Pitt Battles in West Virginia Classic
11/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 12, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Several Panther wrestlers competed in the 24th annual West Virginia Classic tournament. Junior Matt Kocher led the way for the team, placing third at 157 pounds with a 6-1 record.
Kocher's (State College, Pa./State College) wins included two falls and a technical fall over Adam James of Maryland. He defeated Jake Frerichs of Ohio in the semi-finals, clinching third place with a 1-0 win.
Other strong performances by Panthers came from redshirt freshman Joe Ciampoli (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) at 141 pounds. Ciampoli wreslted to a 3-1 finish including a win over Duquesne's Brad Cipriani. Junior Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) finished 3-2 in the tournament with both a 12-4 major decision and a pin over Shawn McHeney.
Also in the Panther line up was Zach Bowman (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) at 133 pounds. He finished 1-2 in the tournament. True freshman Brandon Smith finished with a 2-2 record at 149 pounds after defeating Maryland's Kyle Harger, 2-0. Also finishing 2-2 was redshirt freshman Tim Allen (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) at 165 pounds. Nick Padezan (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) finished with a 3-2 record at 174 pounds including a major decision over Brandon Demastes. Redshirt freshmen Dave Kapetanovich (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills/CCAC) and Matt Darnell (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley C.A.) finished 0-2 for the tournament.
The Panthers officially open their season on Tuesday, November 15 with a league match up at Bloomsburg. The dual meet is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.