#24 Panthers Face Clarion Friday

PITTSBURGH – The 24^th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team hits the road Friday, Dec. 21 to take on Clarion at Marwick-Boyd Auditorium at 7 p.m. Friday's dual will be the first of four consecutive road matches for the Panthers.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Friday's dual will streamed live here.
Live results for both duals can be found on TrackWrestling – a link will be provided the day of the match.
Follow the team on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend at @Pitt_WRES.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers continued their winning ways last weekend, picking up dominant wins over long-time rival West Virginia Saturday, Dec. 15 and Bucknell Sunday, Dec. 16.
Pitt took down the Mountaineers, 37-3, as the visiting team had to forfeit two weight classes and seven Panthers recorded individual wins.
The win was the largest margin of victory over WVU since 1978 when Pitt defeated West Virginia, 42-3.
The Panthers picked up their fourth win of the year Sunday, defeating Bucknell, 34-4.
Pitt won nine of the 10 bouts, with four wrestlers contributing bonus points in the win.

PANTHERS IN THE POLLS

Following its notable win over No. 14 UNI Nov. 17, Pitt jumped into the top 25 of the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll at No. 24.
Pitt checks in at No. 24 for the fifth consecutive week.
The Panthers joined the top 25 for the first time since Dec. 5, 2017. Pitt began the 2017-18 season ranked, where they spent five weeks before dropping out.
Two Panthers joined the NCAA DI Power Rankings in their respective weight classes Monday, Dec. 18 in No. 6 Micky Phillippi at 133 pounds and No. 10 Taleb Rahmani at 157 pounds.
Individually, four Panthers are ranked inside the top 20 individually by InterMat at their respective weight classes:
- Micky Phillippi - #6 / 133
- Taleb Rahmani - #10 / 157
- Nino Bonaccorsi - #13 / 184
- Demetrius Thomas - #13 / 285

THE SERIES: CLARION

Pitt and Clarion clash for the 48^th time in program history.
The Panthers lead the all-time series 23-22-2.
Pitt has dropped its last two meetings with Clarion, including a year ago when the Golden Eagles defeated the Panthers in Pittsburgh, 24-20.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

Friday's match will be the first dual for Clarion since Nov. 17 when they participated in a quad meet with Utah Valley, Northern Illinois and Harper. The Golden Eagles picked up one win coming against Harper.
Clarion most recently participated in the PSAC Championships (Dec. 8) and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Nov. 30-Dec. 1). The Golden Eagles saw five reach the podium at the PSAC Championships and finished 20^th as a team in Las Vegas.
Clarion is led by redshirt freshman Tyshawn White at 125 pounds, who is 13-3 on the season and captured his weight class at the PSAC Championships.
The Golden Eagles boast one ranked wrestler in their starting lineup in redshirt sophomore Greg Bulsak at No. 14 at 184 pounds. Bulsak is 9-4 on the year.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Panthers continue action on the road, making trips to Oklahoma (Jan. 6), No. 21 North Dakota State (Jan. 12) and South Dakota State (Jan. 13).
Pitt returns home Saturday, Jan. 19 to host No. 3 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m.

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