Pitt
Cliff Keen Invitational
Matt Wilps Advances to Semifinals of Cliff Keen Invitational
12/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 2, 2011
LAS VEGAS - Pitt junior Matt Wilps posted a 3-0 record on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. Four other Panthers are still alive in the wrestlebacks. Competition will resume Saturday morning.
Wilps, ranked sixth in the nation by WrestlingReport.com, will face a tough test in the semifinals. His opponent will be fifth-ranked Matt Powless of Indiana.
Despite being seeded third in the 197-pound bracket, Wilps received a tough draw in the opening round, but came through with a 4-2 win over No. 27 Keith Witt, a returning national qualifier.
After rolling to a 16-5 major decision over John Grusewelle (North Dakota State) in the second round, Wilps finished the day with a 6-4 win over No. 23 Max Huntley (Michigan). It was Wilps's second win over Huntley this season.
Anthony Zanetta (125), Tyler Nauman (149), Tyler Wilps (165) and Ethan Headlee (174) all advanced to the quarterfinals for the Panthers before losing their first match. They will resume competition in the wrestlebacks on Saturday.
PITT RESULTS
# indicates seed
Upsets based purely on seeds
125
#4 Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) dec. Jimmy Martinez (Cal Poly), 7-3
#4 Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) tech. fall Shane McQuade (Wisconsin), 20-5 - *McQuade is a former Wisconsin state champion
#5 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra) maj. dec. #4 Anthony Zanetta (Pitt), 11-3 - *Bonanno is ranked 14th in the nation and is a two-time national qualifier
Zanetta's next opponent: Billy Watterson (Brown) - Watterson advanced with an inj. def. over Britain Longmire (Cal Poly)
Upsets at weight: Zachary Zimmer (Indiana) tech. fall #8 Gregory Rinker (Air Force), 20-3 (second round); Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) dec. #3 Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State), 11-8 (second round); Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) maj. dec. Tyler Iwamura (Cal State Bakersfield) 15-6 (quarterfinals); Colby Christenson (Utah Valley) dec. #8 Gregory Rinker (Air Force), 5-0 (wrestlebacks)
133
#10 Shelton Mack (Pitt) dec. Mike Carreon (North Idaho College), 9-4
#7 Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) dec. #10 Shelton Mack (Pitt), 5-3 - *Kiley is ranked 16th in the nation and is a returning national qualifier
#10 Shelton Mack (Pitt) dec. Jamie Franco (Utah Valley), 9-7
#2 Ryan Mango (Stanford) dec. #10 Shelton Mack (Pitt), 3-2 - *Mango is ranked 4th in the nation and is a returning All-American
Upsets at weight: Zach Zehner (Wyoming) dec. #2 Ryan Mango (Stanford), 10-3 (second round); #5 Zach Stevens (Michigan) dec. #4 Garrett Drucker (Oregon State), 6-5 (quarterfinals); Zach Zehner (Wyoming) dec. #7 Ridge Kiley (Nebraska), 3-1 (quarterfinals)
141
#12 Travis Shaffer (Pitt) maj. dec. Jarrett Morill (North Idaho College), 15-7
#5 Dalton Jensen (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. #12 Travis Shaffer (Pitt), 2-1 - *Jensen was a national qualifier at Iowa State before transferring
#12 Travis Shaffer (Pitt) dec. Tyler Diamond (North Dakota State), 10-3
Luke Vaith (Hofstra) dec. #12 Travis Shaffer (Pitt), 7-3 - *Vaith is ranked 30th in the nation and was picked first in the CAA in a preseason poll
Upsets at weight: #11 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) tech. fall #6 Michael Nevinger (Cornell), 18-3 (second round); Josh Strait (Boise State) dec. #9 Mitchell Port (Edinboro), 5-1 (second round); #8 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) dec. #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan, 2-time national champion), 6-5 (quarterfinals)
149
#1 Tyler Nauman (Pitt) maj. dec. Brock Coutu (Nebraska-Kearney), 13-5
#1 Tyler Nauman (Pitt) FALL Dylan Phillipy (San Francisco State), 6:47
#9 David Habat (Edinboro) dec. #1 Tyler Nauman (Pitt), 5-2 - *Habat is ranked 20th in the nation and is a former Ohio State champion
