March 26, 2007

PITTSBURGH - Pitt junior Keith Gavin was recognized at yesterday's Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic as the Pennsylvania Collegiate Wrestler of the Year. The NCAA runner-up at 174 pounds, Gavin recently capped off another successful season.

Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) entered the NCAA Champions as the No. 2 seed in his weight class after remaining at No. 2 in the national rankings for the better part of the season. With a 28-4 record, his only losses came against Askren (three times) and Michigan's Steve Luke (once). Gavin got off to a good start this season, placing second at the Cornell Body Bar and third at the Las Vegas Invitational. He went six for six in EWL duals and went on to win the league title at 174 pounds. Gavin had a 13-1 dual meet record this season and earned three falls, four technical falls and four major decisions. He is now 12th among Pitt's career pin leaders and his four technical falls this season made up half of the team's total. Gavin also tied for seventh for Pitt's most wins by a junior.

Wrestling Report chooses a recipient each year who is both a Pennsylvania native and competes for a Pennsylvania college or university. Past winners of this award were: Edinboro's Josh Koscheck (2001), Lehigh teammates Rob Rohn and Jon Trenge (2002-tie), Lehigh's Troy Letters (2003 and 2004), Pitt-Johnstown's Thad Benton (2005) and Penn State's Phil Davis (2006). Wrestling Report is headed by Allen Brown and Bruce Closson.