Pitt
Las Vegas Invitational
Panthers Battle in Las Vegas Invitational
12/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 5, 2005
LAS VEGAS - The Panthers traveled west last weekend for the 24th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational held at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas. Up against nine nationally ranked teams, the Panthers faced some of this season's toughest competition.
True freshman Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) finished 0-2 in his first major tournament at 125 pounds. Gentzle was pinned in the pigtail round by Nathan Costello of Ohio State at the 2:38 mark and lost 7-4 in his consolation round.
Mike Ciotti (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) opened the tournament at 133 pounds with a 11-0 major decision over Eastern Michigan's Chris Jenkins. Ciotti faced his first loss in the second round against Penn's Matt Valenti who won 3-1. He also dropped a 6-4 decision to George Mason's Will Powars in his first consolation round.
At 141 pounds, redshirt senior Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) finished seventh in the tournament winning his last match against Shanon Slack of Old Dominion by forfeit. Tarquinio compiled a 4-2 record in the tournament, starting it off with a 17-2 tech fall over Gordo Villaesusa of Embry-Riddle. He then went on to defeat Brandon Rader of West Virginia with a 3-1 decision. Tarquinio then faced UC Davis' Derek Moore where he lost 6-2. He made a comeback in his first round of consolations, defeating Penn's Cesar Grajales 8-2. In the second round he dropped a 4-3 decision to Mike Keefe of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) competed for the Panthers at 149 pounds, finishing 3-2 in the tournament. His wins came as a 10-9 decision over Terrence Almond of Dana, a 3-1 decision over Arizona State's Pat Payne and another 3-1 decision over Troy Tirapelle of Illinois. Ecklof faced Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum in the quarterfinals, losing 12-5. He also lost a 6-4 decision in consolations to Western State's Camille DuPont.
Wrestling at 157 pounds, Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) compiled a 2-2 record in the tournament, winning his opening round against Derek Neitz of the Citadel by a score of 7-3. In his second round, he lost a 9-7 decision to Ben Henderson of Dana but won his first round of consolations by a forfeit over UC Davis' Dustin Noack. Richmond then face North Idaho's Jacob Friedman in the final match, losing 6-4.
Justin Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) captured his 100th career win at 165 pounds. In his first match up of the tournament, Nestor pinned Dana's Trent Leichleiter at the 1:56 mark. He went on to win his next two rounds with a 11-0 major decision over Lassen's Ray Richardson and a 6-1 win over Dan Thompson of the Citadel. He lost in the quarterfinals 6-0 to Mike Poeta of Illinois but came back to win his first round of consolations over Rob Maxwell of Cal Poly with an 8-2 decision. Nestor was defeated 4-3 in his next round by Steve Anceravage of Cornell. His 100th win came in his final match up of the tournament with a 7-0 decision over Beau Tresemer of the USAF Academy.
At 174 pounds, Nick Padezan (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) finished 1-2 for the tournament with his 7-3 win coming over James Reynolds of Adams State. Padezan was defeated in the first round of the tournament with a pin by Missouri's Ben Askren at the 2:12 mark. His other loss came as a 4-2 decision by Josh Johnston of Missouri Valley.
Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan) finished 1-2 at 184 pounds for the Panthers. In the first round of competition he suffered an 18-2 technical fall to Fullerton's Jesse Taylor. Deliere fought back in consolations, capturing a 7-3 win over Chris Angle of Cal Poly. He lost his final match 7-4 to Preston Pavich of Wyoming.
At 197 pounds was Lou Thomas (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) who finished 0-2 in the tournament with two 10-6 defeats coming from Oregon State's Dan Pitsch and Mark Thompson of the Citadel.
The Panthers finished 24th in the tournament with a total score of 32 points. Their next dual meet is scheduled for December 19th at 7:30 p.m. in the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers will take on the Missouri Tigers for Pittsburgh Panther Wrestling Alumni Day.
