Wrestling Drops Two to End Regular Season
2/22/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Wrestling Drops Two to End Regular Season
2/22/1999
The Pittsburgh wrestling team completed its regular season schedule this week, dropping contests to Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) opponent Edinboro on Feb. 16, 23-9, and 18th-ranked Lehigh on Feb. 21, 23-13, in its final home match of the season.
The Panthers fell behind early at Edinboro and were unable to recover. The match began with an upset victory by Edinboro's Josh Koscheck over seventh-ranked Nick Mengerink (Upper Sanduskey, Ohio.Carey) with a 3-3 rideout win in overtime at 174 pounds. Freshman Dan Stine (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) won one of three bouts for Pittsburgh with a 7-3 decision at 197 pounds. Sophomore Shawn Amistade (Washington, Pa./Trinity), ranked 13th in the country, claimed the 133-pound match with a 4-2 decision and junior Mike Ziska (North Huntindon, Pa./Norwin) won 157 pounds, 6-2.
After four bouts versus Lehigh, the match was tied 8-8, with major decisions by both Amistade and Mike Germano (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Lehigh took the lead for good with a 9-1 major decision at 157 pounds. The Mountain Hawks also claimed a 6-3 decision at 165 pounds before both wrestlers, Pittsburgh's Brian Pardini (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and Lehigh's Travis Dotto, were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct with each team receiving a one-point reduction. The match score then stood at 14-7. Mengerink pulled the score within four with a 3-2 decision over Mark Dufresne at 174, before Lehigh's fourth-ranked John Von Doren pinned Pittsburgh's freshman Jake Nelson 1:20 into the 184-pound bout. Stine finished the scoring for the Panthers with a 9-5 decision at 197 pounds. Stine's victory improved him to 32-9 on the season, placing him solely in second place on the Top 10 Seasons by a Freshman list.
The EWL Championships will be hosted by Cleveland State March 6-7. Pittsburgh hopes to make a strong showing at the tournament and qualify some of its top wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. Forty-one competitors will advance to the tournament with the top three finishers of each class automatically qualifying. Eleven alternates will also be chosen. Current eligible Panthers that have an opportunity to return to nationals are Mengerink, a 1998 All-American, Chad Jesko (Dunbar, Pa./Connellsville), who will return after suffering a shoulder injury versus West Virginia, Ziska and Kevin Johnson (Centerville, Va./Chantilly). Additional candidates include Amistade, Pardini, Stine and Mueller.
EWL HONORS: Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer and his Pittsburgh Panthers were named as the Eastern Wrestling League's Wrestlers of the Week for their victory over then 13th-ranked West Virginia. Wrestling is in many respects an individual sport, and the EWL has a tradition of selecting only one individual as the wrestler of the week. But this time, the league chose to recognize the fact that wrestling is also a team sport. On Feb. 11, the Panthers put together a supreme effort in defeating West Virginia, 21-10, and handing the Mountaineers their first EWL loss of the season. Pittsburgh won seven decisions on their way to claiming their 11th win of the year.