Pittsburgh's Josh Birt Named EWL Wrestler of the Week

12/23/2003

The senior won the 197-pound weight class at this past Friday's Beast of the East Tournament.

PITTSBURGH — Senior 197-pounder Josh Birt was named the Eastern Wrestling League's Wrestler of the Week for his work at Friday's Beast of the East Tournament in Newark, Del.

Birt (Spokane, Wash./North Idaho JC/East Valley) won all four of his matches at the one-day tournament to improve to 10-2 in 2003-04 and helped the Panthers earn the overall team title, topping the 20-team field with 126.5 points.

In the first round, Birt pinned Patrick Keenum of Duke at the 3:22 mark in the second period to advance to the quarterfinals. There, Birt was a 6-2 decision winner over Venroy July of North Carolina.

Seeded third in the tournament, Birt moved past the No. 2 seed, Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo, in the semifinals by medical forfeit and then easily won the tournament title with a 9-1 major decision over the No. 1 seed, Matt Delguyd of Northwestern.

Birt is a former national JUCO champion and transferred to Pittsburgh prior to the 2002-03 season. He only wrestled seven dual matches last season but is enjoying early success in what could be a breakthrough year. Birt has two pins and three major decisions among his 10 victories thus far.

He joins Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) as EWL Wrestler of the Week honorees for the Panthers this season. Headlee earned his honor for the week ending November 30.

Birt and the Panthers will be competing in the Midlands Tournament in Chicago, Ill., on Dec. 29-30.