Pitt Wrestling Looks to Bounce Back Against No. 24 Arizona State

No. 15 Pitt wrestling suffered a difficult loss to No. 5 Oklahoma State last Friday, Jan. 12 at Fitzgerald Field House to kickstart dual play in 2024. They will face off against No. 24 Arizona State Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at home, hoping to get their first dual win in the new year.

This will serve as the last matchup for Pitt ahead of their ACC schedule starting next Friday, Jan. 26 against No. 8 NC State. This is also the second-to-last dual for Pitt in non-conference, with Rider serving as the final one on Feb. 22.

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No. 15 Pitt Wrestling Vs. No. 24 Arizona State Probables 

125 Pounds: No. 31 Colton Camacho (7-6) vs. No. 11 Richard Figueroa (5-2)
133 Pounds: No. 20 Vinnie Santaniello (11-9) vs. No. 24 Julian Chlebove (13-5)
141 Pounds: No. 27 Cole Matthews (8-9) vs. Cody Foote
149 Pounds: No. 29 Finn Solomon (12-5) vs. No. 4 Kyle Parco (12-2)
157 Pounds: Jared Keslar (12-10) vs. No. 5 Jacori Teemer (12-3)
165 Pounds: No. 11 Holden Heller (7-3) vs. Chance McLane
174 Pounds: No. 15  Luca Augustine (9-2) vs. Cael Valencia
184 Pounds: No. 12 Reece Heller (12-4) vs. Shay Addison OR No. 26 Tony Negron
197 Pounds: No. 13 Mac Stout (13-3) vs. Jacob Meissiner
285 Pounds: No. 12 Dayton Pitzer (8-3) vs. No. 5 Cohlton Schultz (2-1)

The most enticing battle of the day features two heavyweights in Panthers No. 12 redshirt first-year Dayton Pitzer taking on Sun Devils No. 5 redshirt junior Cohlton Schultz. This will serve as a rematch from the 2022 Midlands Championships, where Pitzer stunned Schultz with a 4-0 decision.

Both wrestlers have lost to Iowa State No. 3 senior Yonger Bastida and defeated Little Rock redshirt junior Josiah Hill. Schultz, who finished as runner up at the 2022 NCAA Championships and in seventh place last season, will provide great experience for Pitzer, who will face his seventh ranked wrestler this season.

Pitt wrestling No. 31 redshirt senior Colton Camacho had a poor showing last time out, as Oklahoma State No. 19 redshirt first-year Troy Spratley (12-3) pinned him at 5:51 in the third period at 125 pounds. He’ll have another great opponent on Sunday in Arizona State No. 11 redshirt junior Richard Figueroa, who should make it a difficult match throughout.

One match that pits two equal wrestlers against each other is Panthers No. 20 Vinnie Santaniello against Sun Devils No. 24 redshirt junior Julian Chlebove at 133 pounds. Both wrestlers lost to Little Rock No. 13 first-year Nasir Bailey, but defeated Morgan State first-year Shawn Ryncarz, earlier this season.

Arizona State has two more top 10 wrestlers around the middleweights in No. 4 redshirt junior Kyle Parco at 149 pounds and No. 5 redshirt senior Jacori Teemer at 157 pounds.

Pitt wrestling redshirt first-years in No. 29 Finn Solomon at 149 pounds and Jared Keslar at 157 pounds will both have really tough tests for them on Sunday. Keslar is 0-4 against ranked wrestlers and hasn’t even managed to lose in at best a decision and Solomon is 1-3 against ranked opponents.

The rest of the probables will likely not feature any ranked opponents from the Sun Devils but ranked wrestlers from the Panthers.

The only matchup that may see a ranked Sun Devil is No. 26 redshirt senior Tony Negron against Panthers No. 12 redshirt senior Reece Heller at 184 pounds. Negron didn’t wrestle against the Trojans on Friday night, but sophomore Shay Addison did and will likely do so again on Sunday.

No. 27 redshirt senior Cole Matthews has struggled for Pitt this season, but with a matchup against Arizona State redshirt junior Cody Foote at 141 pounds, it might give him a chance to get back on track prior to the ACC schedule. Their common opponents were Iowa State No. 10 redshirt junior Anthony Echemendia and Little Rock redshirt first-year Brennan Van Hoecke, which Matthews lost both of his matches two, but Foote did win a 5-4 decision over Van Hoecke.

Panthers No. 11 redshirt senior Holden Heller has lost his past three matches after starting the season undefeated at 7-0. He will take on Sun Devils redshirt senior Chance McLane at 165 pounds, looking to gain some momentum heading into ACC duals.

Pitt No. 15 Luca Augustine has won his past four matches, including 2-1 tiebreakers win over Oklahoma State No. 28 First-Year Brayden Thompson last Friday. He will face off against Arizona State redshirt sophomore Cael Valencia at 174 pounds on Sunday. Augustine won decisions against No. 22 Iowa State redshirt first-year MJ Gain and Little Rock redshirt senior Tyler Brennan, while Valencia has lost to both of them this season.

Panthers No. 13 redshirt first-year Mac Stout has had a stellar season so far, with just one loss since November and a 5-2 decision over Cowboys No. 12 senior Luke Surber at 197 pounds. His opponent from the Sun Devils is sophomore Jacob Meissiner.