Panthers Place at East Stroudsburg Open
11/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 23, 2005
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - Five Panthers wrestled in the East Stroudsburg Open on Saturday. Junior Matt Kocher dominated the 157-pound weight class, capturing his second tournament title this season. Keith Gavin was also a placewinner for the Panthers after earning a fifth-place finish with a 4-2 record.
Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) finished 6-0 in the tournament. On his way to a championship bout, he managed a pin over Dave Thorton of the Apprentice School and a 19-6 major decision over Archie Smith of Pitt-Johnstown. Kocher faced Hofstra's Mike Parziale in the championship match, winning with a 3-1 decision.
Gavin's (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) 4-2 record came after a major decision over Brent Nowak of the US Military Academy and a fall over Lehigh's Brian Lamay. He also faced Lamay in his final match and won with a medical forfeit.
Competing for the Panthers at 149 pounds was sophomore Julian Warshaw (New York, N.Y./Poly Prep) who finished 1-2 in the tournament. Warshaw's win came in a 3-1 decision over Nassau's John Petrofsky. Also finishing 4-1 was true freshman Justin Hunt (Salem, N.Y./Salem). In his first Pitt competition of the season, Hunt won by pinning Binghamton's Aaron Stayer at the 1:40 mark.
True freshman Mike Eckenroth (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) also made his debut as a Panther, finishing with a 2-2 record. Eckenroth's wins came as a 4-2 decision over Drexel's Nick Favorito and a 3-0 win over Paul Ritchey from Middlesex CC.
The Panthers will travel to Nevada next. The Las Vegas Invitational will take place on December 2-3 and will feature a number of the nation's top-ranked teams.