March 5, 2006

EDINBORO, Pa. - Pitt's been making EWL history the past few years, and this year it was redshirt senior Justin Nestor's time to secure his place in the record books. Winning the championship title at 165 pounds, he is now a four-time NCAA qualifier with hopes of becoming an All-American this season.

"We call Nestor `Lunchbox' because he has that Pittsburgh work ethic about him," said Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer. "If you want to work out with Nestor, you better show up because he's going to give all he's got. He's been as consistent as you can be, and being a four-time NCAA qualifier is a testament to that. He's the kind of wrestler where you know what you're going to get out of him."

When asked about his performance today, Nestor said with a laugh, "I figured I needed to get my picture up on that wall," referring to the wall of conference champions in the new wrestling facility. He did say, on a more serious note, that he was happy with the team's overall performance and is hoping to achieve All-America honors in the upcoming weeks.

Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) won his first bout of the tournament by defeating Clarion's Chris Goings with a fall at the 5:53 mark. This marked Nestor's 34th career pin, ranking him second among Pitt's all-time pin leaders. In his second match, he won a 10-0 major decision over Lock Haven's Rory McCoy to qualify for today's championship finals.

In his last match, Nestor faced West Virginia's Larry Hall. With both wrestlers going scoreless in the first period, Nestor was able to earn two points for a reversal in the second. He maintained his 2-0 lead to capture the bout title, making him the 25th wrestler in Pitt history to become an EWL champion. Nestor is also one of eleven Pitt wrestlers to become a four-time NCAA qualifier.