Pitt Wrestling
Pitt Wrestling Falters Against No. 8 NC State, 31-6, to Start ACC Duals
No. 19 Pitt Wrestling opened up ACC duals against No. 8 NC State Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House. Despite some two great wins, NC State showed their strength and ultimately won the dual, 31-6.
The Panthers (7-6 overall, 0-1 ACC) lose to the Wolfpack (11-2 overall, 1-0 ACC) for the fifth straight time, dating back to 2020. This is also the third straight dual loss for the Panthers, who lost on Sunday to the then ranked No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils on Sunday, 21-20 on criteria, and to the then ranked No. 5 Oklahoma State Cowboys on Jan. 12, both at home, dropping them to 1-3 at Fitzgerald Field House this season.
Pitt wrestling started out with No. 31 redshirt senior Colton Camacho (7-8) against NC State graduate student Jarrett Trombley (3-2) at 125 pounds. Trombley made a takedown and then got four back points to take a 7-0 lead at the end of the first period. He would control the match the rest of the way, getting another takedown and winning a 14-4 major decision.
The win for Trombley is his third over Camacho, as he beat him last year in both the dual and at ACC Championships.
Panthers No. 20 redshirt first-year Vinnie Santaniello (12-10) took on Wolfpack No. 6 redshirt junior Kai Orine (9-2) at 133 pounds. Orine used great defense and three takedowns to win a 10-1 major decision over Santaniello, as he begins his quest for a second straight ACC title.
One of the best matches of the night came when Pitt No. 27 redshirt senior Cole Matthews (10-9) faced off against NC State No. 4 junior Ryan Jack (12-3) at 141 pounds.
Jack got a takedown early and looked to get another takedown at the end of the first period, but the referees changed their call upon further review. Matthews then escaped and made a takedown, that the referees had to confirm after review, to take a 5-3 lead.
Matthews would continue to excel against Jack, using two more takedowns to build an 11-7 lead. Jack got a takedown, but Matthews escaped and finished the match off with a takedown himself to win a 15-10 decision.
#Pitt No. 27 Cole Matthews comes up with a huge 15-10 decision over NC State No. 4 Ryan Jack at 141 pounds
Matthews improved to 5-0 in his career over Jack pic.twitter.com/DCimXqF4Oe
— Dominic Campbell (@DOMISMONEY) January 27, 2024
The win over Jack is the fifth for Matthews against him in his collegiate career, 5-0 overall, with wins in both the dual and the ACC Championships the past two seasons. It also improves him to 9-1 against the current top six wrestlers at 141 pounds.
Matthews said that his confidence has gone up with the win over Jack, which he credits to putting in good training and managing his weight well this week. He also noted the change in style that both he and Jack wrestled, as they normally engage in low-scoring affairs.
“I think we both kind of changed some things and I think that’s what made it more fun,” Matthews said. “He was willing to shoot on me this time. So then he scored and then I had to go score. Other matches he wasn’t really shooting on me and I wasn’t really shooting on him. So, we we’re going to let it go down to those close matches, but since he scored, I had to, ended up scoring and it just made it a fun match for everyone.”
Pitt wrestling head coach Keith Gavin liked the fight from Matthews after going down and credited him with his success against some of the best wrestlers in the country throughout his career.
“He’s a very controlling wrestler,” Gavin said. “If he gets scored on early, that’s everybody’s game plan against him is to get one early, because he has to come to you. So he was kind of in his worst spot and found a way to win.
He’s very focused. We’ve seen that a couple times against the best guys. When he’s locked in, he’s very hard to beat.”
A close battle came up next at 149 pounds in Panthers No. 29 redshirt first-year Finn Solomon (12-7) and Wolfpack No. 3 sophomore Jackson Arrington (13-3). Solomon, who transferred in from NC State, would wrestle against Arrington, who beat him out for the starting position.
Arrington got a takedown in the first period and kept Solomon from landing any shots, holding on for a 4-2 decision to increase the Wolfpack’s lead. Solomon has now dropped his first three matches to start 2024.
Pitt redshirt first-year Jared Keslar (12-12) stood no chance against NC State No. 7 junior Ed Scott (15-3) at 157 pounds, who used three takedowns and four near fall points to win a 16-3 major decision.
Panthers No. 14 redshirt senior Holden Heller (7-5) continued his struggles these past few weeks, losing a 7-1 decision to Wolfpack No. 16 redshirt sophomore Derek Fields (10-2) at 165 pounds. Fields, who won the ACC title last season, used an early takedown in the first period and then another takedown late in the second period to win the match.
The loss for Holden Heller is his fifth straight since the National Collegiate Duals in the middle of December and his is first ACC loss in dual competition, as he finished 5-0 last season.
Pitt No. 17 redshirt sophomore Luca Augustine (10-3) faced off against NC State No. 31 fifth year Alex Faison (9-6) at 174 pounds. Faison would get two takedowns to take a 7-1 lead, and even though Augustine would score late, he couldn’t overcome the deficit, losing on a 7-5 decision. The loss for Augustine ends a five match winning streak and is his third against Faison in his career, losing at both the dual and ACC Championships last season.
The next two matches featured the top two ranked wrestlers in the ACC, with Panthers No. 12 Reece Heller (14-4) against Wolfpack No. 7 redshirt first-year Dylan Fishback (12-5) at 184 pounds and Panthers No. 13 redshirt first-year Mac Stout (14-4) against Wolfpack No. 4 Trent Hidlay (17-0) at 197 pounds.
Reece Heller got a takedown almost immediately from the start of the dual, but would engage in a defensive battle throughout, managing to take a 4-3 decision. The win for Reece Heller makes him 3-3 against ranked opponents and 2-2 against top 10 wrestlers this season.
“Just a lot of staying in good position, patience, stuff like that,” Reece Heller said on what led to the victory against Fishback. “I get ahead of myself sometimes and it can get me in trouble. So I was just trying to stay focused.”
Stout had extreme difficulty with Hidlay, who won the past three ACC titles at 184 pounds and finished in the top five at NCAA Championships. He would lose 20-4 in a technical fall at 6:16, ending a three match winning streak for him.
The final dual of the day came at 285 pounds, with Pitt redshirt junior Geoff Magin (0-1) taking on NC State No. 14 redshirt junior Owen Trephan (11-5). Magin had to replace No. 12 redshirt first-year Dayton Pitzer at heavyweight, since Pitzer dislocated his shoulder on Sunday against Arizona State, sidelining him for the rest of the regular season.
Trephan dominated the inexperienced Magin, who had never wrestled at heavyweight, winning a 20-4 technical fall at 4:53 in the second period.
“I though that, you know, there were some competitive matches,” Gavin said on the dual with NC State. “They’re a very good team and they got us. We lost some close, there were some close ones I thought we could’ve pulled out. To win the dual, we had to pull out all those upsets and we didn’t…So yeah. There were some close ones that we needed to pull out, but we didn’t.”
Pitt wrestling continues their ACC schedule, with a dual next week on the road against Duke in Durham, N.C. on Friday, Feb. 2.
