No . 1-ranked Tigers upend Panthers in Top 25 matchup

The No. 24-ranked Pitt wrestling team looked to end 2006 on a high note, but it ran into a… The No. 24-ranked Pitt wrestling team looked to end 2006 on a high note, but it ran into a few Tigers along the way.

On Dec. 21, Pitt (4-2, 1-0 EWL) dropped a dual meet to the No. 1-ranked Missouri Tigers. Then, over the weekend of Dec. 29-30, the Panthers finished 20th out of the 32 teams competing in the Southern Scuffle, which those same Tigers won.

Missouri earned the first points of the meet against Pitt after John Olanowski scored a 9-3 decision over sophomore Brad Gentzle.

The Panthers struck back at 133 pounds thanks to a Drew Headlee pinning of Tyler McCormick at the 3:52 mark. McCormick had defeated Headlee just a few weeks earlier at the Las Vegas Invitational with an 8-2 decision.

Redshirt sophomore Joe Ciampoli earned three more points for the Panthers in his bout, placing Pitt in front 9-3. Those nine points would be the only points on the Panthers’ side of the scoreboard for the rest of the day.

The meet was home to another rematch from the Las Vegas Invitational, when Pitt’s redshirt junior Keith Gavin faced Ben Askren, who won the first match between the two. Once again, Askren would walk away victorious, this time with a fall at the 2:34 mark.

The final three matches of the day all went in favor of the Tigers via major decisions, giving them the 35-9 conquest over Pitt.

After the tough loss it was off to Greensboro, N.C., to partake in the Southern Scuffle, hosted by UNC Greensboro.

Starting things off for Pitt was Gentzle, who scored a pin in his 125-pound match. In the 133 weight class, No. 3-seeded Headlee would also win his first match with a 7-2 decision. Jimmy Conroy and Zach Bowman wouldn’t fair as well, both dropping their first matches of the tournament.

Seeded No. 11, Joey Ecklof won his 149-pound match with a 5-2 decision. Also advancing to the round of 16 for the Panthers was Sean Richmond, who won an 11-8 decision in his 165-pound match. In the same weight class, Tim Allen lost on a major decision.

The final seeded wrestler for the Panthers, No. 14 Zach Sheaffer, would also continue onto the next day after scoring an 8-1 decision. After the morning rounds of day one, the Panthers were 15th.

Pitt would advance three from the afternoon of the first day to the quarterfinals held on day two. With one win already under his belt, Headlee captured another after a 9-0 major decision over Kent State’s Danny Mitcheff.

With a narrow 2-1 decision over Duke’s Danny Shvartsman, a place in the quarterfinals was also sealed for Ecklof.

Sheaffer wouldn’t qualify for the quarterfinals, but he did finish strong enough to participate in consolations the next day.

The Panthers fell to seven spots after the afternoon portion of day one, placing them in 22nd going into the second day of the Scuffle.

Of the three Panthers who proceeded to the final day of action, two placed at the end of the tournament.

Headlee dropped his first match by way of a 10-2 major decision but would then come back to earn a pin in the quarterfinals against Edinboro’s Kyle Fluke at the 1:20 mark.

Just as he had done against Missouri, Headlee defeated a wrestler who had bested him earlier in the year. This time it was Lehigh’s Seth Ciasulli, who beat Headlee during a dual meet earlier in the year. Headlee, however, scored a 7-0 decision to advance to the consolation semifinals.

Headlee lost his next match but would end his day in fifth place with a pin of Edinboro’s Ricky Deubel at the 2:32 mark.

Sheaffer won three matches on the tournament’s second day to score him a seventh-place finish. After picking up wins in the first two matches he wrestled, Sheaffer lost on a 4-0 decision to NC State’s Janoir Palma. Sheaffer bounced back, defeating Navy’s Scott Steele on a 4-2 decision in the seventh place match.

The final wrestler for the Panthers who advanced to the last day was Ecklof. After winning his first two matches the previous day, Ecklof lost twice on day two to finish with a record of 2-2 for the tournament.

The Panthers finished the Southern Scuffle in 22nd place.

Pitt has a bit of break before returning to action on Jan. 14, when it will head to Michigan State to wrestle the Spartans.