Thursday, March 18
St. Louis, Mo.
All Day
Pitt
vs
2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Panthers Finish NCAAs with Best Team Finish since 1970
3/20/2021 10:00:00 PM | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS—The University of Pittsburgh wrestling program concluded its best NCAA Championships since 1970 on Saturday night – but not the way the Panthers would have wanted.
With two NCAA finalists for the first time since 1963, both Jake Wentzel and Nino Bonaccorsi fell in their matches on the biggest stage in college wrestling on Saturday night at Enterprise Center.
However, the Panthers still finished the 2021 NCAA Championships in 11th place with 40.5 points.
As a team, Pitt recorded its best NCAA finish since 1970 – when it took eighth – and tallied the Panthers' best points haul in the NCAA's current team scoring format.
Pitt also placed two Panthers – Wentzel and Bonaccorsi – on NCAA podiums as All-Americans for the first time since 2013 when Matt Wilps and Zac Thomusseit earned that honor.
In Pitt's first NCAA individual wrestling final since 2015, Wentzel fell to Stanford's Shane Griffith by a 7-2 decision at 165 pounds.
In what may be the last match in the history of Stanford's wrestling program, Griffith defended several of Wentzel's trademark underhooks in the first two periods. And with the score tied 2-2 after two, he avoided Wentzel's dominant top game, picked neutral and scored the match's final five points.
South Park native Wentzel was forced to settle for the NCAA runner-up at 165 pounds this season. He finished the campaign with a 13-2 record, his first All-America honor and his second ACC title.
Bonaccorsi fell by 4-2 decision to Oklahoma State true freshman AJ Ferrari in the NCAA 197-pound final. In a disjointed match that featured several blood breaks by Ferrari and numerous out-of-bounds stoppages without stalling called, Bonaccorsi gave up the first takedown and never recovered.
A Pitt junior from Bethel Park, Bonaccorsi finished his season with a 13-2 record, his first All-America trophy and his first ACC championship in his debut campaign at 197 pounds.
Here are Pitt's results from the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
Micky Phillippi, No. 5 Seed, 133 Pounds, Record: 2-2
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 28 Ty Smith (Utah Valley), 14-3
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 12 Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 6-1
No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 13-5
No. 7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec. No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 6-2 (TB1)
Cole Matthews, No. 16 Seed, 141 Pounds, Record: 1-2
No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 17 McKenzie Bell (Rider), 17-3
No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 5-3
No. 18 Parker Filius (Purdue) dec. No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 6-3
Jake Wentzel, No. 3 Seed, 165 Pounds, Record: 4-1, Second Place
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 30 Evan Barczak (Drexel), 1-0
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 8-1
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 6 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), 9-6
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 4-2
No. 8 Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt), 7-2
Gregg Harvey, No. 30 Seed, 184 Pounds, Record: 1-2
No. 3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 6-4
No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 33 Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart), 8-0
No. 19 Zach Braunagel (Illinois) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 5-2
Nino Bonaccorsi, No. 6 Seed, 197 Pounds, Record: 4-1, Second Place
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 27 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 15-2
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 11 Jay Aiello (Virginia), 13-3
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 3 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State), 4-1
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 26 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), 4-1
No. 4 AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt), 4-2
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With two NCAA finalists for the first time since 1963, both Jake Wentzel and Nino Bonaccorsi fell in their matches on the biggest stage in college wrestling on Saturday night at Enterprise Center.
However, the Panthers still finished the 2021 NCAA Championships in 11th place with 40.5 points.
As a team, Pitt recorded its best NCAA finish since 1970 – when it took eighth – and tallied the Panthers' best points haul in the NCAA's current team scoring format.
Pitt also placed two Panthers – Wentzel and Bonaccorsi – on NCAA podiums as All-Americans for the first time since 2013 when Matt Wilps and Zac Thomusseit earned that honor.
In Pitt's first NCAA individual wrestling final since 2015, Wentzel fell to Stanford's Shane Griffith by a 7-2 decision at 165 pounds.
In what may be the last match in the history of Stanford's wrestling program, Griffith defended several of Wentzel's trademark underhooks in the first two periods. And with the score tied 2-2 after two, he avoided Wentzel's dominant top game, picked neutral and scored the match's final five points.
South Park native Wentzel was forced to settle for the NCAA runner-up at 165 pounds this season. He finished the campaign with a 13-2 record, his first All-America honor and his second ACC title.
Bonaccorsi fell by 4-2 decision to Oklahoma State true freshman AJ Ferrari in the NCAA 197-pound final. In a disjointed match that featured several blood breaks by Ferrari and numerous out-of-bounds stoppages without stalling called, Bonaccorsi gave up the first takedown and never recovered.
A Pitt junior from Bethel Park, Bonaccorsi finished his season with a 13-2 record, his first All-America trophy and his first ACC championship in his debut campaign at 197 pounds.
Here are Pitt's results from the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
Micky Phillippi, No. 5 Seed, 133 Pounds, Record: 2-2
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 28 Ty Smith (Utah Valley), 14-3
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 12 Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 6-1
No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 13-5
No. 7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec. No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 6-2 (TB1)
Cole Matthews, No. 16 Seed, 141 Pounds, Record: 1-2
No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 17 McKenzie Bell (Rider), 17-3
No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 5-3
No. 18 Parker Filius (Purdue) dec. No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 6-3
Jake Wentzel, No. 3 Seed, 165 Pounds, Record: 4-1, Second Place
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 30 Evan Barczak (Drexel), 1-0
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 8-1
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 6 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), 9-6
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 4-2
No. 8 Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt), 7-2
Gregg Harvey, No. 30 Seed, 184 Pounds, Record: 1-2
No. 3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 6-4
No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 33 Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart), 8-0
No. 19 Zach Braunagel (Illinois) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 5-2
Nino Bonaccorsi, No. 6 Seed, 197 Pounds, Record: 4-1, Second Place
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 27 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 15-2
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 11 Jay Aiello (Virginia), 13-3
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 3 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State), 4-1
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 26 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), 4-1
No. 4 AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt), 4-2
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