Pitt Wrestling
Pitt Wrestling News Roundup
It was a big week for news in the Pitt wrestling circle. After taking out No. 7 Lehigh on the third criteria via a heavyweight upset by Demetrius Thomas, the Panthers earned their first top 10 ranking the NWCA Coaches Poll since 2015.
The ACC has three in the top 10 and five in the top 25 with Virginia Tech checking in at No. 5, North Carolina State at No. 7, Pitt at No. 10, North Carolina at No. 18, and Virginia at No. 24.
The top 10 broke down like this: Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, Arizona State, Va Tech, Wisconsin, NC State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Pitt.
Pitt has already wrestled Ohio State, and still has Ok St, NC State, and Va Tech to come.
The last time Pitt was ranked that high their starting lineup looked as follows:
| 125 | Dom Forys |
| 133 | Nick Zanetta |
| 141 | Ben Ross |
| 149 | Mikey Racciato |
| 157 | Ronnie Garbinsky |
| 165 | Troy Reaghard/Cody Wiercioch |
| 174 | Tyler Wilps |
| 184 | Max Thomusseit |
| 197 | Nick Bonaccorsi |
| 285 | Ryan Solomon |
Not a bad team, but they ended up going 8-8 in dual matches and finishing 21st at NCAAs.
The next piece of news to hit the airwaves was the athletic department announcing Meech as the Pitt Student-Athlete of the Week, along with Volleyball player Kayla Lund. As mentioned, Meech’s win over 6th ranked Jordan Wood was the deciding factor in Pitt’s victory over in-state rival Lehigh.
Lastly, Brendon Fenton, Pitt’s starter at 125 last year, tweeted he will be transferring to Kent State next semester. Fenton was a 2x Ohio state champion and went 7-13 in his true freshman season. With Micky Phillippi holding down 133 conceivably for the next three seasons, that leaves Louis Newell, Colt Camacho, Ryan Sullivan, and eventually Brock McMillen to fight it out for 125. Something had to budge, and Fenton was the first to seek other opportunities.
