#5 Wrestlers Defeat Western State to Place Fifth at National Duals 01/14/07...Head Coach Pat Pecora's #5-seeded Mountain Cat wrestlers posted a 4-1 record and placed fifth at the 2007 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Tournament at the University of Northern Iowa University. Pitt Johnstown went 3-1 on Saturday, before battling back from a 15-6 deficit with falls in three of the last four matches to earn a 27-15 victory over #9 Western State (CO) College in Sunday's Fifth Place match. The Mountain Cats are now 9-5 on the year. After wrestling four matches on Saturday, Pitt Johnstown fell behind 15-6 to Western State after six matches, before roaring back for the win. Western State jumped out to a 3-0 lead with Eddie Lopez 5-1 win at 125 lbs. over junior Derrek Bosso (Pequea, Pa.). The Mountain Cats took a 6-3 lead with a pair of decision wins of their own. All-American Brandon Reasy (133 lbs.) (New Enterprise, Pa.) defeated Marques Bravo, 5-4, and red-shirt freshman and #4-ranked Shane Valko (Windber, Pa.) dealt #3-ranked Chris Freije a 6-1 loss. However, Western State won the next next three matches with a fall at 149 lbs. and a pair of decisions at 157 lbs. and 165 lbs. Once again, Pitt Johnstown recovered and stormed back. Senior All-American and #2-ranked Eli Garshnick (Armagh, Pa.) pinned Larry Wilbanks at 1:31 at 174 lbs. and Mike Corcetti (Export, Pa.), undefeated on the season and the top-ranked wrestler at 184 lbs., earned a fall over Charlie Pipher at 5:31 to put the Mountain Cats up 18-15. Senior National Qualifier and #4-ranked Mike Fowler (197 lbs.) (Carrolltown, Pa.) followed with a 3-2 win over Cody Mumma, prior to freshman heavyweight Chris Dempsey (Sewickley, Pa.) sealing the match with a fall at 2:04 over Lars Lueders to give Pitt Johnstown the 27-15 victory. Pitt Johnstown opened the tournament with a 28-15 win over Wisconsin-Parkside, before suffering a 22-13 loss to #4 University of Nebraska-Omaha in the Quarterfinals. However, Pitt Johnstown responded with a convincing 39-3 over Chadron State in the Second Round of the Consolations, before ending Saturday's action with a 22-10 win over West Liberty State in the Third Round of the Consolations.. The Mountain Cats jumped out to a 21-0 lead over Wisconsin-Parksideand never looked back. All-American Reasy, #4-rankedValko and Dempsey all won by fall, while Corcetti won by major decision. Bossoand #2-ranked Eli Garshnick earned decision victories, while Mazen Kholi (Allentown, Pa.) won by forfeit at 149 lbs. In the quarterfinals, #4 Nebraska-Omaha built a 13-3 lead after five matches and went on the the 22-13 win. Corcetti earned an 11-3 major decision over Nate Oviatt at 184 lbs., while Reasy, All-American Albert Miles (165 lbs.) (Canonsburg, Pa.) and sophomore heavyweight Jon Neese (Chambersville, Pa.) picked-up decision victories for Pitt Johnstown. Pitt Johnstown bounced back with a dominating, 39-3, win over #20 Chadron State in the Second Round of the Consolations that saw the Mountain Cats win nine of the ten bouts. Reasy, Kholi, red-shirt freshman Patrick Walsh (184 lbs.) (Leesport, Pa.) and Dempsey collected 24 of Pitt Johnstown's points with falls. Reasy's fall came at :17 over Sergio Palomo at 133 lbs. Bosso, Valko, senior National Qualifier Joe Strittmatter (157 lbs.) (Ebensburg, Pa.), Garshnick and Fowler won by decision. In Saturday's last match, Pitt Johnstown handed East Region rival West Liberty State a 22-10 setback in the Third Round of the Consolations. The Mountain Cats clawed their way to a 16-0 lead on decision wins by Bosso, Reasy, Valko and Kholi and a 14-6 major decision by Strittmatter over Brian Leggett at 157 lbs. The Hilltoppers cut the lead to 16-7 with wins at 165 and 174 lbs., but Corcetti's, 9-6 win over Chris Gibbs at 184 lbs put the Mountain Cats up 19-7. Pitt Johnstown suffered a 9-6 loss at 197 lbs., but Neese's 7-0 win at heavyweight sealed the 22-10 win for Pitt Johnstown. The Mountain Cats return home to host the 2007 East Coast Duals on Friday, January 19 and Saturday, January 20 in the Sports Center. Wrestling will begin on January 19 at 6:00 p.m. and at 9:00 a.m. on January 20.
