Wrestling looks to excel at EWL Championships

After a strong regular season, which saw the team finish third in the Eastern Wrestling… After a strong regular season, which saw the team finish third in the Eastern Wrestling League, Pitt looks to send as many wrestlers as it can to the NCAA Championships.

Pitt’s wrestlers will travel to Bloomsburg, W.Va., this weekend to compete in the EWL Championships. There are 37 wrestlers from the EWL who will qualify to advance, including the top three in each weight class and seven wild-card berths.

“I always tell my guys to never depend on the wild card,” head coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “Just go out and finish in the top three.”

At 125 pounds, Pitt freshman Drew Headlee is the man to beat. Headlee (17-5) rolled through the dual meet season this year undefeated. Peter Derstine, from Clarion, is a strong favorite to meet Headlee in the finals.

“[Headlee’s] the No. 1 seed and he obviously gets that,” Stottlemyer said. “He’s had a great year and has beaten everybody.”

At 133 pounds, David Hoffman of Virginia Tech looks to be the No. 1 seed with Edinboro University’s Jacob Gray right behind him. Pitt’s Mike Ciotti (5-4) should get the No. 3 seed and should have a legitimate shot at advancing.

Pitt’s Ron Tarquinio (22-10) looks to grab the No. 1 seed in a really tough weight class at 141 pounds. Frank Edgar of Clarion and Joe Clarke of West Virginia look to be his toughest competition.

“Everybody has beaten everybody in this weight class, but [Tarquinio] has beaten them all,” Stottlemyer said.

Two-time NCAA All-American Mike Maney from Lock Haven University aims to take home the EWL gold at 149 pounds. Mike Torriero from West Virginia University, however, has a dual-meet win over Maney and has a legitimate shot at the title. Pitt freshman Matt Kocher (27-10) will definitely be heard from.

“[Kocher] actually took a couple of losses and didn’t get a chance to wrestle the number one seed from Lock Haven,” Stottlemyer said. “He’ll be right in the mix.”

West Virginia’s Matt Lebe will be the No. 1 seed at 157 pounds since he has beaten everyone else, but he is not head and shoulders above everyone else. Lock Haven senior Charlie Brenneman is also capable of grabbing the crown. Pitt’s Justin Nestor (24-13) is as well.

The best 165-pound wrestler in the EWL is considered to be Edinboro’s Matt King. King, however, has swapped wins with Virginia Tech’s Chris Stith and will face tough competition from the rest of the field, including Pitt’s Zach Doll (18-6), who has held national ranking during the season.

Edinboro’s Nate Yetzer, who holds a top-10 national ranking, looks like the strongest EWL 174 pound wrestler this season. Two guys with a shot at the finals are Pitt’s Francis Iorfido (23-8) and Clarion University’s Aaron Wright.

“Francis has wrestled pretty well,” Stottlemyer said. “Hopefully he’ll have good focus. That’s really important.”

NCAA champion Greg Jones from West Virginia leads the way at 184 pounds, followed by Alex Clemsen of Edinboro. Jones is undefeated this season and holds the nation’s number one ranking. Pitt’s Mike Croyle (10-11) will take aim at defeating the former champion.

“Greg Jones is a pretty tough guy. He’s in a class by himself,” Stottlemyer said.

In the 197-pound class, it will be anybody’s title. Each wrestler has beaten each other throughout the season and it’s hard to say who the No. 1 seed will be, but Pitt’s Josh Birt (19-8) is a favorite for it. The other two in the mix will be Matt Daddino of West Virginia and Joe Phillips of Cleveland State University.

Nationally ranked heavyweights Russ Davie of Cleveland State and Edinboro’s Joe Hennis ,SA figure to get the top two seeds. Pitt’s Travis Shirley (17-15) will be in the mix as the top two are very beatable.

“Shirley could easily fight for third, if not first or second,” Stottlemyer said.

The most wrestlers Pitt has sent to the NCAA Championships in one year is eight and Pitt has a realistic shot at exceeding that this year, as well as walking away as the EWL tournament team champions.

“It’s a crazy tournament. You know the basketball 64-team tournament in March? It’s just like that,” Stottlemyer said. “Crazy things always seem to happen.”