University of Pittsburgh Athletics
3/21/2024 11:00:00 PM | Wrestling
KANSAS CITY—The Pitt wrestling team rallied to post a perfect Thursday night session at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships as all seven Panthers in Kansas City advanced to Friday's competition.
After a disappointing winless morning session in the opening round, Pitt's seven NCAA qualifiers flipped the script—and their opponents in many cases—to win all seven consolation bouts in the evening.
Crucially, Holden Heller at 165 pounds, Reece Heller at 184 pounds and Dayton Pitzer at heavyweight all won by pin to each score two bonus points for the Panthers. Mac Stout at 197 pounds also added a major decision triumph to boost Pitt's tally to 10.5 points and launch the team into 16th place.
"Yeah… that was a crazy day," Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said. "I don't ever remember being part of a day like that: winless in the morning and perfect at night. We had some tough draws in the opening round but we need to pull off some upsets. It was good to see the guys come back determined this evening and find ways to win. The amount of bonus points we scored was great, too."
Cole Matthews got the ball rolling for the Panthers and narrowly kept his collegiate career alive with a 10-minute slugfest tiebreaker at 141 over Maryland's Kal Miller, who had beaten him twice this season.
Finn Solomon then landed his first career NCAA win and did so by beating a top-15 opponent when he knocked out Central Michigan's Corbyn Munson via a decisive 6-4 victory.
Luca Augustine also won at 174 pounds over Cornell's Benny Baker for the second time this season, posting an 8-2 decision that set the stage for Pitt's late-night dominance in Kansas City.
Full results Pitt's action on Thursday at the T-Mobile Center are available below.
Wrestling resumes on Friday with quarterfinals and consolation matches at 12 p.m. ET on ESPNU with full coverage available on ESPN+. Semifinal and Blood Round bouts will air at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Cole Matthews, 141 Pounds, No. 18 Seed, 1-1
First Round: No. 15 Mitch Moore (Rutgers) dec. No. 18 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 7-2
Consolation: No. 18 Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. No. 31 Kal Miller (Maryland), 2-1 TB
Consolation: No. 18 Cole Matthews (Pitt) vs. No. 17 Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga)
Finn Solomon, 149 Pounds, No. 31 Seed, 1-1
First Round: No. 2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) dec. No. 31 Finn Solomon (Pitt), 5-4
Consolation: No. 31 Finn Solomon (Pitt) dec. No. 15 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan), 6-4
Consolation: No. 31 Finn Solomon (Pitt) vs. No. 17 Graham Rooks (Indiana)
Holden Heller, 165 Pounds, No. 25 Seed, 1-1
First Round: No. 8 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) maj. No. 25 Holden Heller (Pitt), 11-0
Consolation: No. 25 Holden Heller (Pitt) pins No. 24 Stoney Buell (Purdue), 2:04
Consolation: No. 25 Holden Heller (Pitt) vs. No. 7 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State)
Luca Augustine, 174 Pounds, No. 23 Seed, 1-1
First Round: No. 10 Nick Incontrera (Penn) dec. No. 23 Luca Augustine (Pitt), 5-2
Consolation: No. 23 Luca Augustine (Pitt) dec. No. 26 Benny Baker (Cornell), 8-2
Consolation: No. 23 Luca Augustine (Pitt) vs. No. 8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly)
Reece Heller, 184 Pounds, No. 15 Seed, 1-1
First Round: No. 18 Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) pins No. 15 Reece Heller (Pitt), 2:27
Consolation: No. 15 Reece Heller (Pitt) pins No. 31 Tony Negron (Arizona State), 5:00
Consolation: No. 15 Reece Heller (Pitt) vs. No. 17 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State)
Mac Stout, 197 Pounds, No. 21 Seed, 1-1
First Round: No. 12 Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec. No. 21 Mac Stout (Pitt), 6-2
Consolation: No. 21 Mac Stout (Pitt) maj. No. 28 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia), 12-4
Consolation: No. 21 Mac Stout (Pitt) vs. No. 22 Garrett Joles (Minnesota)
Dayton Pitzer, 285 Pounds, No. 21 Seed, 1-1
First Round: No. 12 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 21 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt), 5-0
Consolation: No. 21 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt) pins No. 28 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 3:49
Consolation: No. 21 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt) vs. No. 11 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma)
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