NO. 19 PITT SUFFERS FIRST LOSS AMID SEVERAL STRONG EFFORTS

The Panthers win five matches, can’t topple Tigers

PITTSBURGH —The No. 19 ranked Pitt wrestling team suffered its first defeat of the season tonight at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers (5-1, 1-0 EWL) put up a valiant effort and posted many strong individual performances, but fell to the No. 8 ranked Missouri Tigers (4-0, 0-0 Big 12), 23-17, in the team’s first home match of the season.

“We split the bouts five to five,” said Pitt’s Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer. “We just gave up some extra points whereas they didn’t. Missouri ’s No. 8 in the nation for a reason; they’re pretty good, but I was pleased with the effort from our guys. We know we can get better and we will get better.”

One of the Panthers five victories came from No. 15 ranked heavyweight Zach Sheaffer ( Carlisle , Pa. / Cumberland Valley ). The redshirt junior led No. 12 ranked Mark Ellis of Missouri 3-2 after the first period of action before putting up a dominant four-point effort in the second. Sheaffer then smothered Ellis in the third, adding a point for riding time and setting the final at 8-2. The Panther heavyweight upped his team leading total for victories on the year to 19 with the decision.

Sophomore Jimmy Conroy (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield ) was another bright spot in the Panther lineup tonight, as he battled with Missouri ’s John Olanowski at 133 pounds. Conroy used a takedown in the first and two near falls in the second to mount a 7-0 lead heading into the bout’s final period. He held off the Tiger grappler’s attempts at a comeback and earned a major decision by a count of 10-0.

Pitt’s other three victories came from likely sources – its three All-Americans. Drew Headlee ( Waynesburg , Pa. /Waynesburg) squared off against Willie Saxton of Missouri and did most of his scoring in the final period. After a pair of takedowns that put him up 4-2 heading into the third period, Headlee unleashed seven points on Saxton and added one more for riding time, giving the Panthers a 12-4 major decision and another four points toward their overall score.  

Matt Kocher ( State College , Pa. /State College), the No. 6 ranked wrestler at 157, used two penalty points on technical violations to ignite a scoring run that included a takedown and a point for riding time en route to a 6-3 decision over Missouri’s Emanuel Brooks.

No. 1 ranked Keith Gavin ( Factoryville , Pa. /Lackawanna Trail) remained undefeated and inched one match closer to 100 career victories with a 7-3 decision over Missouri ’s Nicholas Marable. Gavin recovered from a Marable takedown early in the first with an escape and a takedown of his own later in the period. He then used a three-point third period to put the match out of reach and push his record to 12-0 on the year.

Pitt’s next competition will be at the Midlands Championships at Northwestern University . The two day event will take place on Saturday, Dec. 29 and Sunday, Dec. 30. The Panthers next home match will be a three team affair with Duquesne and Franklin and Marshall on Friday, Jan. 5 at noon.

Attendance – 624

Referee – Nate Chapman