March 22, 2008

PITTSBURGH--Pitt's Keith Gavin has advanced to the national finals at the NCAA Wrestling Championships for the second consecutive year. The fifth-year senior will now set his sights on the national championship at 174-pounds which, should he succeed, would make him Pitt's first champion since Pat Santoro won back-to-back crowns in 1988 and 1989.

Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) punched his ticket to the finals with a close 3-2 decision over Iowa's Jay Borschel, the No. 4 seed, in one of the two semifinals at 174.

"I was pretty confident that eventually I was going to get a takedown," said Gavin of his bout with Borschel. "I came close one or two times, and he never really had me in any danger. I just stayed patient and knew it was coming."

Michigan's Steve Luke, the No. 2 seed, claimed victory in the other semifinal with 3-1 decision over No. 3 Brandon Browne of Nebraska.

The No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup will mark the second time that Gavin and Luke have squared off in the final of a major tournament this year. The All-Americans also battled for a title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December and Gavin came away with an overtime victory in a match that was littered with timeouts due to blood.

Gavin is Pitt's lone remaining competitor in the tournament, as Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) and brothers Drew and Ethan Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) all bowed out yesterday in the consolation round of their respective classes.

Kocher, the No. 6 seed, met up West Virginia's Zac Fyling in his second match yesterday and took the bout by a count of 3-0. His All-American aspirations were stopped short, however, when he ran into the No. 1 seed, Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro, who squeaked out a 1-0 victory.

The elder Headlee, Drew also picked up a victory in his second bout of yesterday's third session, disposing of Northern Illinois' Patrick McLemore by a score of 2-1. But like Kocher, Headlee could not advance any further in the 141-pound consolation bracket as he dropped his next match to No. 9 Nick Gallick of Iowa State, 9-3.

Ethan, a true freshman, was riding high after a pin of Air Force's Stephen Crozier in his first bout yesterday and carried that momentum into a bout with Penn's Zack Shanaman. Headlee and Shanaman were locked in a 1-1 tie as time eroded away the third. It appeared almost certain that overtime would be needed to decide the outcome, but as the clock approached 10 seconds, Shanaman was able to take down Headlee and walk away with the victory by a score of 3-1.

ESPNU will telecast the Championship Medal Round on Saturday, March 22, at 11 a.m., while ESPN will air the finals at 8:30 p.m. During the Championship Round, the referees will wear microphones, providing fans with even more access to and understanding of the action.

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