Pitt
NC State
Two Panthers Earn Top-10 Wolfpack Wins
1/26/2024 9:30:00 PM | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH—Cole Matthews at 141 pounds and Reece Heller at 184 pounds both picked up top-10 individual wins for the No. 19 Pitt wrestling team on Friday night against No. 8 NC State in front of more than 2,000 fans in the ACC dual opener for both teams at the Fitzgerald Field House.
Matthews beat his second top-five opponent of the season in No. 4 Ryan Jack, coming from behind to tally a 15-10 decision in a rematch of the last two 141-pound ACC title bouts. Pitt's senior team captain and former NCAA All-American had previously beaten No. 3 Jesse Mendez from Ohio State and used a flurry of points in the third period to pull off another massive victory.
Heller also emerged with his second top-10 win of the season after a 4-3 decision over No. 7 Dylan Fishback, thanks to an early takedown and some great scrambling. Pitt's 184-pounder had won 11 of his 12 victories by bonus-point decision, including a major over No. 5 Will Feldkamp from Iowa State, but he showed a gritty and disciplined side to his game in defeating the NC State freshman.
The Wolfpack (11-2, 1-0 ACC) won the other eight bouts in the dual to beat the Panthers (7-6, 0-1) by a 31-6 scoreline in a matchup of two teams who shared the ACC dual title last season.
"We didn't win the close bouts that we needed to tonight," Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said. "NC State has a really good team, so you have to give them credit. But we're disappointed with a few of the results from the closer matches that didn't go our way tonight."
"That was a big win for Cole," Gavin added. "It was even better that he fell behind and had to fight back. Usually that first takedown is crucial in his matches, but he found a way to score a bunch of points tonight, which was great. And I was pleased with Reece's discipline in winning a tight match."
Full results from Friday's Pitt-NC State dual are available below.
The Panthers will head south in conference action the next two Fridays, beginning with an ACC road trip to Duke on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. followed by a matchup at North Carolina on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.
No. 8 NC State 31, No. 19 Pitt 6
125: Jarrett Trombley (NCSU) maj. No. 31 Colton Camacho (Pitt), 13-4 (NC State leads, 4-0)
133: No. 6 Kai Orine (NCSU) maj. No. 20 Vinnie Santaniello (Pitt), 10-1 (NC State leads, 8-0)
141: No. 27 Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. No. 4 Ryan Jack (NCSU), 15-10 (NC State leads, 8-3)
149: No. 3 Jackson Arrington (NCSU) dec. No. 29 Finn Solomon (Pitt), 4-2 (NC State leads, 11-3)
157: No. 7 Ed Scott (NCSU) maj. Jared Keslar (Pitt), 16-3 (NC State leads, 15-3)
165: No. 16 Derek Fields (NCSU) dec. No. 14 Holden Heller (Pitt), 7-1 (NC State leads, 18-3)
174: No. 31 Alex Faison (NCSU) dec. No. 17 Luca Augustine (Pitt), 7-5 (NC State leads, 21-3)
184: No. 12 Reece Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 7 Dylan Fishback (NCSU), 4-3 (NC State leads, 21-6)
197: No. 4 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) tech fall No. 13 Mac Stout (Pitt), 20-4 (6:16) (NC State leads, 26-6)
285: No. 14 Owen Trephan (NCSU) tech fall Geoff Magin (Pitt), 20-4 (4:53) (NC State wins, 31-6)
Attendance: 2,059
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