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Two Panthers Already Oklahoma-bound after Third- and Fifth-Place Consolations
March 5, 2006 EDINBORO, Pa. - Coaches are always telling their athletes that anything can happen in the postseason and everyone starts with a clean slate. It's a mindset that two Pitt wrestlers can relate to after today's EWL Championship tournament. Freshman Brad Gentzle and junior Mike Heist came into this tournament with the expectation to win, and they made it happen, earning their first NCAA tournament berths. "Our guys wrestled real hard today. I'm always proud of them when they wrestle like that," said Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer. He pointed out that he was very impressed with Gentzle and Heist for not giving up in their matches and persevering. It's been quite a season for true freshman Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton). With a 7-14 record, the Panther rookie competed in every dual match this year. Today, his hard work and persistence paid off as he became the first Panther this season to earn an NCAA bid. Gentzle was the first to score, earning tow points on a takedown, but a takedown and an escape by Cleveland State's Joe Wornoff gave him the 3-2 lead. Both wrestlers scored on escapes in the second, with Wornoff maintaining a 5-4 lead entering the final period. Gentzle fought back, and with an escape and takedown, won a 7-6 decision and a trip to Oklahoma. Gentzle now stands at 10-15 for the season and 5-7 in tournament matches. Pitt's second true freshman to be in NCAA contention was Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton). Ecklof faced West Virginia's David Jauregui in the third-place bout. Ecklof scored first on a takedown, but Jauregui came back with an escape to make the score 2-1 after the first period. Another escape by Jauregui in the second period tied the score at two with one period remaining. Ecklof scored on an escape to gain the lead, but Jauregui scored two points on a takedown with just seconds remaining to win the 4-3 decision. Ecklof closes out his freshman campaign with a record of 19-12 overall and a 12-7 tournament record. Redshirt freshman Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) battled in the fifth-place bout at 157 pounds. Against Cleveland State's Victer Crenshaw, Richmond scored on an escape and takedown in the first. Crenshaw did the same to tie the score at three. The second period went the same way, with both wrestlers scoring on a takedown and an escape to tie the score at six. In the final period, Crenshaw pulled through with another escape and takedown for the 9-6 win. Richmond finished sixth in the tournament, having compiled an overall record of 11-19 this season with an 8-9 record in tournaments. Pitt's Nick Padezan (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) took on Bloomsburg's Jim Bertulis at 174 pounds. Bertulis, the 2005 EWL champion at 165 pounds, earned another NCAA bid with a 10-3 decision over Padezan. The two wrestlers went scoreless in the first period, with Bertulis scoring on a takedown early in the second to gain the lead. A near fall gave him a 5-1 advantage heading into the final period. Padezan score on two escapes, but Bertulis scored on another takedown to win the match, 10-3. Padezan placed fourth overall, compiling a season record of 12-17 with an 8-9 tournament record. Redshirt freshman Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan) finished in sixth place at 184 pounds. Facing Bloomsburg's Nate Shirk, Deliere scored on an escape in the first, but a takedown by Shirk gave him a 2-1 lead. In the second period, Shirk scored on an escape and takedown while Delire scored on an escape. With both wrestlers going scoreless in the final period, Deliere lost a 5-3 decision to Shirk. Deliere closes out his season 7-21 overall and 6-9 in tournament action. Junior Mike Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) earned Pitt's second NCAA bid of the day, winning a 3-2 overtime decision against Bloomsburg's Jesse Hasseman. It was a scoreless first period, but Heist picked up an escape point in the second to gain the lead. An escape by Hasseman in the third sent the match into overtime. Both wrestlers scored on escapes to tie the score at two, but Heist came through in the end with a final escape to win a 3-2 decision. This was Heist's first EWL tournament appearance and now his first trip to nationals as well. He stands at 8-17 on the season with a 5-7 tournament record. Heavyweight Lou Thomas (Parkersburg, W.V.a/Parkersburg) won his final match of the tournament to place fifth over West Virginia's Matt Holsopple. In the first period, Thomas took the lead with a two-point takedown to Holsopple's escape. Thomas scored again on a takedown in the second period while Holsopple scored on two escapes. In the final period, Thomas came through with an escape, takedown and a point for riding time to give him the 8-4 victory. Both Gentzle and Heist will advance to the NCAA tournament after finishing third in their respective weight classes. Three Panthers still have competition ahead of them in this evening's championship finals, and there are still five wild card bids up for grabs. Team Standings Heading into the Championship Finals:
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