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Luke Pletcher Joins Pitt Wrestling Staff, RTC

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Pitt Wrestling announced a new addition to its coaching staff, as well as a new resident athlete for the Pittsburgh RTC on Wednesday.

All American and Big Ten champion Luke Pletcher will be joining as the volunteer assistant for Pitt, and will train as a resident athlete at the Regional Training Center.

Pitt wrestling coverage on Pittsburgh Sports Now is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Wrestling Club.
Pittsburgh Wrestling Club

Pletcher will compete in freestyle on the senior level. He wrestled 133 and 141 in college, but will most likely go up to 65kg for freestyle, which is 143 pounds. The next lowest class is 61kg (134.2), but it is not one of the six Olympic classifications.

“We couldn’t be more excited about Luke joining our staff,” head coach Keith Gavin said. “He is obviously a very skilled and accomplished wrestler, but on top of that, I have always respected him for his approach to the sport, the way he competes, and his character. Luke is from Western Pennsylvania and is a great overall fit for us. He will have an immediate impact here.”

Pletcher went to Greater Latrobe High School where he was a 3x WPIAL and PIAA champ and 2x Super 32 champ. He was one of the top recruits in the nation before committing to Ohio State, and an all-time WPIAL great.

After making two straight Big Ten tournament finals for the Buckeyes in his sophomore and junior seasons, Pletcher finally got his title this year by defeating Nick Lee of Penn State. He was an All American in 2018 and 2019 finishing 4th both times. He was the No. 1 seed entering this year’s NCAA Championships, but did not get the chance to win a title due to the Corona virus pandemic forcing the cancellation of all major events. After he graduates this Spring, Luke will journey back to his roots to join the Panthers.  

“I’m really excited to join the team and start working with the guys,” he said. “Getting a chance to come back home to chase my Olympic dreams and help the guys on the team attain their goals was something that I couldn’t pass up.”

 

Luke Pletcher after beating Nick Lee (PSU) in the Big Ten finals. Photo courtesy of FloWrestling.

Pitt has a slew of lightweight talent both on the roster and with incoming recruits: Louis Newell, Colton Camacho, Micky Phillippi, Cole Matthews, Gary Steen, and Brock McMillen. These guys will benefit enormously from Pletcher’s influence, as well as the other resident athlete who just upped for another year.

Megaludis Returns

Additionally, Nico Megaludis signed on for another year with the RTC. On top of the guys on the collegiate team, Nico and Luke will now have each other to practice with, and hopefully represent Team USA in the future.

For more information on how the RTC works/what it is, click here.

For my interview and background on Nico, click below:

Nico Megaludis: A Homecoming

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
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