Feb. 11, 2010

(Pittsburgh): Clarion's #18 rated James Fleming won by tech. fall at 149 and #17 Hadley Harrison a decision at 157 but it wasn't enough as #18 Pitt defeated the Golden Eagles 28-8 at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

The Panthers raised their record to 16-1-1 and 5-0 in the EWL while Clarion dropped to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in the EWL.

Pitt jumped out to a 9-0 lead winning the first three bouts. Anthony Zanetta decisioned Joe Waltko 10-4 at 125, Jimmy Conroy won 4-1 over Jay Ivanco at 133 and #16 Tyler Nauman scored a 10-6 decision over Greg Lewis at 141.

Clarion closed to within 9-8 with James Fleming and Hadley Harrison getting wins at 149 and 157 respectively. Fleming made short work of Eric Albright at 149. Fleming had an early takedown, then posted six separate near falls to get a 16-0 technical fall at 3:00. The true freshman upped his season record to 23-5.

Harrison came up next and won 7-4 over Donnie Tasser at 157. Harrison had two, first period takedowns to lead to his win. He moved his season record to 29-7 and has 93 career wins.

Pitt's Adam Counterman turned the momentum of the match with a 6-4 second overtime win over Nick Milano at 165. Tied 3-3 at the end of regulation, neither wrestler scored in the 1 minute of overtime, and both scored escapes in the first tie breaker. Counterman got his winning takedown 20-seconds into the second overtime.

Then Pitt won the final four bouts as Dave Sullivan majored Steven Cressley 10-2 at 174, Zac Thomusseit decisioned Clint Podish 5-0 at 184, Matt Wilps won a narrow 4-3 decision over Alex Thomas at 197 and #6 Ryan Tomei pinned Quintas McCorkle at 2:48 at heavyweight.

Thomas lost a tough decision at 197. Tied at 2-2 late in the third, Wilps got his winning takedown with about 7 seconds left in regulation, but was called for an illegal interlock of hands which gave Thomas a point. Trailing 4-3 with only 4 seconds left, Wilps was able to ride Thomas the last four ticks for the win.

CLARION NOTES: Clarion returns home to host Cleveland State at 5pm and North Carolina at 7pm on Saturday at Tippin Gym.

Pitt 28, Clarion 8

125 - Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) dec. vs. Joe Waltko (Clarion) (10-4)

133 - Jimmy Conroy (Pitt) dec. vs. Jay Ivanco (Clarion) (4-1)

141 - Tyler Nauman (Pitt) dec. vs. Greg Lewis (Clarion) (10-6)

149 - James Fleming (Clarion) Tech Fall vs. Eric Albright (Pitt) dec. vs. (16-0)

157 -Hadley Harrison (Clarion) dec. vs. Donnie Tasser (Pitt) (7-4)

165 -Adam Counterman (Pitt) dec. OT Nick Milano (Clarion) (6-4)

174 - David Sullivan (Pitt) MD Steven Cressley (Clarion) (10-2)

184 - Zac Thomusseit (Pitt) dec. vs. Clint Podish (Clarion) (5-0)

197 - Matt Wilps (Pitt) dec. vs. Alex Thomas (Clarion) (4-3)

285 - Ryan Tomei (Pitt) FALL vs. Quintas McCorkle (Clarion) (2:48)