Sheaffer Reaches Semifinals at 46th Midlands Championships
12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 30, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Four Pitt wrestlers remain in action at the 46th Annual Midlands Championships. Senior heavyweight and sixth seed Zach Sheaffer is the lone Panther left in the championship bracket, reaching the semifinals after rattling off three wins, two of which were of the bonus-point variety.
The Panthers sit in a tie for ninth place currently with American, amassing 35.5 team points. Defending champion and No. 1 ranked Iowa is atop the standings with 93.0 points, 14 ahead of second place Iowa State.
Sheaffer earned a 9-1 major decision in the opening round of the heavyweight bracket over Pat Gilmore (Maryland). After a 5-2 decision over Chris Kasten (Purdue), Sheaffer recorded a second period fall against Nate Everhart (Indiana). The two-time EWL Champion will meet Dan Erekson (Iowa) in the semifinals tomorrow.
Also alive in the wrestle back brackets are Ethan Headlee (165) and David Sullivan (174). Headlee and Sullivan each posted 3-1 records in day one action. A first-period fall over Robbie Micheals (Cleveland State) was followed by a 4-3 decision over Kyle Bertin (Unattached-Northwestern) for Headlee. After a 12-4 loss to fifth seeded Luke Manuel (Purdue), Headlee bounced back with his second first-period fall of the day, with Steve Crozier (Air Force) going down with just over 20 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Sullivan remains in action despite dropping a 12-5 decision to sixth seeded John Dergo (Illinois) in the opening round. Three straight decisions later, 5-0 over Derrick Yant (Northern Illinois), 3-2 over Chris Purcel (Unattached Iowa State) and 4-2 over Travis Rutt (Wisconson) stamped Sullivan's ticket to day two.
Zac Thomusseit also advanced to day two, posting a 1-1 record in the 184-pound bracket. After a 6-3 loss to Vince Didona (Central Michigan), he bounced back to card a 3-1 win over Eric Cameron (Indiana).
Action at the 46th Annual Midlands Championships wraps up tomorrow with the semifinals and finals to be aired on the Big Ten Network. The semifinals will be taped and aired prior to the finals, which will air live at 7 p.m.