stottlemyer. ‘All we can do is refocus, put this behind us and work on our goal of winning the EWL.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The only win for Pitt came in the 149-pound match from senior Mark Powell on a 5-2 decision. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Unfortunately for the Panthers, by that time they already lost four matches and would go on to lose their last six. Kent State featured five ranked wrestlers, all of whom came away victorious. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ While they weren’t winning, the Panthers managed to keep most matches close, with the largest point differential coming in the 184-pound match when No. 5 Dustin Kilgore defeated Zac Thomusseit with a 10-3 decision. The Panthers dropped three matches by two points and two matches by only one point. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’ve played better against higher ranked opponents,’ said Stottlemyer.