University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Oklahoma State
No. 15 Pitt Falls to No. 5 Oklahoma State in Front of Record Wrestling Crowd
1/12/2024 9:30:00 PM | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH—Pitt wrestling fans produced a record crowd of 2,510 at Fitzgerald Field House on Friday night for a top-15 showdown between the No. 15 Panthers and No. 5 Oklahoma State.
The attendance mark broke the program's all-time crowd at the facility, with overflow seating needed and standing room-only areas utilized for a full house to watch Pitt face the Cowboys on the mat.
It was Pitt wrestling's biggest home crowd since 7,103 watched the Panthers host Penn State in 2015 at the Petersen Events Center.
Unfortunately, Pitt (7-4) fell to the undefeated Cowboys (6-0) in the dual, 31-6.
"Oklahoma State has a great team, but it was disappointing that we didn't give that record crowd more moments to cheer for," Gavin said. "We need to be more disciplined, especially in the front half of the lineup. I liked the way the upperweights competed, and I'm happy for Luca and Mac. Those were tough, gritty wins for those guys. But we can certainly learn a lot from tonight and we will."
Sophomore Luca Augustine at 174 pounds and redshirt freshman Mac Stout at 197 pounds both earned dramatic ranked wins for the Panthers to put the crowd on its feet.
Augustine, ranked No. 15 this week, prevailed in a tiebreaker by 2-1 decision over No. 28 Brayden Thompson to improve to 9-2 this season and get Pitt on the board.
Then No. 15 Mac Stout earned possibly his best win of the season with an impressive 5-2 decision against No. 12 Luke Surber with a first-period takedown and controlling the match from there.
The crowd also stood on its feet to honor 2023 NCAA champion Nino Bonaccorsi, who was honored at the intermission for becoming Pitt's 17th national title winner in wrestling last season.
Full results from Friday's Pitt-Oklahoma State are available below.
Pitt's scheduled dual at No. 4 Iowa State for Sunday afternoon was canceled earlier on Friday due to severe winter weather conditions in the Midwest this weekend making travel to Ames impossible.
Instead, the Panthers will be back in action next Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House when Pitt hosts No. 22 Arizona State for yet another exciting nonconference dual.
No. 5 Oklahoma State 31, No. 15 Pitt 6
125: No. 19 Troy Spratley (OSU) pins No. 28 Colton Camacho (Pitt), 5:51 (OSU leads, 6-0)
133: No. 3 Daton Fix (OSU) maj. No. 18 Vinnie Santaniello (Pitt), 11-0 (OSU leads, 10-0)
141: No. 8 Tagen Jamison (OSU) dec. No. 27 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 8-2 (OSU leads, 13-0)
149: Sammy Alvarez (OSU) maj. No. 26 Finn Solomon (Pitt), 12-4 (OSU leads, 17-0)
157: No. 20 Teague Travis (OSU) maj. Jared Keslar (Pitt), 14-3 (OSU leads, 21-0)
165: No. 2 Izzak Olejnik (OSU) dec. No. 8 Holden Heller (Pitt), 5-2 (OSU leads, 24-0)
174: No. 15 Luca Augustine (Pitt) dec. No. 28 Brayden Thompson (OSU), 2-1 TB (OSU leads, 24-3)
184: No. 2 Dustin Plott (OSU) maj. No. 12 Reece Heller (Pitt), 14-4 (OSU leads, 28-3)
197: No. 15 Mac Stout (Pitt) dec. No. 12 Luke Surber (OSU), 5-2 (OSU leads, 28-6)
285: No. 11 Konner Doucet (OSU) dec. No. 9 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt), 3-0 (OSU wins, 31-6)
Attendance: 2,510 (Pitt wrestling record at Fitzgerald Field House)
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