Gavin Gets 100th Career Victory at Midlands
12/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 29, 2007
No. 1-ranked Keith Gavin earned his 100th career victory today with a 3-1 decision over Ryan Smith of Great Falls in the first round of the Midlands Championships.
Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) is now a perfect 13-0 on the season, including a 7-0 tournament record. He joins teammate Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) as current Panthers who have registered triple-digits victories.
After some losses early in the tournament, Dave Sullivan (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley/East Stroudsburg) got the Panthers their first win of the day with a 15-0 technical fall against Wabash's Michael Burke in the 184 class. Sullivan pummeled Burke with a series of takedowns and near falls throughout the bout and ended the match with just eight seconds remaining in the second period.
Sophomore Ryan Bosso (Pequea, Pa./Penn Manor) followed Sullivan's performance with a 2-1 decision against Ben Hanisch, who competed unattached from Iowa State. Bosso used an early takedown to gain a 2-0 lead before letting Hanisch escape and cut his lead to just one. The Panthers' 125-pounder then held off Hanisch's advances and logged the victory as time expired.
Jimmy Conroy (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) stepped to the mat and squared off against Tyler Halverson, who wrestled unattached from Iowa, in the 133-pound class. Conroy jumped out to a 5-1 lead against Halverson and extended his advantage to seven, 9-2, near the conclusion of the bout. He then added a point for riding time and locked up his fourth major decision of the year.
Kocher made it four straight victories for the Panthers with a fall against Missouri's Andrew Sherry. Kocher, the No. 3 seed in the 157-pound bracket, registered a takedown in the first period and an escape in the second before pinning Sherry with 50 seconds remaining in second period. The victory extended his school-record for career tournament wins to 98.
The Panthers had several "unattached" wrestlers in competition today. A.J. Hunte (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) and Ryan Tomei (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) were among that group and both picked up first round victories. Hunte controlled his bout with Southern Illinois' Chris Flaughner from the beginning, registering a takedown and two-point near fall in the first period. He continued to dominate in the second and third frames, adding an escape and another takedown to his total before capping the bout with a point for riding time and setting the final score at 8-3.
Tomei found himself behind early in his match with Tyler Perry of Missouri, but the heavyweight stormed back with an escape and a takedown in the second period to build a 6-4 lead. Tomei then smothered Perry, squelching any comeback efforts and accumulating 4:36 of riding time en route to a 7-4 decision.
Competition will continue today and tomorrow. Sunday's semifinal and final rounds will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Panther fans, be sure to check www.pittsburghpanthers.com throughout the day for tournament updates.
For complete Midlands Championship brackets, please follow this link:
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/122807aad.html