Nauman's next opponent: #6 Craig Eifert (Cornell) - Eifert advanced with a 6-4 dec. over Brandon Richardson (Wyoming)
Upsets at weight: Josh Wilson (Utah Valley) dec. #6 Craig Eifert (Cornell), 4-1 (second round); #5 Eric Grajales (Michigan) tech. fall #4 Taylor Walsh (Indiana), 19-4 (quarterfinals); Josh Wilson (Utah Valley) dec. #3 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State), 4-2 (quarterfinals)
157
#10 Donnie Tasser (Pitt) dec. James Rafferty (Army), 6-2
#7 T.J. Hepburn (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. #10 Donnie Tasser (Pitt), 9-2 - *Hepburn is returning DII national runner-up
Corey Mock (North Carolina) FALL #10 Donnie Tasser (Pitt), 1:00 - *Mock is ranked 27th in the nation and is a returning national qualifier
Upsets at weight: Roger Pena (Oregon State) dec. #5 George Ivanov (Boise State), 6-1 (second round); #9 Brandon Zeerip (Michigan) dec. #8 Shawn Perry (Wisconsin), 3-2 (second round); Corey Mock (North Carolina) dec. #5 George Ivanov (Boise State), 9-4 (wrestlebacks)
165
#10 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) tech. fall Patrick Labuz (Brown), 22-7
#10 Tyler Wilps (Pitt_ inj. def. #7 Ross Tice (Kent State)
#2 P.J. Gillespie (Hofstra) dec. #10 Tyler Wilps (Pitt), 3-2 - *Gillespie is ranked 4th in the nation and is a returning All-American
Wilps's next opponent: Kyle Eason (West Virginia) - Eason advanced with 8-6 dec. over Kyle Kiss (North Carolina)
Upsets at weight: #5 Joe Booth (Drexel) dec. #4 Ben Jordan (Wisconsin), 3-1 SV (quarterfinals); #11 Stephen Burak (Northern Colorado) FALL #3 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska), 6:55 (quarterfinals)
174
#6 Ethan Headlee (Pitt) dec. Richard McDonald (Brown), 2-0 - *Brown is a former two-time state champion in Nevada with 193 career high school wins
#6 Ethan Headlee (Pitt) FALL Ryan Tompkins (Army), 5:09 - *Tompkins had 228 wins and 150 pins during New York high school career
#3 Ryan DesRoches (Cal Poly) dec. #6 Ethan Headlee (Pitt), 3-2 - *DesRoches is ranked 16th in the nation and is a two-time national qualifier
Headlee's next opponent: Lance Bryson (West Virginia) - Bryson advanced with 3-1 decision in sudden victory over William George (Cornell)
Upsets at weight: Richard Cousins Jr. (Wisconsin) dec. #5 Peter Huntley (Navy), 5-3 (second round); Ty Vinson (Oregon State) dec. #5 Peter Huntley (Navy), 2-1 (wrestlebacks)
184
#8 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) dec. Sean Dougherty (Cal Poly), 4-3
#9 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) dec. #8 Max Thomusseit (Pitt), 8-4 - *McCall is ranked 30th in the nation and was a North Carolina state champion
Kevin Radford (Arizona State) dec. #8 Max Thomusseit (Pitt), 5-2 - *Radford is ranked 33rd in the nation
197
#3 Matt Wilps (Pitt) dec. Keith Witt (Kent State), 4-1 - *Witt is ranked 27th in the nation and is a returning national qualifier
#3 Matt Wilps (Pitt) maj. dec. John Grusewelle (North Dakota State), 16-5
#3 Matt Wilps (Pitt) dec. Max Huntley (Michigan) - *Huntley is ranked 23rd in the nation and was a Virginia state champion
Wilps's next opponent: #2 Matt Powless (Indiana) - Powless advanced with a 4-2 dec. over Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming)
285
L.J. Helbig (Wyoming) maj. dec. Joel Yahner (Pitt), 8-0 - *Helbig is a returning national qualifier
Joel Yahner (Pitt) FALL Trey Kirk (Wyoming), 3:21
Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley) dec. Joel Yahner (Pitt), 4-3
Upsets at weight:Maciej Jochym (Cornell) FALL #7 Dan Miller (Navy), 6:31 (second round); #9 Brandon Williamson (West Virginia) maj. dec. #7 Dan Miller (Navy), 16-5 (wrestlebacks); #12 Peter Capone (Ohio State) dec. #5 Ernest James (Edinboro), 2-1 TB (second round); #11 Atticus Disney (Cal Poly) FALL #6 Brendan Barlow (Kent State), 1:29 (second round); #12 Peter Capone (Ohio State) dec. #4 Ben Apland (Michigan), 5-2 (quarterfinals); #11 Atticus Disney (Cal Poly) dec. #3 Tucker Lane (Nebraska), 5-4 (quarterfinals
Players Mentioned
