Pitt Wrestling Defeats Pitt-Johnstown

Pitt Panthers wrestling defeated Division II foe Pitt-Johnstown.

Pitt Wrestling Head Coach Keith Gavin, athletic trainer Brian Bonnar and assistant coach Luke Pletcher / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers wrestling faced an unfamiliar foe in Division II Pitt-Johnstown, but still came out with the dominant dual victory at Fitzgerald Field House, 32-8.

Pitt is now 3-1 on the season in home duals, with wins over Navy in the season opener on Nov. 2, 35-3, and vs. then ranked No. 18 Lehigh, 21-12 on Nov. 24 and the loss coming vs. No. 5 Ohio State, 20-17 on Dec. 13.

They also finished 2-1 at the Rider Quad Meet in Lawrenceville, N.J. on Dec. 20. Pitt defeated both then ranked No. 24 Maryland, 25-12, and Rider, 28-12, while losing to No. 14 South Dakota State, 18-15.

No. 17 Panthers graduate student Nick Babin (4-2) dominated No. 8 Mountain Cats Trevon Gray at 125 pounds, earning the 12-0 major decision, with two instances of four near fall points.

Pitt redshirt freshman Tyler Chappell (2-2) got an early takedown against UPJ freshman Tyson Cook at 133 pounds and looked for an easy victory.

Cook responded with a reversal and four back points, taking a 6-3 lead into the second period. Chappell responded with an escape, a takedown and then took control of the bout, winning an 8-6 decision after riding time.

Pitt dominated in the next two bouts, as redshirt freshman Briar Priest (10-4) won a 17-3 major decision over senior Mason Myers at 141 pounds and redshirt freshman Anthony Santaniello (7-6) won a 16-1 techinical fall (6:25) over redshirt sophomore Chad Ozias at 149 pounds.

The Panthers continued their dominance of the Mountain Cats, as redshirt sophomore Jack Pletcher (5-4) won an 11-3 major decision over redshirt sophomore Cooper Warshel at 157 pounds and redshirt freshman Grant MacKay (3-1) defeated redshirt freshman Gavyn Beck, 15-0 in a first period technical fall (3:00) at 165 pounds.

Pitt got two more victories over Pitt-Johnstown, with redshirt sophomore Mateo De La Pena (5-2) winning a 6-2 decision over redshirt freshman Macon Myers at 174 pounds and redshirt sophomore Chase Kranitz (6-5) winning a 12-0 decision after riding time over redshirt sophomore Noah Gnibus at 184 pounds.

The Mountain Cats won the final two bouts of the dual, as senior Dakoda Rodgers won an 18-2 technical fall (6:48) over redshirt freshman Daniel Gurovich at 197 pounds and redshirt junior Isaiah Vance got a late takedown for a 9-6 decision over freshman Mustafa Woodi (1-3) at 285 pounds.

Pitt head coach Keith Gavin enjoyed the event, giving his team another opportunity after the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) and before ACC dual play starts next week.

"We wrestled a lot of different guys tonight and it was a good opportunity for them, some of the guys that don't get to wrestle much to get out there and wrestle," Gavin said.

Pitt also honored former Pitt-Johnstown head coach Pat Pecora during the dual, who died on Sept. 8, before this season.

Pecora spent almost 50 years in charge of the Mountain Cats, taking over in 1976, and holds the all-time record for most wins as a college wrestling head coach at 661. He also led them to NCAA Division II National Championships, 25 NCAA Regional titles, and eight straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships

Gavin compared the legacy of Pecora to his former head coach at Pitt, Rande Stottlemyer, who won over 300 duals and spent 34 seasons at the helm.

“Yeah, he was awesome," Gavin said. "I mean, everybody that has ever met him, certainly the guys that’s been coached by him, speak super highly of him. I had a coach like that with Coach Stottlemyer here. He did it for a long time and made a real impact on people and that coach Pecora went about doing his job. He did a lot for UPJ and a lot for the sport.”

Pitt will wrestle Stanford to start ACC play on Jan. 10 at Fitzgerald Field House.

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