Panthers busy over break

‘ ‘ ‘ The No. 24-ranked Pitt wrestling team knew No. 20 Northwestern would show up to… ‘ ‘ ‘ The No. 24-ranked Pitt wrestling team knew No. 20 Northwestern would show up to Fitzgerald Field House with intensity. Pitt’s goal was to match it.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ In one of the closer results of the season, the Panthers lost a heartbreaker to the Wildcats 20-18, despite splitting the bouts 5-5.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The marquee matchup of the evening was between Pitt’s No. 10-ranked Tyler Nauman, who was coming off a second place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and No. 6 Keith Sulzer, who was coming into the match with a perfect record. ‘ ‘ ‘ Nauman won the 141-pound match 5-2, putting the Panthers up 9-4. The rest of the competition would see Pitt lose the lead, regain it and then come up short when it mattered most. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Wildcats won the 149 and 157-pound bouts to pull ahead 11-9. Ethan Headlee countered by winning the next match 7-0 to put the Panthers back up. ‘ ‘ ‘ The rest of the day, however, was dominated by the Wildcats. Trailing 20-15 heading into the final bout, senior heavyweight Zach Sheaffer needed a pin over Ben Kuhar for the win. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sheaffer won the bout, but was unable to get the points needed to come out with the ultimate victory. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sheaffer takes second at Midlands Championships ‘ ‘ ‘ Four Panther wrestlers reached the semifinals of the Midlands Championships, but it was Sheaffer who made the biggest splash. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sheaffer advanced to the finals after going 4-0, beating Iowa’s Dan Erekson in the semifinal round. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sheaffer’s opponent in the finals would be No. 2 seed Mark Ellis from Missouri. Sheaffer lost the decision 2-1. ‘ ‘ ‘ In the 48-team field, the Panthers ranked No. 14 in total points. ‘ ‘ ‘ Track and field competition begins ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s men and women’s track and field teams traveled to Kent, Ohio, to participate in Kent State’s Golden Flash Gala. ‘ ‘ ‘ Jermaine Lowery finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.67 seconds and finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.67 seconds. ‘ ‘ ‘ For the women, Mycaiah Clemons dominated the 60 hurdles, recording a first-place finish in 8.45 seconds. Clemons also finished second in the 60-meter dash. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s 4-by-400 relay team came out first in a field of 19 teams with a time of 3 minutes, 55.17 seconds. ‘ ‘ ‘ Anita James marked second place finishes in both the high jump and the long jump, while coming in fourth in the 60 dash. James led the Panthers in the pentathlon, compiling 3,389 points, good for third place overall.