#8 Wrestlers to Celebrate Senior Night On Friday Against #14 Mercyhurst
02/20/08...Head Coach Pat Pecora and the #8-ranked Mountain Cat wrestling program will celebrate Senior Night and recognize six seniors, prior to Friday’s home match against #14 Mercyhurst College at 7:00 p.m. in the Sports Center. In addition, Pitt Johnstown is teaming up with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service and the NWCA for the Eat Smart, Play Hard with College Wrestling program in an effort to “pin” childhood obesity. All kids 12 and under will be admitted to the health fair and wrestling match FREE of charge.
Pitt Johnstown will recognize seniors Derrek Bosso (125 lbs.) (Pequea, Pa.), Mike Corcetti (184 lbs.) (Export, Pa.), Zach Majocha (HWT.) (Upper Burrell, Pa.), Albert Miles (174 lbs.) (Canonsburg, Pa.), Brandon Reasy (133 lbs.) (New Enterprise, Pa.) and Rob Sakmar (165 lbs.) (Johnstown, Pa.) prior to s match.
Eat Smart, Play Hard is a USDA campaign that stresses the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. It’s about making America’s children healthier and about practical suggestions that will help motivate children to eat healthy and be active. As part of the program, the Pitt Johnstown showcase a mini Health and Nutrition Fair opening up to the public at 6:30 p.m. There will be activities for the kids, as well as additional information on health and nutrition for kids and families. There will also be a free autograph session following the wrestling match – UPJ wrestling team photos will be provided for the autographs.
Pitt Johnstown, 16-5 on the season, has won 10 of its last 11 matches, including a 26-9 victory over West Liberty State (WV) College on February 13. Reasy, the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 133 lbs. leads four Mountain Cats who are nationally-ranked. Corcetti is ranked #5 at 184 lbs. and Patrick Walsh (Leesport, Pa.) is ranked #6 at 197 lbs., while Majocha (HWT.) is ranked #7.
Mercyhurst, under first-year Head Coach Mike Wehler, comes in ranked #14 in NCAA Division II. The Lakers are 10-13 following a 22-12 loss at #13 University of Findlay on last Friday and an 18-15 home win over #19 Limestone (SC) College last Saturday. Mercyhurst is led by All-American and #3 Brian Pogel at 149 lbs., All-American and #5 Andy Lamancusa at 157 lbs., three-time National Qualifier and #6 Hudson Harrison at 165 lbs. and 2007 National Qualifier Payne Lint at 125 lbs.
Key match-ups include: East Region #6 Derrek Bosso (UPJ) vs. East Region #4 Payne Lint at 125 lbs….NCAA #1 Brandon Reasy (UPJ) vs. Lance Pitcel at 133 lbs…East Region #4 Shane Valko (UPJ) vs. Braxdon Scaletta at 141 lbs…East Region #4 Adam Whetstone (UPJ) vs. NCAA #3 and East Region #1 Brian Pogel at 149 lbs…East Region #7 Mazen Kholi (UPJ) vs. NCAA #5 and East Region #1 Andy Lamancusa at 157 lbs…East Region #2 Kyle Keane or Rob Sakmar (UPJ) vs. NCAA #6 and East Region #1 Hudson Harrison at 165 lbs… East Region #2 Albert Miles (UPJ) vs. East Region #3 Josh Shields or Jeremiah Hill at 174 lbs…NCAA #5 and East Region #3 Mike Corcetti vs. East Region #4 Bryan Wolff at 184 lbs…NCAA #6 and East Region #1 Patrick Walsh (UPJ) vs. East Region #3 Trevor Gallo at 197 lbs…NCAA #7 and East Region #2 Zach Majocha (UPJ) vs. Kenny Bluska at heavyweight.
Bosso, a 2007 All-American, enters tonight’s match with a 19-11 overall record and an 8-8 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 29-7 overall record and a 16-3 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 31-6 overall record and a 17-4 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 29-4 overall record and an 18-2 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 the 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.
Following Friday’s match, Pitt Johnstown will host the 2008 East Regional Tournament on February 29 and March 1 in the Sports Center before traveling to the NCAA Division II National Tournament at Upper Iowa University on March 14-15.