Freshman leads wrestling in wins

Matt Kocher of the Pitt wrestling team has been named the Freshman Male Athlete of the… Matt Kocher of the Pitt wrestling team has been named the Freshman Male Athlete of the Winter by The Pitt News Sports Staff. The honor follows a campaign that saw Kocher lead the Panthers in victories on the way to being named the Eastern Wrestling League’s Freshman of the Year.

“”There’s one thing every time he goes out there and that is that he wrestles hard,” Pitt wrestling head coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “He’s been a real find for us and he has just done a great job. But the thing we like most about the kid is that he goes hard all the time.”

During his freshman season, Kocher won 32 matches for Pitt, the fourth most by a freshman in Panthers’ wrestling history. Kocher also registered an 11-3 record in dual bouts, including four falls and five major decisions.

After finishing second in the EWL Championships at 149 pounds, Kocher earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, where he won three of his five matches. Kocher’s three victories at the NCAA Championships were the most by any Pitt wrestler this season.

“I was pleased with my overall performance on the year,” Kocher said. “At the NCAA tournament, I won three matches and made it relatively far through the tournament and beat some good guys.”

In his sophomore season, Kocher looks forward to helping the Panthers win an EWL Championship and advance further in the NCAA Championships. Pitt returns 27 wrestlers, including eight of 10 probable starters for the 2004-2005 season, losing only seniors Josh Birt and Travis Shirley.

“As a team, we’re definitely looking to win our first EWL title, both in the tournament and regular season,” Kocher said. “We have eight wrestlers returning, and the two spots will probably be filled by incoming freshmen. So, hopefully, they’ll be able to jump right into competition and win matches for us. And we all have high expectations for everybody returning.”