Panther wrestling to send six to NCAAs

Wrestling in his final Eastern Wrestling League Tournament, Pitt senior Justin Nestor put… Wrestling in his final Eastern Wrestling League Tournament, Pitt senior Justin Nestor put himself in the record books.

During the second period of his 165-pound championship bout with West Virginia’s Larry Hall, Nestor maneuvered his way from the bottom, latched on to Hall’s legs and reversed their positions for a 2-0 lead.

The score stood as Nestor shut out Hall to win his first career EWL title, becoming the 25th wrestler to take home a championship in Pitt’s history.

“He’s qualified for the NCAAs four times,” Pitt head coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “It’s great to see him get the win, you know, but with Justin you always know what you’re going to get.

“He wrestles hard all the time.”

Nestor’s win qualifies him for the NCAA Tournament – being held this weekend in Oklahoma City, Okla. – for the fourth time in his career. He is now one of only 11 Pitt wrestlers to qualify for the NCAAs four times.

Pitt’s success didn’t stop there. Nestor will be joined by five of his teammates, as the Panthers earned six NCAA Tournament bids and finished third in the team standings with 97 points at the EWL Tournament last weekend. Edinboro finished first with 120.5 points.

Stottlemyer left very pleased with the team effort and the third-place finish, considering the Panthers ended the EWL regular season with a 2-4 record and are sitting in fifth place.

“Based on what happened during the year, no one would have said that we’d score 97 points with what we took in there,” he said. “That’s why you wrestle the tournament and don’t mail in the results.”

Joining Nestor are fellow seniors Mike Ciotti and Ron Tarquinio, who both lost in the championship round for second-place finishes in their respective weight classes.

Ciotti took on the No. 1-ranked Shawn Bunch of Edinboro in the 133-pound final but fell 10-3. Bunch recorded a series of takedowns throughout the match, allowing Ciotti to escape each time before another takedown.

The second-place finish, however, garnered Ciotti the first NCAA berth of his career. This tournament was Ciotti’s fourth EWL Tournament of his career, despite never beginning a season as a starter for Pitt.

“He’s been very consistent,” Stottlemyer said. “Never began as a starter, but by the time the season was over he was wrestling in the EWL Tournament. He’s always there.”

In the 141-pound finale, Tarquinio wrestled against West Virginia freshman Brandon Rader. Tarquinio built an early 4-1 lead on two takedowns in the first period.

A takedown by Rader cut the lead to two in the second period before Tarquinio added an escape. Rader, however, added another takedown before the period ended, sending the match into the third period 6-5 in Tarquinio’s favor.

The third period was all Rader, as he tied the match with an early escape and added to his final points with two takedowns for a 10-6 victory.

“That kid [Rader] is pretty good,” Stottlemyer said. “Ron got out ahead and the kid came back. In hindsight, we’d probably like to ride him a little more, but we’ll learn.”

“The big thing is to get to the dance. Anything can happen out there.”

Freshman Brad Gentzle and junior Mike Heist both finished third in the 125- and 197-pound weight classes, respectively, for their NCAA bids.

The accomplishments of both Gentzle and Heist are what impressed Stottlemyer the most.

“They had a great tournament,” he said. “I have nothing but the greatest praise for those two guys. To come back and beat guys that either beat you earlier in the year or in the tournament like they did; that showed a lot of heart.”

Pitt freshman Joey Ecklof took home the final qualifying bid for the Panthers at 147 pounds. He finished fourth in the tournament and was selected by the coaches as a wild card for the NCAAs.

With the bids set, the Panthers now have their eyes set solely on a national title and All-American status.

“The opportunities will be there,” Stottlemyer said. “This was a good experience and the guys showed a lot of heart and fight. People really take notice of that.”