March 5, 2006

EDINBORO, Pa. - Pitt remains in third place after the first round of Sunday's EWL Championship finals. With 89 total points, they trail Edinboro (105) and West Virginia (100.5 points). Four Panthers won their bouts to advance to the third-place finals. The top three wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the NCAA tournament as well as five wild card bids.

In his first match of the day, true freshman Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) faced West Virginia's Scott Stuart. Gentzle was 1-1 in the tournament after day one, and today he picked up another win over Stuart. Gentzle scored first, earning two on a takedown. Stuart responded with an escape point and a takedown to earn a 3-2 lead after the first period. Gentzle came back with an escape in the second to tie the score. He gained momentum in the final period, earning points for two takedowns and riding time to take the match with an 8-3 decision. The victory put Gentzle in position to battle for a third-place finish.

Pitt's Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) faced Bloomsburg's George Hickman in his first match of Sunday's finals. Having lost to Hickman by a 7-5 over time decision, Ecklof came away with the win this time. In the first period, Ecklof gained a 2-0 lead with a takedown. Two escapes by Hickman in the second tied up the score heading into the final period. Ecklof scored on an escape to give him the 3-2 victory and put him in contention for a third-place finish.

At 157 pounds, Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) went up against Bloomsburg's Aric Fuhrman. The two wrestlers were scoreless in the first two periods. Fuhrman was able to score an escape point in the third, and with a point for riding time, he took the match with a 2-0 decision. Richmond will now move to the fifth-place bracket where he'll face Cleveland State's Victer Crenshaw.

The re-match between Pitt's Nick Padezan (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) and Lock Haven's Carlos Ponce was just as exciting as their last meeting with Padezan becoming victorious again. The two wrestlers were scoreless in the first period, but Padezan pulled ahead with an escape point in the second. With a point for riding time in the third period, Padezan won the 2-0 decision to advance him to the third-place bout.

Wrestling at 184 pounds was Pitt's Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan) against West Virginia's Chance Litton. Deliere lost a 5-1 decision to Litton earlier this season, but he was able to close the gap a little this time around. The first period was scoreless, but a takedown by Litton in the second gave him the lead. With a point for riding time, Litton won a 3-0 decision. Deliere moved to the fifth-place match.

Pitt's Mike Heist (Orfield, Pa./Parkland) gave the fans another exciting match at 197 pounds when he faced Lock Haven's Tom Kocher. Scoreless in the first period, Heist gained the lead in the second, scoring a point on an escape. Kocher responded with three escapes in the third, but two takedowns by Heist in the final period, the second one coming with just seconds left, gave him the 5-2 victory and put him in contention for an NCAA berth.

In the final match of this round, Pitt's Lou Thomas (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkerburg) faced Edinboro's Jeremy Mosley at heavyweight. Mosley gained an early lead with a two-point takedown in the first. Thomas scored on an escape in the second, but it wasn't enough at Mosley pulled through to gain a 5-2 win. Thomas moves to the fifth-place match later today.