#8 Wrestlers Celebrate Senior Night With 26-9 Win Over #14 Mercyhurst
02/22/08...An 11-0 lead to start the match, highlighted by senior Brandon Reasy's (New Enterprise, Pa.) technical fall win at 133 lbs., got the #8-ranked Mountain Cat wrestling team going in a 26-9 Senior Night victory over #14 Mercyhurst College, Friday night in the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats have now won 11 of its last 12 matches and enter next weekend's East Regional Tournament with a 17-5 overall record.
Pitt Johnstown won the first three bouts and to build an 11-point lead. East Region #6 Bosso kicked things off with a 3-0 win over East Region #4 Payne Lint at 125 lbs. Reasy scored an 18-3 technical fall at 3:47 over Lance Pitcel at 133 lbs. and Shane Valko (141 lbs.) (Windber, Pa.) defeated Braxdon Scaletta, 10-4 to give the Mountain Cats an 11-0 lead.
Mercyhurst got back into the match with wins at 149 and 157 lbs. NCAA #3-ranked Brian Pogel won a 7-0 decision over Adam Whetstone (Claysburg, Pa.) at 149 lbs., and 2007 All-American and #5-ranked Andy Lamancusa's 6-1 win over Mazen Kholi (Allentown, Pa.) at 157 lbs. to cut the deficit to 11-6.
Sophomore Kyle Keane (165 lbs.) (Bradford, Pa.), ranked #2 in the East Region earned an impressive win to increase the lead to 14-6. Keane, less than a week after suffering the death of his father, wrestled inspired and upset NCAA #6 and East Region #1 Hudson Harrison, 11-8. Mercyhurst responded with Josh Shield's 5-0 decision over Albert Miles (Canonsburg, Pa.) at 174 lbs.
Mike Corcetti (184 lbs.) (Export, Pa.), ranked #5 in the nation, dealt Bryan Wolff an 8-4 setback and #6 Patrick Walsh (Leesport, Pa.) defeated Trevor Gallo 4-3 at 197 lbs. to put Pitt Johnstown up 20-9 and secure the victory. Then, Zach Majocha (Upper Burrell, Pa.) ended the match with a bang when he pinned Kenny Bluska at 3:22 in the heavyweight match to set the final score at 26-9.
With the loss, Mercyhurst fell to 10-14.
Prior to the match, the Pitt Johnstown Athletic Department recorgnized this year's seniors, Derrek Bosso (125 lbs.), Mike Corcetti (184 lbs.), Zach Majocha (HWT.), Albert Miles (174 lbs.), Brandon Reasy (133 lbs.) and Rob Sakmar (165 lbs.).
Bosso, a 2007 All-American, has a 20-11 overall record and a 9-8 dual meet record. He climbed as high as #3 in the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association poll earlier this season. Of his 19 wins, 13 have come by way of decision. He also has three major decisions, two falls and one default win. Bosso won the championship at the 2007 Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open on November 4, and finished second at the Wilkes University Open on December 28.
Corcetti, a three-time All-American, will go down as one of the best to ever wear the Pitt Johnstown singlet. He became the 18th Mountain Cat to reach the 100-win plateau when he posted a 4-0 record and won the title at the season-opening Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open on November 4. His 125 career wins currently rank fifth on the Mountain Cat All-time Win List. This season, Corcetti has a 30-7 overall record and a 17-3 record in dual meets. His 29 wins are tied with Reasy for fourth on the team. Corcetti leads Pitt Johnstown with eight victories by technical fall. Along with winning the championship at the Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open, Corcetti also placed second at the Wilkes University Open and fourth at the East Stroudsburg University Open.
Majocha, a three-time National Qualifier, returned to Pitt Johnstown for one more semester of wrestling after being awarded a Medical Red-Shirt from the 2002-03 season. After wrestling open tournaments in the fall, Majocha joined Coach Pecora’s starting line-up for the spring semester and has posted a 10-7 overall record and a 9-6 record in dual meets on his way to climbing to #7 in the nation. Majocha also won the championship at the Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open on November 4.
Miles, a 2006 All-American, has a 31-7 overall record and a 17-5 record in dual meets. Miles has 94 career wins. With six wins, he will become the 20th Mountain Cat overall and third this season to reach the 100-career-win-mark. His 31 overall wins and 17 dual meet wins are both tied for second on the team, while his nine falls lead the Mountain Cats. He won the title at the Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open on November 4 and placed third at both the Penn State Open on December 2 and the Wilkes University Open on December 29.
Reasy, a two-time All-American and three-time NWCA All-Academic Wrestling Team selection, is the nation’s #1-ranked wrestler at 133 lbs. with a 30-4 overall record and a 19-2 dual meet record. His 18 dual meet wins are tied for the team lead, while his 29 total wins are tied for fourth on the team with Corcetti. In addition, his eight falls are tied for second on the Mountain Cat team. On January 18, Reasy joined Corcetti and became the 19th Mountain Cat to reach the 100-win plateau when he pinned Anderson’s Brad Baker at 4:25. His 107 career victories tie him for 14th place on the Pitt Johnstown All-Time Win List. Reasy won the championship and was named the Outstanding Wrestler at t
he Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open on November 4. He was also the runner-up at the Wilkes University Open on December 28.
Once again, Sakmar stepped into the Mountain Cat line-up as an “Ever Ready” and did a solid job for Head Coach Pat Pecora. Sakmar has posted an 8-6 overall record and an 0-2 record in dual meets. Of his eight victories, Sakmar has four decisions, three falls and one default. He also earned a third place finish at the Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open on November 4.
The Mountain Cats host the 2008 East Regional Wrestling Tournament on February 29 and March 1.
#8 PITT JOHNSTOWN VS. #14 MERCYHURST COLLEGE
#8 PITT JOHNSTOWN 26 #14 MERCYHURST COLLEGE 9
125 lbs. - Derrek Bosso (UPJ) Decision Payne Lint (MC) 3-0 3-0
133 lbs. - #1 Brandon Reasy (UPJ) Technical Fall Lance Pitcel (MC) 18-3 (3:47) 8-0
141 lbs. - Shane Valko (UPJ) Decision Braxdon Scaletta (MC) 10-4 11-0
149 lbs. - #3 Brian Pogel (MC) Decision Adam Whetstone (UPJ) 7-0 11-3
157 lbs. #5 Andy Lamancusa (MC) Decision Mazen Kholi (UPJ) 6-1 11-6
165 lbs. - Kyle Keane (UPJ) Decision #6 Hudson Harrison (MC) 11-8 14-6
174 lbs. - Josh Shields (MC) Decision Albert Miles (UPJ) 5-0 14-9
184 lbs. - #5 Mike Corcetti (UPJ) Decision Bryan Wolff (MC) 8-4 17-9
197 lbs. - #6 Patrick Walsh (UPJ) Decision Trevor Gallo (MC) 4-3 20-9
HWT. - #7 Zach Majocha (UPJ) Fall Kenny Bluska (MC) 3:22 26-9