Gavin gets second in nationals

Of the four Panthers who entered last weekend’s NCAA Wrestling Championships, two exited the… Of the four Panthers who entered last weekend’s NCAA Wrestling Championships, two exited the tournament ranking in the top five.

Keith Gavin finished second in the 174-pound weight class, while Matt Kocher ended up at fifth in the 157-pound class.

Kocher finished the tournament as Pitt’s all-time leader in tournament wins with 93, and is third all-time on the team in career wins with 124.

“To have an 11-seed in Kocher place fifth is great,” Stottlemeyer said. “He’s another great kid who is really deserving of his honor.”

The honor Stottlemeyer referred to was Kocher being named an All-American, which comes with a top-eight finish.

Gavin, with his second place finish, also received All-America status, making the two the first Pitt teammates to win the honor in the same season since Mike Ziska and Rob Loper accomplished the feat in 2000.

By having two place winners in the tournament, the Panthers earned their first top-25 finish as a team since 2003.

The other two Panthers in the tournament, Drew Headlee and Sean Richmond, were each moved into the consolation bracket where they both lost their first round matches.

Gavin (28-4) came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed in his weight class in the 32-man field. He faced Ronnie Lee (18-16) of Oregon in the first round and pinned him at 3:36.

Gavin moved on in the tournament to face unranked Matthew Maciag of Wisconsin. Gavin produced a takedown to take an early two-point lead, but Maciag came back with a one-point escape to cut the lead in half. Gavin turned things around and rallied in the second and third periods, eventually winning the match, 12-5.

In the quarterfinals, Gavin faced No. 10 Matthew Herrington of University of Pennsylvania. Herrington was up 2-0 early and was on his way to increasing his lead before time expired in the first. Gavin then turned a five-point move in the second to go up 6-3. Gavin then earned an escape and a takedown to win the match, 9-5.

Unranked Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State was up next for Gavin. Gavin started off strong against Mason by getting two takedowns early. Mason couldn’t muster up enough effort, though, to take down Gavin in the final seconds, and Gavin won his third match, 4-3.

“I knew Mason, he’s really tough on top,” Gavin said. “But I knew if I stayed patient on my feet, the takedowns would come.

“So I just wanted to keep good position, stay patient on my feet and get my takedown.”

He moved on to the finals where he faced No. 1 Ben Askren of Missouri. Gavin built an early 2-0 lead, but Askren stormed back and tied the match going into the third period with an escape. Askren, who pinned Gavin twice during the season, went on to gain six more points and take home the championship with an 8-2 decision.

“He did very well,” Pitt head coach Rande Stottlemeyer said about Gavin. “When you put a guy in the finals, it’s a big thing. These guys just don’t grow on trees.”

No. 11 Kocher, a redshirt junior, faced Lehigh junior Dave Nakasone in the first round. Kocher scored a pair of early takedowns and won easily, 9-2.

In the second round, Kocher went up against No. 6 Brandon Becker of Indiana and took the upset. Kocher scored three takedowns on an injured Becker and easily won, 6-2.

Hofstra senior and three-seed James Strousse was up next for Kocher. Kocher took him to tie-breakers before eventually losing, 5-3. He then moved on to the consolations where he would face No. 5 Mike Poeta of Illinois.

Poeta opened up by taking a 2-1 lead in the first period on a takedown before Kocher scored an escape, but Kocher would come back. He tied it up in the second frame with another escape before Poeta took the lead for good in the third. He scored on a takedown and riding time to win, 5-3.

Kocher moved to the fifth-place match where he faced No. 4 C.P. Schlatter from Minnesota. The two went scoreless through the first, but Kocher scored on a takedown midway through the second. Schlatter would tie it up in the third, but Kocher wrapped up fifth place with a 2-1 decision on a point for riding time.