Friday, February 12
Blacksburg, Va.
6 PM
Pitt
12
at
27
Virginia Tech
Jake Wentzel Win Over Mekhi Lewis Highlights Pitt-Virginia Tech Dual
2/12/2021 9:00:00 PM | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH—University of Pittsburgh senior wrestler Jake Wentzel won his marquee match with 2019 NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked Mekhi Lewis at 165 pounds to highlight the Panthers' final dual of the regular season on Friday night at Virginia Tech.
Wentzel controlled the first period, holding a single leg on Lewis for over a minute before finally securing a takedown on the 2019 ACC Wrestler of the Year, who had won 29 matches in a row dating back to November 2018.
The Pitt senior was dominant on top throughout the bout, extending his lead to 3-0 and had secured riding time when Lewis unfortunately took an injury default in the third period.
"Jake looked great tonight," Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said of Wentzel. "The match started similar to the last time they wrestled [in 2019] with Jake in on a single leg for a long time, but he finished tonight. And once he gets on top, it's really tough for the other guy to score. It was an unfortunate ending, but we felt the match was under control at that point."
For Pitt, Cole Matthews and Nino Bonaccorsi also earned wins, but No. 4 Hokies (9-0, 5-0 ACC) took the dual by a final score of 27-12 and clinched the ACC dual meet title for the 2021 season.
"We had some lineup changes, but that's the kind of year it is," Gavin added. "We had some good results with Nino and Cole also wrestling well. But overall, we need to be more offensive."
The Panthers (3-4, 1-4 ACC) now will look towards the 2021 postseason, which begins on Feb. 28 with the ACC Wrestling Championship hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
The ACC was awarded 33 automatic bids to the NCAA Championships this season, with the top three finishers in each weight class at the conference tournament guaranteed to appear at nationals.
Full results from Friday's action are available below.
No. 4 Virginia Tech 27, No. 16 Pitt 12
285 | Hunter Catka (VT) dec. Austin Cooley (Pitt), 4-0 (VT leads, 3-0)
125 | Sam Latona (VT) maj. dec. Colton Camacho (Pitt), 12-3 (VT leads, 7-0)
133 | Joey Prata (VT) dec. Louis Newell (Pitt), 3-1 (VT leads, 10-0)
141 | Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. Collin Gerardi (VT), 8-4 (VT leads, 10-3)
149 | Bryce Andonian (VT) maj. dec. Mick Burnett (Pitt), 10-1 (VT leads, 14-3)
157 | Connor Brady (VT) maj. dec. Tyler Badgett (Pitt), 12-1 (VT leads, 18-3)
165 | Jake Wentzel (Pitt) injury default Mekhi Lewis (VT), 5:00 (VT leads, 18-9)
174 | Dakota Howard (VT) tech. fall Jared McGill (Pitt), 21-6 (VT leads, 23-9)
184 | Hunter Bolen (VT) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 12-4 (VT leads, 27-9)
197 | Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. Andy Smith (VT), 8-1 (VT wins, 27-12)
Additional Matches
141 | Sam Hillegas (VT) maj. dec. Ryan Michaels (Pitt), 14-3
157 | Clayton Ulrey (VT) maj. dec. Antonio Petrucelli (Pitt), 18-6
174 | Kolton Clark (VT) win by forfeit over Dane Csencsits (Pitt), 1:33
197 | Austin Cooley (Pitt) dec. Stan Smeltzer (VT), 10-4
285 | Hunter Catka (VT) maj. dec. Jake Slinger (Pitt), 12-4
#pinzburgh | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Wentzel controlled the first period, holding a single leg on Lewis for over a minute before finally securing a takedown on the 2019 ACC Wrestler of the Year, who had won 29 matches in a row dating back to November 2018.
The Pitt senior was dominant on top throughout the bout, extending his lead to 3-0 and had secured riding time when Lewis unfortunately took an injury default in the third period.
"Jake looked great tonight," Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said of Wentzel. "The match started similar to the last time they wrestled [in 2019] with Jake in on a single leg for a long time, but he finished tonight. And once he gets on top, it's really tough for the other guy to score. It was an unfortunate ending, but we felt the match was under control at that point."
For Pitt, Cole Matthews and Nino Bonaccorsi also earned wins, but No. 4 Hokies (9-0, 5-0 ACC) took the dual by a final score of 27-12 and clinched the ACC dual meet title for the 2021 season.
"We had some lineup changes, but that's the kind of year it is," Gavin added. "We had some good results with Nino and Cole also wrestling well. But overall, we need to be more offensive."
The Panthers (3-4, 1-4 ACC) now will look towards the 2021 postseason, which begins on Feb. 28 with the ACC Wrestling Championship hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
The ACC was awarded 33 automatic bids to the NCAA Championships this season, with the top three finishers in each weight class at the conference tournament guaranteed to appear at nationals.
Full results from Friday's action are available below.
No. 4 Virginia Tech 27, No. 16 Pitt 12
285 | Hunter Catka (VT) dec. Austin Cooley (Pitt), 4-0 (VT leads, 3-0)
125 | Sam Latona (VT) maj. dec. Colton Camacho (Pitt), 12-3 (VT leads, 7-0)
133 | Joey Prata (VT) dec. Louis Newell (Pitt), 3-1 (VT leads, 10-0)
141 | Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. Collin Gerardi (VT), 8-4 (VT leads, 10-3)
149 | Bryce Andonian (VT) maj. dec. Mick Burnett (Pitt), 10-1 (VT leads, 14-3)
157 | Connor Brady (VT) maj. dec. Tyler Badgett (Pitt), 12-1 (VT leads, 18-3)
165 | Jake Wentzel (Pitt) injury default Mekhi Lewis (VT), 5:00 (VT leads, 18-9)
174 | Dakota Howard (VT) tech. fall Jared McGill (Pitt), 21-6 (VT leads, 23-9)
184 | Hunter Bolen (VT) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 12-4 (VT leads, 27-9)
197 | Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. Andy Smith (VT), 8-1 (VT wins, 27-12)
Additional Matches
141 | Sam Hillegas (VT) maj. dec. Ryan Michaels (Pitt), 14-3
157 | Clayton Ulrey (VT) maj. dec. Antonio Petrucelli (Pitt), 18-6
174 | Kolton Clark (VT) win by forfeit over Dane Csencsits (Pitt), 1:33
197 | Austin Cooley (Pitt) dec. Stan Smeltzer (VT), 10-4
285 | Hunter Catka (VT) maj. dec. Jake Slinger (Pitt), 12-4
#pinzburgh | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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