Heller & Stout Claim Titles at 2024 Midlands Championships

Sunday, December 29

Chicago, IL

10:30 AM

Pitt

Midlands Championships

Photo by: Sam Janicki

Heller & Stout Claim Titles at 2024 Midlands Championships

12/30/2024 6:45:00 PM | Wrestling

Panthers Finish Tied for Fourth as a Team

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – Pitt delivered another solid day at NOW Arena with three Panthers earning top three finishes and a tie for fourth-place team finish at the 2024 Midlands Championships. Reece Heller (184) and Mac Stout (197) took home titles with dominating performances throughout the two days, while Kade Brown delivered an impressive performance with a third-place finish at 149.

Heller overcame an early takedown in the first period and scored a takedown with under a minute to go in the third period en route to a 9-6 decision over Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers) in the championship match at 184. The Riverwoods, Ill., native secured his third tournament title overall and his second at the Midlands Championships. Heller won 2022 Midlands Championships at 184 and also claimed the 184 title at the 2023 Clarion Open.

Stout captured his third career tournament title with a hard-fought 13-9 decision over Indiana's Gabe Sollars. He used a pair of reversals and two takedowns to grab a 10-7 advantage entering the third period. Stout added a takedown with under a minute remaining in the third period to stave off a pair of escape points from Sollars and give the Panthers their second championship of the event. The Mount Lebanon, Pa., native also won the 197-pound titles at the 2022 and 2023 Clarion Open.

Pitt finished tied for fourth in the team standings with 95.5 points despite losing a pair of key contributors to injury Monday. No. 19 Luca Augustine (174) was forced to medical forfeit two matches, while No. 23 Finn Solomon was forced out with injury after winning his first two matches of the day.

Stanford took home the team title with 157.0 points followed by Rutgers (147.0), Penn (131.0), Pitt, and Indiana (95.5). The Panthers had six wrestlers reach the podium with a pair of champions, a third-place finish, fifth-place finish, and two sixth-place finishes.

Brown capped off a strong tournament with a 4-2 decision over No. 30 Andrew Clark (Rutgers) to reach the podium with a third-place finish at 149. The freshman out of Medina, Ohio scored a takedown in the final minute of the third period against Clark to collect his second ranked win of the tournament.

No. 31 Dylan Evans battled JT Chance (George Mason) deep into the fifth-place match at 157. The redshirt freshman from Chartiers Valley scored an escape early in the second period and was awarded a penalty point midway through the final period en route to a 2-1 decision.

Solomon earned a sixth-place finish at 149 by posted win over August Hibler (Northwestern), 9-4, and Mason Shrader (Central Michigan), 7-4, in the wrestlebacks before medical forfeiting his final two matches of the event.

Augustine saw his impressive showing at the Midlands come to a close in the semifinals as he was forced to take a medical forfeit after going through warmups. With his strong showing on day one of the event Augustine placed sixth despite medically forfeiting both matches Monday.

Briar Priest and No. 31 Anthony Santaniello both dropped their first match of the day in the 141 consolation bracket.

2024 Midlands Championships – Day 2 Results

184 – Reece Heller (First Place)

Semifinals - (1) No. 11 Reece Heller maj. dec. (5) No. 19 Brian Soldano (Rutgers), 16-7

Finals - (1) No. 11 Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) dec. (6) Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers), 9-6

197 – Mac Stout (First Place)

Semifinals - (2) No. 15 Mac Stout dec.(6) Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell), 10-3

Finals - (2) No. 15 Mac Stout dec. (5) Gabe Sollars (Indiana), 13-9

149 – Kade Brown (Third Place), Finn Solomon (Sixth Place)

Semifinals - (2) No. 9 Jaden Abas (Stanford) dec. Kade Brown, 8-3

Consolation

6^th Round – (3) No. 23 Finn Solomon dec. August Hibler (Northwestern), 9-4