University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
at NWCA National Duals - 01/10-11/09
Wrestlers Suffer Pair of Criteria Losses at National Duals
01/10/09...Head Coach Pat Pecora and his young Mountain Cat wrestlers went toe-to-toe with the previous two NCAA Division II National Champions, but came away with losses on criteria at Saturday's NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Tournament at Northern Iowa University. Pitt-Johnstown defeated #10 Wisconsin-Parkside in round two, but lost on criteria to #3 Nebraska-Kearney in Round One and to #5 Central Oklahoma in the Second Round of the Consolations. Shane Valko (133 lbs.) (Windber, Pa.) and Chris Dempsey (HWT.) (Sewickley, Pa.) both posted 3-0 records.
The Mountain Cats built an 11-0 through the first three bouts in Saturday's opening round, but #3 Nebraska-Kearney battled back to defeat Pitt-Johnstown 18-17 on criteria points. Nebraska-Kearney's #2-ranked Kamarudeen Usman's 18-1 technical fall at 7:00 over Steve Makin (Portage, Pa.) at the 174-lbs gave Kearney the victory. The Mountain Cats opened up an 11-0 lead after Scott Morgan (125 lbs.) (North Huntingdon, Pa.) won a 12-10 decision over Michael Abril, and #4 Valko (133 lbs.) and Adam Whetstone (141 lbs.) (Claysburg, Pa.) both won by major decision. Valko defeated Joseph Morrison 10-1, and Whetstone dealt Tyler Baker an 8-0 loss. Nebraska-Kearney won the next two bouts by decision to cut the lead to 11-6, but #1-ranked Kyle Keane (Bradford, Pa.) won a 6-4 decision over Taylor May to put Pitt-Johnstown up 14-6. However, the technical fall at 174 lbs and decisions at 184 lbs. and 197 lbs. gave Nebraska-Kearney a 17-14 lead entering the heavyweight bout. Dempsey secured a 7-5 overtime win against Derek Ross that knotted the scored 17-17, but Kearney was awarded the team win on criteria points.
Pitt-Johnstown rebounded with a solid, 27-13 victory over #10 Wisconsin-Parkside in the First Round of the Consolations. Wisconsin-Parkside jumped out 3-0, but Valko and Whetstone collected wins to put the Mountain Cats up 9-3. Valko pinned Brandon Kircher at :51, and Whetstone defeated Mike Migawa 6-0. Parkside cut the deficit to 9-7 with a major decision at 149 lbs., but Pitt-Johnstown won the next three bout and never looked back. Mazen Kholi (Allentown, Pa.) pinned Nick Mayenschein at 3:42, and Keane and Makin followed with decision wins to put the Mountain Cats up 21-7. Wisconsin-Parkside earned wins at 184 lbs. and 197 lbs., but Dempsey set the final score at 27-13 with a fall over Jon Treml at 1:42.
Another tough loss followed for the Mountain Cats in the Second Round of the Consolations when #5 Central Oklahoma secured wins in six of the 10 bouts to win on criteria, 22-21, despite three victories by fall for Pitt-Johnstown. Valko gave the Mountain Cats a 6-5 lead after two bouts after pinning Scott Berens at 2:51. Central Oklahoma, the 2007 National Champions, won decisions at 141 and 149 lbs, before Kholi pinned Kelly Henderson at 4:03 to give Pitt-Johnstown a 12-11 lead. Central Oklahoma responded with three more victories to regain the lead 21-12 with two matches left. Patrick Walsh (Leesport, Pa.) scored a fall over Zach James at 4:00 to cut the deficit to 21-18, and Dempsey tied the score with a 10-3 decision over Cameron Gladd at heavyweight. However, criteria went to Central Oklahoma and the Mountain Cats ended the 2009 National Duals with a 1-2 record.
The Mountain Cats travel to Mercyhurst College on Saturday and to Gannon University on Sunday. Pitt-Johnstown’s next home match will take place on Friday, Jan. 30, at 7:00 p.m. when nationally-ranked Ashland (OH) University visits the Sports Center.