Inside The Panthers

Pitt Wrestling Demolishes Navy in Season Opener

No. 25 Pitt Panthers wrestling demolished Navy in their season opener.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Wrestling redshirt junior Luca Augustine
Pitt Wrestling redshirt junior Luca Augustine / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- No. 25 Pitt Panthers wrestling opened up their season with a dominant 35-3 victory over Navy at Fitzgerald Field House.

The Panthers (1-0) get revenge on the Midshipmen (0-1), who defeated them 21-12 in Annapolis, Md. back on Nov. 12, 2023. This makes it 12 straight seasons that the Panthers began their season with a dual win.

"We wrestled well today," Panthers head coach Keith Gavin said after the win. "I thought we scored a lot of points. Those are things you like to see. I really liked our toughness in some situations too. It's a good way to start."

Pitt No. 28 graduate student Nick Babin (1-0) put in a great performance at 125 pounds and would pin Navy freshman Nick Treaster (0-1) at 6:59, one second remaining in his match.

Babin, who transferred from Columbia, will look to assert himself as the starter at 125 pounds, after former starter Colton Camacho transferred from Pitt to Edinboro this offseason.

"It was great and I liked that he didn't sit on a lead and tried to win easy" Gavin said on Babin. "He went for the kill and got the call and so that was exciting. I was really impressed with the way he continued to wrestle throughout that match."

Panthers No. 31 redshirt sophomore Vinnie Santaniello (1-0) dominated Midshipmen freshman Hunter Heflin (0-1) at 133 pounds, winning on a technical fall, 16-1 at 6:12.

Pitt redshirt freshman Anthony Santaniello (0-1) faced a great opponent in Navy No. 9 senior Josh Koderhandt (1-0) at 141 pounds. He got a quick takedown and led 4-1 after two periods, but Koderhandt would win it on an escape and late takedown, a 5-4 decision.

No. 29 redshirt sophomore Finn Solomon (1-0) started off poorly for the Panthers at 149 pounds, finding himself down 7-1 to Midshipmen junior Kaemen Smith (0-1), after a takedown and four near fall points.

Solomon got a takedown, but then fell behind 9-4, before cutting the lead to one on another takedown at the end of the second period.

He would managed to defeat Smith, making an escape, a takedown and then four near fall points for the 16-9 decision.

"That's not ideal to get headlocked to your back," Gavin said on Solomon's victory. "He's a tough kid. He just keeps coming and he ended up blowing him out...It's hard to do against anybody. Not great to start when you're on your back fighting for your life, but proud of his toughness, for sure."

Two new starters for Pitt also got wins, as redshirt freshman Dylan Evans (1-0) defeated Navy sophomore Jonathan Ley (0-1) in a 7-2 decision at 157 pounds and redshirt sophomore Kelin Laffey (1-0) won a 4-2 decision on a third period takedown against Navy sophomore Tyler Sagi (0-1) at 165 pounds.

Panthers No. 19 redshirt junior Luca Augustine (1-0) and Midshipmen No. 22 sophomore Danny Wask (0-1) battled at 174 pounds in the only ranked bout of the dual. Augustine made a first period takedown and then stayed strong defensively, holding on for the 4-3 decision.

This win made it two wins for Augustine over Wask, who he defeated in a 9-7 decision last season.

Pitt finished off the rest of the dual quite comfortably, with wins in the final three weight classes.

No. 18 graduate student Reece Heller (1-0) won an 11-2 major decision vs. Midshipmen sophomore Zyan Hall (0-1) at 184 pounds for the Panthers. No. 14 redshirt sophomore Mac Stout (1-0) earned an 11-5 decision over Midshipmen freshman Payton Thomas at 197 pounds for the Panthers too.

Pitt No. 12 redshirt sophomore Dayton Pitzer (1-0) finished of the dual with a 15-0 technical fall at 4:02 of Navy junior Alistair Larson at heavyweight.

Pitt will compete in the Clarion Open on Nov. 3 in Clarion, Pa., as well as the Journeymen Classic in Bethlethem, Pa. on Nov. 10. Their next dual is against in-state rival No. 17 Lehigh at home on Nov. 24.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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