Pitt
NCAA Championships
Sheaffer Earns All-America in His Final Collegiate Match
3/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 21, 2009
NCAA Championship Photo Gallery
ST. LOUIS — Redshirt senior Zach Sheaffer’s wrestling career for the University of Pittsburgh came to an end today at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., today, March 21. With his 2-1 decision in the first tiebreaker over Zachery Rey (Lehigh), Sheaffer became a first-time All-American and just the fourth heavyweight in Pitt history to do so.
An opening-round loss to No. 2 seed Mark Ellis (Missouri) sent the senior to the consolation bracket where he strung together four wins, one of which came by fall, to earn All-America status. He advanced to the All-American round with a 2-1 decision in the first tiebreaker against Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) and a fall over Dominick Russo (Rutgers).
Competing against Rey for the second time this season and the right to be called an All-American, Sheaffer suffered a first-period concussion but remained poised, battling through regulation and sudden victory to set up his win in the first tiebreaker. Following the win, Sheaffer put in for a medical forfeit against Dan Erekson (Iowa) and John Wise (Illinois) to end his tournament.
Sheaffer finishes his career at Pitt tied for 13th on both the all-time wins and falls list with 107 victories and 20 pins.
Three other Panthers were eliminated from the tournament. Junior Jimmy Conroy, redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman and sophomore Ethan Headlee all dropped matches in the consolation bracket. Headlee was a 4-2 winner over Jason Lapham before falling to Trevor Stewart (Central Michigan) 4-3 to finish the tournament 2-2.
Conroy and Nauman both dropped their second matches of the consolation brackets. Nauman fell 5-4 to Frank Molinaro (Penn State) while Conroy lost 14-8 to 12th-seeded Steve Bell (Maryland).
The Panthers conclude the 2008-09 season with at least one All-American for the third straight year.
Players Mentioned
