Elijah Cleary

Class:
Redshirt Senior
Weight:
157
Hometown:
Winter Park, FL
High School:
Lake Highland Prep
Prev School:
Ohio State

2021-22 (157): Using his final season of eligibility at Pitt as a graduate transfer from Ohio State, qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time ... Served as Pitt's starter at 157 pounds throughout the season ... Opened his campaign with a sudden victory over Buffalo's Michael Petite to help the Panthers win the dual ... Also defeated Petite in Detroit at NCAAs in the consolation bracket ... Beat Duke's Wade Unger at the ACC Championships to secure an automatic berth to nationals ... Finished the season with a 14-10 record, including an 8-6 mark in duals and 3-2 in ACC duals ... Won the Illinois MatMen Open with a finals victory over Penn's Doug Zapf by 9-8 decision ... Pinned Edinboro's Peter Pappas to lift Pitt to a dual win away from home.

PRIOR TO PITT: Wrestled for five seasons at Ohio State... Was the Buckeyes' full-time starter at 157 pounds his last two seasons in Columbus... Won 55 bouts during his OSU career... Competed at the Big Ten Championships in 2020 and '21... Earned six wins in duals for Ohio State... Received the team's 2019 Kosta Karageorge Battling Buckeye Award... Two-time OSU Scholar Athlete.

HIGH SCHOOL: Cleary was a two-time Florida state champion, helping Lake Highland win a team title in 2015... Posted a 60-1 record as a junior and a 55-1 mark during his senior season, with 37 wins coming by pin in his final prep campaign... Ranked No. 12 by InterMat and No. 16 by FloWrestling at 160 pounds... Competed in the Journeymen All-Star Exhibition and Super 32... Won the 2015 Grappler Fall Classic.

By the Numbers
2021-22 (Pitt): 14-10 - 5th at ACC, 1-2 at NCAA
2020-21 (Ohio State): 7-8
2019-20 (Ohio State): 18-12
2018-19 (Ohio State): 11-4
2017-18 (Ohio State): 4-2
2016-17 (Unattached): 15-8
Career Record: 69-44