Dayton Pitzer

Class:
Redshirt Junior
Weight:
285
Hometown:
Mt. Pleasant, PA
High School:
Mt. Pleasant Area

ACC Champion (2025)
ACC Most Valuable Wrestler (2025)
NCAA Qualifier (2024, 2025)
All-ACC (2025)
ACC Medalist (2024, 2025)
All-ACC Academic Team (2025)

2024-25 (285): Made his second appearance at the NCAA Championships and earned the No. 10 seed at 285-pounds … Went 3-2 at the national tournament and advanced to the Round of 12 … Defeated the No. 25-seed Luke Rasmussen by a 9-0 major decision and pinned No. 15 Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly at the NCAA Championships … Won his first ACC title and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Wrestler after defeating the top two seeded wrestlers … defeated top-seeded Isaac Trumble (NC State), 4-1, in the semifinals and defeated No. 2 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech), 4-1, in sudden victory in the championship match … Posted a 17-6 record on the season with an 11-4 mark in dual meets .. Recorded nine bonus point wins.

2023-24 (285): Posted a 12-7 record in an injury-altered first full season for the Panthers ... qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time and won a match at nationals ... pinned No. 28 Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly in Kansas City to score bonus points for Pitt ... finished third at the ACC Championship on his return from injury, winning both of his consolation bouts decisively ... sustained a separated shoulder in the dual against Arizona State while battling a close bout with Cohlton Schultz ... missed six weeks of action before competing in the postseason with heavy bandaging ... prior to his injury, was competing at a top-15 level ... defeated No. 11 Nathan Taylor of Lehigh and No. 19 Seth Nevills of Maryland in Pitt's dual wins on the road ... scored a flurry of late points to defeat No. 8 Luke Luffman of Illinois ... also earned a major decision in Pitt's signature dual win at No. 5 Ohio State ... won three times by pinfall.

2022-23 (285): Contributed significantly to Pitt's ACC title in the regular season while also preserving his freshman redshirt ... posted a 7-3 mark, with crucial wins in the dual victories over Lehigh, Virginia Tech and North Carolina ... also advanced to the final at the Midlands Championships, helping Pitt place second as a team ... while competing at just over 210 pounds, knocked off four ranked heavyweights at Midlands, including NCAA finalist Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State and multiple-time All-American Trent Hillger of Wisconsin ... his reverse pin of Hillger in the final seconds of their bout, the first fall of Pitzer's collegiate career, garnered national attention in college wrestling ... also won two other bouts by major decision ... elected to redshirt to bulk up more to be better equipped to compete with the nation's best heavyweights ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

HIGH SCHOOL: Came to Pitt as a three-time Pennsylvania state champion ... went 130-3 with 100 pins in a remarkable prep career ... as a senior for Mt. Pleasant Area, won the PIAA Class AA title at 215 pounds in incredible fashion ... Pitzer not only finished his senior season with a 45-0 record and 38 falls, but he pinned his way through the entire postseason to reach exactly 100 career pins in high school ... that included four pins at the PIAA Championships, all in the first period ... as a junior, he went 42-2 with 31 pins to win the PIAA AA championship at 215 pounds ... missed his sophomore season due to a knee injury ... as a freshman, posted a mark of 43-1 with 31 pins and won the PIAA AA titles at 182 pounds ... three-time Pittsburgh Tribune Review Westmoreland County Wrestler of the Year ... represented Team PA at the 2022 Pittsburgh Wrestler Classic ... rated a top-50 overall Class of 2022 prospect by FloWrestling.

PERSONAL: Son of Cliff and Kristy Pitzer

By the Numbers
2024-25 (Pitt): 17-6 – ACC Champion, 3-2 at NCAA
2023-24 (Pitt): 12-7 – 3rd at ACC, 1-2 at NCAA
2022-23 (Redshirt): 7-3
Career Record: 36-16
Career Record for Pitt: 36-16