Pitt Wrestling
Pitt to Redshirt Heavyweight No. 10 Dayton Pitzer, Ending his Season
Pitt intends to redshirt heavyweight wrestler No. 10 first-year Dayton Pitzer, ending his season, according to Eric Knopsnyder of Pantherlair.
Pitzer wrestled in high school for nearby Mt. Pleasant in Westmoreland County. He established himself as one of the best wrestlers in Pennsylvania, winning three state titles, finishing with a career record of 130-3 and 100 pins as well.
He started off his first season with the Panthers by winning a major decision, 10-1, over then ranked Lehigh No. 17 redshirt first-year Nathan Taylor on Nov. 19.
Pitzer didn’t wrestle until the Midlands Championships Dec. 29-Dec. 30 in Hoffman Estates, Ill. He started to gain national attention, as he made it all the way to the semifinals on the first day, defeating NC State’s Tyrie Houghton, WVU’s Michael Wolfgram and also Arizona State’s Colton Schultz.
He pinned Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger in the semifinals before losing a 4-0 decision to Northwestern’s Lucas Davison in the final. Pitzer’s performance helped Pitt finish second at the Midlands Championships.
Pitzer took a few weeks off before wrestling against Virginia Tech then ranked No. 23 sophomore Hunter Catka on Jan. 27. He won a 5-3 sudden victory decision, that helped Pitt to stay undefeated in ACC play. Pitzer also won a 6-0 decision over UNC senior Brandon Whitman on Feb. 3, that aided his side in a victory that put them solely on top of the ACC.
Pitzer eventually lost to Iowa State then ranked No. 10 graduate Sam Schulyer on Feb. 4 in a late, 4-3 decision that made the difference in a team dual loss on criteria points. He also wrestled well with NC State redshirt sophomore Owen Trephan, but lost in 3-1 sudden victory decision on Friday, Feb. 10.
With Pitt head coach Keith Gavin redshirting Pitzer, he finishes his season with a 7-3 record. Senior Mike Slinger will likely start at heavyweight for Pitt in their final dual match against Duke on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 12 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House.
