Keith Gavin Wins Michigan State Open Title at 157 Pounds
11/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Keith Gavin Wins Michigan State Open Title at 157 Pounds
11/21/2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. ? The Pittsburgh wrestling team had an individual weight-class winner in sophomore Keith Gavin and a total of eight placewinners at the Michigan State Open, which finished its two-day competition on Sunday afternoon.
Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) won the 157-pound weight class as the No. 6 seed in the field. He finished 5-0 for the weekend with wins over the third, fifth and seventh seeds and had two major decisions, a technical fall and a fall to improve to 6-1 for the season.
At 125 pounds, freshman Dave Morgan (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) finished 2-2 with one fall while fellow freshman Zach Bowman (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) won one of his three bouts with a major decision.
Sophomore Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) placed eighth in the 133-pound weight class with a record of 3-1 before injury defaulting in his last two matches. Headlee is now 5-1 in the young season.
The Panthers had two placewinners at 141 pounds in junior Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) and freshman Joe Ciampoli (Altoona, Pa./Altoona). Tarquinio placed second in the tournament with a record of 3-1, including a major decision victory. Ciampoli was the eighth-place finisher and won two bouts but injury defaulted in three separate bouts.
At 149 pounds, sophomore Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College Area) placed fourth in his class with five wins against just two losses. Included in his five victories were a technical fall, a pin and a major decision. Kocher is now 7-2 for the 2004-05 season.
Joining Gavin at 157 pounds was freshman Brian Scott (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and the first-year grappler finished 2-2 with a major decision win wrestling unattached.
Junior Justin Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) stopped an 0-2 streak to begin his season with a 4-1 mark and a second-place finish at the Open. Nestor, the third seed, had three decision victories by a combined 24-4 and won his fourth match by pin at 1:01 before falling in the finals.
The Panthers had four wrestlers competing at 174 pounds and senior Zachariah Doll (Quakertown, Pa./The Hill School) placed third with seven straight wins after an opening-round loss to improve to 7-3 for the season. Doll won wo of his bouts by fall. Other 174-pounders competing were Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan), who finished 0-2, senior Steve Selcher (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), who also finished 0-2, and junior Francis Iorfido (Johnsonburg, Pa./Johnsonburg) who finished 2-2 in his first action of the season.
At 184 pounds, sophomores Michael Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) and Eric Cassidy (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) combined for four wins (two apiece) and finished 4-4 for the tournament with a fall by Cassidy.
Freshman Lou Thomas (Vienna, W.Va./Parkersburg) finished the tournament with a 2-2 mark wrestling at 197 pounds with two decision victories.
Finally, at heavyweight, the Panthers' Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) finished fifth overall with a 5-2 mark, which included a fall victory in consolations. Fellow freshman Devin Derrico (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) was a winner in two of his four bouts to finish 2-2.
Pittsburgh will compete at the Mat Town Invitational this coming weekend.