Pitt Wrestlers Have Successful Clarion Open
11/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 9, 2009
PITTSBURGH - Pitt wrestlers Tyler Nauman and Ethan Headlee each won their weight class Saturday at the Clarion Open, while seven others placed.
Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) went undefeated at 141 on the day, including a pin (1:43) over Matt Bogusz of Maryland. In the finals, Nauman was to meet up with teammate Dane Johnson (New Kensington, Pa./Shady Side Academy), but Johnson, a true freshman, took a forfeit to give Nauman the title. Johnson also had an outstanding tournament as he wrestled unattached, but won four matches prior to the finals.
At 174, Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) wrestled unattached but won five straight including a pin (6:32) against Robert Doyle of the US Military Academy, and a 7-5 victory over Hayden Harrison of host Clarion in the finals.
Freshman Anthony Zanetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) took third in the tournament with a 5-1 win over Derrik Russell of Bucknell and a 5-2 victory over Joe Waltko of Clarion.
At the 165 weight class, Adam Counterman took fourth. Counterman (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) pinned Chris Rushmore of Penn State (2:20) in the second round. He went on to defeat teammate, freshman PJ Tasser in the third round, 6-2 and was to meet up with teammate Phil Sorrentino in the bronze medal round. Counterman took the win in a forfeit while Sorrentino finished sixth.
Two Pitt wrestlers placed at 197 including a second place finish by senior A.J. Hunte (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) and a fourth place finish by Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley). Hunte won three straight including a pin (5:59) against Tim Kleman of SRU. Hunte's only loss was a 12-3 defeat to Richard Starks of the US Military Academy in the final.
Wilps won his first round match, 11-1, over Christian Boley of Maryland. He fell in the second round, but Wilps rebounded to claim the next three matches. The sophomore fell in a hard-fought 4-3 loss to Alex Thomas of Clarion to take fourth.
In the heavyweight division, Daniel Nickoli finished fifth. The sophomore won five matches on the day including a 6-4 win over Bryan Smith of Clarion. Nickoli (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) would eventually fall to Quintas McCorkle of Clarion, 12-7 to conclude his tournament.
The Panthers open up the dual match season Friday at Drexel with dual matches against Sacred Heart at noon and Drexel at 1:30 p.m. Pitt then travels to Lehigh for a Sunday match to conclude the weekend's action.