2020-21 Wrestling Roster
Nino Bonaccorsi
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Weight:
- 197
- Hometown:
- Bethel Park, PA
- High School:
- Bethel Park
Career Highlights
2023 NCAA Champion (197 pounds)
5-Time NCAA Qualifier (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
2-Time NCAA All-American (1st Place, 2023; 2nd Place, 2021)
NWCA All-American (2020)
3-Time ACC Champion (2021, 2022, 2023)
2023 ACC Wrestling Scholar Athlete of the Year
2-Time NWCA Scholar All-American (2021, 2023)
3-Time All-ACC Academic Team (2021, 2022, 2023)
USA U23 Freestyle National Champion (2021)
5-Time ACC Wrestler of the Week (2/12/19, 2/25/20, 2/2/21, 1/25/22, 11/22/22)
2022-23 (197): Finished his amazing collegiate career by becoming NCAA Champion in his final match ... won the 2023 national title at 197 pounds in Tulsa, beating South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan by 5-3 decision, overcoming a 3-0 deficit with two late takedowns ... gave Keith Gavin his first national champion as a head coach and became Pitt's first NCAA wrestling champion since Gavin in 2008 ... was the No. 1 seed at NCAAs and defeated No. 32 Max Shaw of North Carolina, No. 16 Owen Pentz of North Dakota State, No. 8 Silas Allred of Nebraska and No. 4 Ethan Laird of Rider on his way to the final versus No. 7 Sloan ... posted a perfect 21-0 record on the campaign, becoming the sixth Pitt wrestler to cap an unbeaten, untied season with an NCAA title ... incredibly, 15 of his victories came against 2023 NCAA qualifiers ... finalist for the prestigious Hodge Trophy as a candidate to be named the nation's most outstanding college wrestler ... won his third ACC title, defeating NC State's Isaac Trumble for the second straight year in the 197-pound final ... also beat Trumble in the Pitt-NC State dual in a dramatic overtime bout ... his only other win that needed OT was a sudden victory over Illinois' Zac Braunagel in a dual ... was named ACC Wrestler of the Week in November after wins over highly ranked opponents in Maryland's Jaxon Smith and Lehigh's Michael Beard ... continued to excel academically as well, becoming Pitt's third ACC Wrestler Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earning recognition on the All-ACC Academic Team for the third straight season and being named an NWCA Scholar All-American for the second time.
2021-22 (197): Completed another outstanding season on the mat for the Panthers, highlighted by his second straight ACC title ... finished with an 18-5 record, including a perfect 7-0 mark in bonus-point bouts ... avenged two previous losses to NC State's Isaac Trumble, winning their conference championship contest by 5-2 decision ... continued his domination of Virginia's Jay Aiello, beating him in the dual and at the ACC Championship ... pinned Arizona State's Jake Ortiz, clinching Pitt's dual upset over the No. 6 Sun Devils on Jan. 14 at the Fitzgerald Field House ... came up one win short of earning NCAA All-America status once again, falling to Missouri's Rocky Elam in the Round of 12 in Detroit ... did avenge a dual defeat to Michigan's Patrick Brucki at the NCAA Championships ... led Pitt in takedowns for the season ... named to the All-ACC Academic Team for the second straight year ... pledged to return to Pitt in 2022-23 for an extra season of eligibility provided to student-athletes by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020-21 (197): Earned NCAA All-America honors for the first time after a run to the 197-pound final at nationals in St. Louis ... finished with a 13-2 record and placed second in his weight class at the NCAA Championships ... won his first four matches at NCAAs by a combined score of 36-7 to prove himself as one of the nation's best and most prolific wrestlers ... received the No. 6 seed for nationals after a stellar debut regular season at 197 pounds ... won his first ACC title by defeating Virginia's Jay Aiello 10-4 in Raleigh on Feb. 28 ... posted a 6-1 record for Pitt in duals ... his only defeat came against NC State freshman Isaac Trumble ... developed a reputation as one of college wrestling's most attacking upperweights ... averaged more than 10 points per match in his wins that went the distance ... named a Scholar All-American by the NWCA ... honored by the All-ACC Academic Team for the first time ... named ACC Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 2 after beating then-No. 3 Jay Aiello of Virginia by a 7-5 decision in the dual in Charlottesville ... after the folkstyle season, won the U23 Freestyle Nationals to earn a place on Team USA for the U23 World Championships in Serbia in November 2021.
2019-20 (184): Posted a 23-5 record and earned NWCA All-American status when NCAAs was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak ... placed third at the ACC Championship and qualified for his second NCAA Championships ... received the No. 10 seed at 184 pounds for NCAAs ... tallied 11 major decisions, one technical fall and three pins for a total of 15 bonus-point wins ... beat No. 2 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech in the dual ... went 11-3 in duals with a 4-1 ACC record ... won the Michigan State Open to begin the season ... selected Gold Standard Teammate of the Year by his fellow Panthers.
2018-19 (184): Went 21-8 on the season with a 13-3 record in duals and 8-5 at tournaments … earned a runner-up finish at the ACC Championship and earned All-ACC status … qualified for the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh where he recorded two wins over No. 20 Will Sumner of Utah Valley and No. 4 Emery Parker of Illinois … ranked as high as No. 10 by InterMat at 184 pounds … recorded numerous wins over ranked opponents, including No. 3 Nick Reenan of NC State and No. 14 Chip Ness of North Carolina ... was named ACC Wrestler of the Week after his win over Reenan.
2017-18 (184): Redshirt season … wrestled in open tournaments unattached … finished 19-4 in tournament competition … competed in Clarion, Mat Town, Cleveland State and Edinboro Open as well as Midlands … placed first at Mat Town Open after going 3-1 … earned 12 decisions, three major decisions and two pins … reeled off nine consecutive wins in middle of season … pinned Rider’s Matt McKenzie in 1:34 at Mat Town Open … pinned Virginia’s Jack Miller in 2:04 at Mat Town Open.
HIGH SCHOOL: Finished high school with an impressive 147-21 career record at Bethel Park … finished high school career ranked second in the country … two-time PIAA runner-up (2016, 2017) … two-time WPIAL Champion (2016, 2017) … three-time Section Champion (2015, 2016, 2017) … FloNationals and PowerAde Champion in 2016 … PowerAde runner-up in 2015 … four-time Tournament of Champions champion … Super 32 finalist in 2016 and placed third in 2015 … winner of Dapper Dan and USA Dream Team All-Star matches.
PERSONAL: Born Oct. 16, 1998 ... son of Mark and Melody Bonaccorsi ... brother, Nick, was a three-time NCAA qualifier wrestling at Pitt from 2011-16 ... earned his bachelor's degree in English writing and finished up studying corporate and community relations.
By the Numbers
2022-23 (Pitt): 21-0 - 1st at ACC, NCAA Champion, NCAA All-American
2021-22 (Pitt): 18-5 - 1st at ACC, 3-2 at NCAA
2020-21 (Pitt): 13-2 - 1st at ACC, 2nd at NCAA, NCAA All-American
2019-20 (Pitt): 23-5 - 3rd at ACC, NWCA All-America
2018-19 (Pitt): 21-8 - 2nd at ACC, 2-2 at NCAA
2017-18 (Unattached): 23-5
Career Record: 119-25
Career Record for Pitt: 96-20
