Pitt wrestling pummels Lehigh

Pitt wrestling kicked off its new season Sunday at Lehigh with a 24-9 victory over the… Pitt wrestling kicked off its new season Sunday at Lehigh with a 24-9 victory over the Mountain Hawks at Leeman-Turner Arena.

The No. 20 Panthers were triumphant in seven of their 10 battles to down Lehigh for the first time in 10 years.

They got plenty of help from their three returning All-Americans.

Keith Gavin, the national runner up last year in the 174-pound weight class and currently the top-ranked wrestler in that class in the nation, inched past Lehigh’s Alex Caruso, 4-2.

The first period was scoreless but the drama picked up in the second.

With both Gavin and Caruso tallying escapes, the bout advanced to overtime.

Gavin prevailed with a takedown to secure the final score.

“Whether its regulation or overtime, we find a way to win,” Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer said.

Stottlemyer said that Gavin was invited to a national tournament in Oregon where the top wrestlers in the country will compete next week.

Gavin will travel west after Saturday’s Cornell Invitational.

Gavin wasn’t the only Pitt All-American to register a victory on Sunday.

Seniors Matt Kocher and Drew Headlee recorded wins to pace the Panthers.

Kocher dominated most of his battle with Lehigh’s Dave Nakasone in the 157-pound affair, notching a few takedowns throughout the two periods.

Nakasone attacked with a takedown himself after Kocher’s dominating start, but it was not enough.

The takedown points were enough to limit Kocher’s win to a score of 12-6.

The No. 11-ranked Headlee beat Jeff Santo, 7-2, in the 141-pound match.

Headlee gathered a quick 6-2 lead in the first period to ease to a win.

Four other Panthers achieved victories over Lehigh wrestlers.

In the 125-pound bout, junior Brad Gentzle came from behind to pin Lehigh’s Mitch Berger.

The battle was the first of the day and gave Pitt the early match advantage, 6-0.

After Gavin’s key decision, the final three Panthers all secured triumphs to clinch the match.

In the 184-pound battle, David Sullivan bested David Craig.

This was Sullivan’s first bout for Pitt since transferring from East Stroudsburg.

“[Sullivan] beat a pretty good one,” Stottlemyer said.

Craig tied for Lehigh’s team lead in victories last year as a freshman and advanced far at the NCAA Championships.

A.J. Hunte fought off Alex Iacocca, 5-3, in the 197-pound match.

The final battle ended with another domination for Pitt.

Heavyweight Zach Scheaffer never allowed an inch to Lehigh’s Justin Allen in his 7-0 victory.

Scheaffer set the tone with a takedown in the first period.

He also amassed about four and a half minutes of riding time.

Only three Panthers fell to Mountain Hawk wrestlers.

Jimmy Conroy lost a well-fought 133-pound bout to Kevin Vinh, 7-6.

Conroy tried valiantly to come back from a 5-2 deficit but couldn’t pull it off.

Junior Joey Ecklof also lost closely, 7-6, after two takedowns in the first period.

Sean Richmond rounded out Pitt’s defeats with a 6-2 loss in the 165-pound weight class.

The late victories were the difference-makers for the Panthers.

Stottlemyer was happy with his team’s initial performance of the season.

“We won seven out of 10,” he said.

“We tried to make a pretty good statement to start the season and I think we did that.”

Pitt visits Bloomsburg on Thursday for its second duel of the young season before the Cornell Invitational in Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday.

“[It’s a] really busy week,” Stottlemyer said. “It sets off a really important time for us.”

How they fared (Pitt in caps) 125 GENTZLE fall Berger 133 Vinh dec. CONROY 141 HEADLEE dec. Santo 149 Chinn dec. ECKLOF 157 KOCHER dec. Nakasone 165 Galante dec. RICHMOND 174 GAVIN dec. Caruso 184 SULLIVAN dec. Craig 197 HUNTE dec. Iacocca 285 SCHEAFFER dec. Allen