Panthers Set for 46th Midlands Championships
12/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 28, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team will make its way to Evanston, Ill. this weekend for the 46th Annual Midlands Championships. Action at the Midlands begins Monday, Dec. 29 with finals to be aired live on the Big Ten Network Tuesday, December 30 at 7 p.m. Last season the Panthers finished sixth with two wrestlers making finals appearences. Defending champion and No. 1 ranked Iowa returns along with 45 other teams to this year's championships.
LAST YEAR AT MIDLANDS...
Two Pitt wreslters reached the finals at last year's championhpis, helping the Panthers to a sixth place finish at the 45th installment of one of the most prestegious tournaments each year. Keith Gavin bringing home the top place in the 174-pound division with a 13-4 major decsion. Matt Kocher advanced to the finals of the 157-pound bracket, falling to the number one wrestler in the country, Mike Poeta of Illinois, 3-2.
Also placing at last year's championships was Zach Sheaffer. Sheaffer entered the tournament seeded seventh and placed sixth overall.
MOVIN' ON UP
After their fourth-place finish at the 27th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the Panthers found their way into the USA Today/Intermat/NWCA rankings in the No. 25 spot. After climbing to No. 24, the Panthers dropped a hard-fought match against No. 20 Northwestern, 20-18, slipping to No. 25 in this week's rankings.
NORTHWESTERN RECAP
Pitt's match against No. 20 Northwestern came down to the wire, with the heavyweight match determining the winner of the dual. Pitt's Zach Sheaffer needed a pin to win the match for the Panthers, but fell just short, defeating Ben Kuhar, 9-6.
The Wildcats opened up with a major decision in the 125-pound match before Jimmy Conroy recorded his first pin of the year just 45 seconds into the first period to put the Panthers on the board.
Pitt increased its lead when redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman earned the 5-2 decision in the featured match of the night over No. 6 Keith Sulzer. Nauman's decision was the 15th win of the season, putting him in a four-way tie for the team high mark.
Northwestern won three of the next four matches, taking a 20-12 lead into the final two matches of the night. Freshman Matt Wilps kept the Panthers' hopes alive with a 2-1 decision in the 197-pound match, setting the stage for Sheaffer.
Down 20-15 and needing a pin to win, Sheaffer took to the mat and scored a takedown just 13 seconds into the first period and relentlessly tried to turn Kuhar to no avail. The Pitt senior would end up winning by decision, bringing the final tally to 20-18 in favor of the Wildcats.
2008 FINALE
Pitt wraps up 2008 at the 46th Midlands Championships. The Midlands will be Pitt's final tournament competition until the EWL Championships March 7th. The Panthers will break in 2009 with six matches in the month of January, starting with a home dual against No. 8 ranked Illinois.
RANKED PANTHERS
Three Panthers enter this week's Midlands Championshps ranked among the top 20 in their respective weight classes. Junior Jimmy Conroy is 14th in the 133-pound class, redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman is 9th at 141-pounds and senior heavyweight Zach Sheaffer is 6th in the heavyweight class.