Pitt Wrestling Falls to No. 5 Oklahoma State at Home, 31-6

PITTSBURGH — No. 15 Pitt wrestling came up against a great opponent in No. 5 Oklahoma State Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House, losing 31-6 in their first dual of 2024.

The Panthers (7-4) lose for the sixth straight time against the Cowboys (6-0), who hold a 7-1 series lead all-time since it started in 2013. This loss is also the third dual loss in the past four duals, with defeats to the No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones and the No. 5 Cornell Big Red at the National Collegiate Duals back on Dec. 18.

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The six points the Panthers scored is the lowest since a 27-6 defeat to the then ranked No. 3 NC State Wolfpack on Jan. 22, 2021 and the 25 point deficit is the biggest since a 36-9 defeat to the then ranked No. 3 Cowboys on Jan. 19, 2020.

Pitt wrestling started out with No. 28 redshirt senior Colton Camacho (7-6) losing to Oklahoma State No. 19 redshirt first-year Troy Spratley (12-3) at 125 pounds, as Spratley pinned him at 5:51 in the third period.

Panthers No. 18 redshirt first-year Vinnie Santaniello (11-9) struggled against three-time NCAA runner up in Cowboys No. 3 redshirt senior Daton Fix (4-0) at 133 pounds. He managed to ride Fix for most of the third period, but lost an 11-0 major decision.

No. 27 redshirt senior Cole Matthews (8-9) did score points for Pitt, but only on escapes, failing to make a takedown on Oklahoma State No. 8 redshirt first-year Tagen Jamison (13-3) at 141 pounds, losing an 8-2 decision.

An exciting match finally occurred with Panthers No. 26 redshirt first-year Finn Solomon (12-5) battling Cowboys senior Barry Alvarez at 149 pounds. Solomon started out with a takedown, but Alvarez would make two takedowns to earn a 7-4 lead heading into the third period. Despite having many chances to score on Alvarez, Solomon overworked himself and had difficulties competing the rest of the way, eventually falling in a 12-4 major decision.

Pitt wrestling redshirt first-year Jared Keslar (12-10) struggled throughout his bout with Oklahoma State No. 20 redshirt sophomore Teague Travis (11-1) at 157 pounds, losing a 14-3 major decision.

The most anticipated match of the night came with Pitt No. 8 redshirt senior Holden Heller (7-3) and Oklahoma State No. 2 redshirt senior Izzak Olejnik (16-0) faced off at 165 pounds. Olejnik took a 4-0 lead with an escape and a takedown in the second period, but Holden Heller made two escapes to cut it to two points. While he made himself a number of chances, Olejnik would hold on for the 5-2 decision after riding time.

Panthers No. 15 redshirt sophomore Luca Augustine (9-2) fought against Cowboys No. 28 First-Year Brayden Thompson (4-4) at 174 pounds, in a thrilling, defensive match. Both wrestlers earned escapes, but couldn’t score any other way through the three periods and then in overtime. The match went to tiebreakers, where Augustine rode Thompson for the first 30 seconds and then managed an escape, while fending off his opponent’s attack to hold on for a 2-1 decision.

Ranked WIN by Luca Augustine 👏

Tiebreaker victory over Thompson at 174 to put the record Fitz crowd on its feet 🗣️

ACCNX 💻 https://t.co/Ozh1sgbULs #H2P » #PINZBURGH pic.twitter.com/1kQI1tKiB7

— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) January 13, 2024

“Luca, he’s just really tough,” Panthers head coach Keith Gavin said. “He was in deep on the leg, the guy scrambled out and he just stayed the course and found a way to win. He’s been very consistent for us this year.”

“It was really hard to break through,” Augustine said on his win. “The guy had really good positioning. Hard to get past. I was just trying to make something the whole time and I finally landed on that single leg right at the end there with the finish, but at the end I knew, the whole match, I tried to stay patient. I knew coming in, it was the type of match I’d have to stay patient and just wait for my opportunity, that didn’t really come until the end, but it worked.”

Pitt No. 12 redshirt senior Reece Heller (12-4) had a great foe in Oklahoma State No. 2 senior Dustin Plott (16-1) at 184 pounds. Plott would control the match, winning a 14-4 major decision over Reece Heller, proving his ranking.

Panthers No. 15 redshirt first-year Mac Stout (13-3) fought with Cowboys No. 12 senior Luke Surber (9-2) at 197 pounds and started out with a takedown in the first period. He would make numerous shots on Surber and while he didn’t get any more takedowns, he took out Surber’s ability to attack, allowing him to win a 5-2 decision.

HUGE WIN 🔥 @Maclanestout1

Stout takes out No. 12 Luke Surber 👏

197 is in great hands for the Panthers 🤝

ACCNX 💻 https://t.co/Ozh1sgbULs #H2P » #PINZBURGH pic.twitter.com/DDKXlhpTcj

— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) January 13, 2024

“It feels good,” Stout said on the victory. “Same effort all the time. The goal is to score points, so I was just trying to get to the legs as much as possible. The more you’re able to get to the legs, the more likely you are to score. So that was kind of my mindset.”

Pitt No. 9 redshirt first-year Dayton Pitzer (8-2) competed throughout the three periods with No. 11 redshirt junior Konner Doucet (10-2) at 285 pounds. Doucet would use a reversal and a locked hands violation on Pitzer to win a 3-0 decision, that he had to fight to the very last second for.

Gavin did not appreciate the effort from the first five wrestlers compared to the back half. Even though eight of his 10 wrestlers lost, he noticed the difference between the losses in the heavier weights compared to the lighter weights. Some of that he contributed to not wrestling in almost a month with the holidays, but also just needing to do more outside of the wrestling room, particularly with their discipline.

“I think the back half of the lineup gave a much better effort than the first half of the lineup and that’s disappointing that we don’t have 10 guys going out there and giving that kind of effort,” Gavin said. “Even in some of the matches we lost in the back half, you liked them. You like the way they competed because you can grow from that where if you go and you don’t compete to the best of your abilities, you’re kind of stuck in the same place.”

Pitt wrestling also set a record for the most fans for a match at Fitzgerald Field House, with 2,510 people in attendance for this dual against Oklahoma State. Stout, a Mt. Lebanon native, and Augustine, from Waynesburg, both enjoyed the home crowd and seeing the love from the fans across the region.

“I mean it’s really important,” Stout said. “It’s definitely a large part of the reason I’m sure Luca and I came here, wrestling in our own backyards. It’s a really special thing and not that many people get to say that. It’s a really cool thing and I’m really grateful for that.”

Pitt wrestling had their match with No. 4 Iowa State on the road Sunday cancelled, due to weather conditions in the area, that didn’t allow them to fly in for the dual. They will face off against No. 22 Arizona State the following Sunday, Jan. 21, at home.