March 21, 2008

ST. LOUIS--Session three of the 2008 NCAA Championships began this morning from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., with five Pitt wrestlers still in the competition. In session two, five of Pitt's six competitors suffered losses, making for a rather disappointing day. This morning the Panthers came out on a roll, registering four victories against only one loss and kept their tournament dreams alive for another round.

Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) drew Wyoming's Carter Downing for his first bout in the consolation round. Pitt's 2005 All-America honoree picked up the victory in relatively high scoring matchup.

Headlee began the bout by charging out to 7-0 lead in the first period, but Downing registered an escape and a takedown as the clock struck zero, cutting the lead to four at the start of the second. Pitt chose down to start that second frame, allowing Headlee to pull a reversal that pumped his advantage back up to six.

Downing then answered with the next six points of the bout, tying the score and putting the pressure squarely on Pitt's fifth-year senior. Headlee was up to the task; however, as he managed an escape late in the third and then held on to claim the bout by a score of 10-9.

The No. 6 seed at 157, Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) lost a heartbreaker yesterday in his second bout of the day against Boise State's No. 11 seed Tyler Sherfey. Just 11 seconds of riding time deciding the bout after two sudden victory periods. Kocher fared much better today when he stepped to the mat against Northern Iowa's Tyson Reiner. Reiner managed only one escape in the second period, while Kocher racked up well over two minutes of riding time and used myriad of takedowns and three-point near falls to register a technical fall by a count of 17-1 with just 5:16 gone in the match.

Ethan Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) was another Panther who didn't need the full seven minutes to decide his bout with Air Force's Stephen Crozier. Headlee had already scored a takedown and a two-point near fall with just one minute gone in the match, giving him a 4-0 lead against the Falcon grappler. The younger Headlee was not satisfied, however, and continued to put pressure on Crozier, eventually getting him to his back and recording the pin with just 1:14 gone in the bout. He will advance to the next round of consolation bouts and upped his record in this year's tournament to 2-1, with his only loss coming against the No. 1 seed, Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum.

Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) faced a potential scare in his quarterfinal bout in the championship bracket when he locked up with Boise State's Nathan Lee. Lee entered the tournament unseeded, but had already upset they No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in his first two matches. Lee hung tough with the nation's No.1 wrestler for two periods, but Gavin turned on the offense in the third, using an escape and two takedowns to build a four-point lead and end Lee's Cinderella run. The scoreboard read 7-4 when the clock struck zero, signaling Gavin's second trip to the semifinals in as many years. It also guarantees that he will be an All-American for the second straight time.

Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) was the only Pitt grappler to suffer a defeat in his third bout. He met up with Northern Colorado's Reece Hopkin. Hopkin picked up a takedown with just over a minute gone in the first and then played defense the rest of the way, winning by that two-point margin. The No. 10 seed, Sheaffer had a legitimate scoring chance near the end of the second, but Hopkin managed to break free and slide out of bounds. The loss ended Sheaffer's tournament hopes and leaves four Pitt wrestlers in the field of competition.

The wrestlers will be back in action this afternoon at the Scottrade Center.

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