Thursday, March 16
Tulsa, OK
All Day
Pitt
vs
NCAA Championships
Panthers Arrive in Tulsa for 2023 NCAA Championships
3/15/2023 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling
TULSA, Okla.—An entire year of hard work and preparation comes down to the next three days in Tulsa as six members of the Pitt wrestling team compete for national titles and All-America honors at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which start on Thursday at the BOK Center.
Head coach Keith Gavin has led his alma mater to consecutive top-25 finishes at nationals, but the Panthers will look to build upon on last year's 24th-place finish in Detroit by going even better this year after arriving in Tulsa on Tuesday afternoon for the marquee event in all of college wrestling.
Pitt's Nino Bonaccorsi (16-0) made headlines as the No. 1 overall seed in the 197-pound division, becoming the program's first top seed since now-head coach Keith Gavin won his national title in 2008. Bonaccorsi, a senior from Bethel Park, Pa., will have a first-round meeting with the winner of the pigtail bout between No. 32-seed Max Shaw of North Carolina and No. 33-seed Cole Urbas of Pennsylvania.
Returning NCAA All-American Cole Matthews (19-1) earned the No. 3 seed at 141 pounds and an opening contest with No. 30 Seth Koleno of Clarion. For fans who enjoy looking ahead in the brackets, Pitt supporters might notice that both Bonaccorsi and Matthews could potentially meet Penn State wrestlers Max Dean and Beau Bartlett, respectively, in the quarterfinals.
One Pitt wrestler assured of a Penn State matchup is No. 20 seed Holden Heller (14-6) at 165 pounds, who will challenge No. 13 Alex Facundo from the Nittany Lions in the first round.
The other Heller brother for the Panthers, Reece Heller (18-8), received the No. 16 seed at 184 pounds and was given a rematch from November's dual against Lehigh's 17th-seeded Tate Samuelson, who Heller beat by 7-6 decision when Pitt upended the Mountain Hawks at Fitzgerald Field House. The winner of that bout will likely face top seed Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the second round.
Pitt also received a third top-10 seeding as Micky Phillippi was ranked No. 9 at 133 pounds. The veteran with three NCAA Round of 12 appearances will look to begin a run at All-America honors in his final appearance at nationals. After the bracket at 133 was adjusted this week due to a withdrawal, Phillippi's first matchup will now be against new No. 24 seed Wyatt Henson of Oklahoma.
Making his NCAA debut, freshman Luca Augustine was seeded 28th at 174 pounds and will face No. 5 Dustin Plott from Oklahoma State in his opening match.
Pitt's six NCAA qualifiers will look to add to a tradition that has produced 16 national champions and 83 All-Americans in program history for the Panthers.
The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships begin next Thursday, March 16 from Tulsa. Here is the full schedule of the three-day event at the BOK Center in Oklahoma:
Thursday, March 16
12 p.m. ET – Session 1 (First Round)
7 p.m. ET – Session 2 (Second Round, Wrestlebacks)
Friday, March 17
11 a.m. ET – Session 3 (Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks)
8 p.m. ET – Session 4 (Semifinals, Round of 12)
Saturday, March 18
11 a.m. ET – Session 5 (Placement Matches)
7 p.m. ET – Session 6 (Championship Finals)
ESPN will have coverage of the entire NCAA Wrestling Championships once again this year, with every match available on ESPN3.com and the ESPN app and session coverage by ESPN and ESPNU.
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Head coach Keith Gavin has led his alma mater to consecutive top-25 finishes at nationals, but the Panthers will look to build upon on last year's 24th-place finish in Detroit by going even better this year after arriving in Tulsa on Tuesday afternoon for the marquee event in all of college wrestling.
Pitt's Nino Bonaccorsi (16-0) made headlines as the No. 1 overall seed in the 197-pound division, becoming the program's first top seed since now-head coach Keith Gavin won his national title in 2008. Bonaccorsi, a senior from Bethel Park, Pa., will have a first-round meeting with the winner of the pigtail bout between No. 32-seed Max Shaw of North Carolina and No. 33-seed Cole Urbas of Pennsylvania.
Returning NCAA All-American Cole Matthews (19-1) earned the No. 3 seed at 141 pounds and an opening contest with No. 30 Seth Koleno of Clarion. For fans who enjoy looking ahead in the brackets, Pitt supporters might notice that both Bonaccorsi and Matthews could potentially meet Penn State wrestlers Max Dean and Beau Bartlett, respectively, in the quarterfinals.
One Pitt wrestler assured of a Penn State matchup is No. 20 seed Holden Heller (14-6) at 165 pounds, who will challenge No. 13 Alex Facundo from the Nittany Lions in the first round.
The other Heller brother for the Panthers, Reece Heller (18-8), received the No. 16 seed at 184 pounds and was given a rematch from November's dual against Lehigh's 17th-seeded Tate Samuelson, who Heller beat by 7-6 decision when Pitt upended the Mountain Hawks at Fitzgerald Field House. The winner of that bout will likely face top seed Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the second round.
Pitt also received a third top-10 seeding as Micky Phillippi was ranked No. 9 at 133 pounds. The veteran with three NCAA Round of 12 appearances will look to begin a run at All-America honors in his final appearance at nationals. After the bracket at 133 was adjusted this week due to a withdrawal, Phillippi's first matchup will now be against new No. 24 seed Wyatt Henson of Oklahoma.
Making his NCAA debut, freshman Luca Augustine was seeded 28th at 174 pounds and will face No. 5 Dustin Plott from Oklahoma State in his opening match.
Pitt's six NCAA qualifiers will look to add to a tradition that has produced 16 national champions and 83 All-Americans in program history for the Panthers.
The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships begin next Thursday, March 16 from Tulsa. Here is the full schedule of the three-day event at the BOK Center in Oklahoma:
Thursday, March 16
12 p.m. ET – Session 1 (First Round)
7 p.m. ET – Session 2 (Second Round, Wrestlebacks)
Friday, March 17
11 a.m. ET – Session 3 (Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks)
8 p.m. ET – Session 4 (Semifinals, Round of 12)
Saturday, March 18
11 a.m. ET – Session 5 (Placement Matches)
7 p.m. ET – Session 6 (Championship Finals)
ESPN will have coverage of the entire NCAA Wrestling Championships once again this year, with every match available on ESPN3.com and the ESPN app and session coverage by ESPN and ESPNU.
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