March 7, 2010
MORGANTOWN. W.Va. -
With the morning session in the books, the Pitt wrestling team sits in first place at the Eastern Wrestling League Championships with six wrestlers advancing to the title round. Pitt currently sits in first place with 103.0 points, followed by Edinboro in second with 84.5 points and Clarion in third with 83.0 points.
All 10 Panthers are still alive heading into the evening session. Competing for the title in tonight's action will be freshman Anthony Zanetta (125), senior Jimmy Conroy (133), sophomore Tyler Nauman (141), sophomore Zac Thomusseit (184), sophomore Matt Wilps (197) and junior Ryan Tomei (285).
Zanetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) earned a first round bye and advanced to the finals with an 11-1 major decision over Nick Hyatt of Lock Haven. Zanetta will face Shane Young of West Virginia.
Conroy (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) earned a 16-1 tech fall in the first round over Zech Huff of Cleveland State and a 3-1 sudden victory over Kyle Fluke of Edinboro to earn his spot in the finals. Conroy will face John Trumbetti of Lock Haven, as he tries to win his second consecutive title.
At 141, Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) took advantage of his first round bye, by earning a major decision over Owen Wilkinson of Lock Haven, 14-2. He will face Greg Lewis of Clarion in the finals.
Thomusseit (St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham) earned a 13-9 decision over Dan Michaels of Cleveland State in the first round and pinned Jeremie Cook of Lock Haven in the second round (5:59) for a trip to the finals. Thomusseit will meet Pat Bradshaw of Edinboro in the finals at 184.
At 197, Wilps (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) had a first round bye and battled to the 3-1 win over Kyle Rooney of West Virginia to advance to the championship match against Alex Thomas of Clarion.
In the heavyweight, Tomei (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) dominated in his first match of the day with a pin in just 1:31 over Chris Weber of Cleveland State. In the semifinals, Tomei and Edinboro's Chris Birchler battled to an overtime 2-1 decision, putting Tomei in the finals. He will meet up with Brandon Williamson of West Virginia.
The evening session is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
