Wrestlers Complete Season
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team ended its 1997-98 dual meet campaign, splitting two Eastern Wrestling League competitions this past weekend. The Panthers finished the season with a 12-6 overall record and 5-1 mark in the EWL.
Pittsburgh began the weekend defeating 19th-ranked Edinboro, 18-15, Feb. 20 at Fitzgerald Field House.
The Fighting Scots opened the scoring at 118 pounds with Jason Gabrielson's 5-4 victory over Pittsurgh's Shawn Amistade (Washington, Pa./Trinity). The Panthers quickly rallied with 11th-ranked Rob Loper's (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) 3-1 decision over Kevin Saniga at 126 pounds. Pittsburgh also added points to the match score with junior Chad Jesko's (Dunbar, Pa./Connellsville) 5-4 win at 134 pounds and sophomore Mike Ziska's (N. Huntington, Pa./Norwin) 3-2 victory at 142 pounds.
At the 150-pound weight class, Edinboro's Ben Boozer wrestled to a 6-2 decision over junior Brian Pardini (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair). Pittsburgh junior Jacob Schaus (Kennedy, N.Y./Falconer) followed with a 3-2 decision over Edinboro's Mark Samples at 158 pounds and at 167 pounds, seventh-ranked Nick Mengerink (Upper Sandusky, Ohio/Carey) defeated 12th-ranked Pete Walsh, 2-0. In a battle of nationally ranked wrestlers, fourth-ranked senior John Withrow (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) added an 8-3 victory over sixth-ranked Jim Straight at 177 pounds.
Edinboro brought the match score to 18-12 when first-ranked Jason Robison pinned fifth-ranked Mark Bodo (Greenville, Pa./Reynolds) in the third period of the 190-pound bout. The Fighting Scots won the final match of the evening with Matt Stein's 3-2 decision over Matt Mueller (N. Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford).
In their final dual meet of the season, the Panthers dropped a 21-14 decision to 18th-ranked Lehigh, Feb. 22.
Lehigh's Mike Sferra won the opening match, defeating Pittsburgh's Amistade, 7-1, at 118 pounds. The Panthers' quickly followed with two victories at 126 and 134 to hold a 8-3 lead over Lehigh. Loper won a 19-2 technical fall at 6:58 over James Hamfeldt in the 126-pound weight class, and Jesko defeated Dave Esposito, 8-6, at 142 pounds.
Lehigh won bouts at the next three weights to take a 12-8 lead. At 167 pounds, Mengerink won a 6-4 decision over Mark Dufresne to pull within 12-11, but at 177 Lehigh's John Van Doren defeated Withrow, 3-2. Pittsburgh's Bodo defeated Glauco Lolli- Ghetti, 7-3, at 190 pounds and Lehigh won the final match on Bill Closson's pin on Matt Mueller at 2:44 at heavyweight for the 21- 14 win.
The Panthers return to action when they compete in the EWL Championships March 6-7 at Edinboro University.