University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt Wrestler Max Thomusseit Named EWL Freshman of the Year
3/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 23, 2011
PITTSBURGH- Pitt freshman wrestler Max Thomusseit was named EWL Freshman of the Year, the league announced Wednesday morning.
Thomusseit finished his season with a 27-13 record at the 184-pound weight class. He recorded five falls and five major decisions and was the EWL Championship runner-up, which automatically qualified him for a spot in the NCAA Championships.
"Max is certainly deserving of the award," Pitt Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer said Monday. "It's very difficult for a true freshman to come in and wrestle in the upper divisions and achieve success so quickly."
The St. Paris, Ohio native spent several weeks ranked in the top-20 by numerous wrestling publications.
Throughout the season, Thomusseit went 14-5 in dual action, starting in all 19 contests. In the EWL, the freshman went 5-1, losing only to the nation's top wrestler, Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro. At the conference championships, Thomusseit advanced to the finals before falling to Honeycutt. The second-place finish guaranteed him a spot in the NCAA Championships.
Thomusseit opened the season with a perfect 4-0 record en route to claiming the Clarion Open title.
At the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, Thomusseit won his opening round over Erich Schmditke of Big-12 powerhouse Oklahoma, defeating him, 6-4, and advancing to the round of 16.
In his 40 matches this season, 11 were against 2011 NCAA qualifiers and six against NCAA All-Americans including both the finalist, Robert Hamlin of Lehigh, and the champion, Quentin Wright of Penn State.
"I'm sure Max is a little disappointed that he wasn't an All-American in his first year, but he's going to be there in the near future," Stottlemyer added. "He's got high aspirations and he wants nothing more than to be standing on that podium at the end of the NCAA's."
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