Pitt takes seven wrestlers to NCAA tournament

The last time the Pitt wrestling team had seven entries in the NCAA Division I tournament was 2020. Unfortunately, the Panthers saw their season come to an abrupt end when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.

Pitt coach Keith Gavin, now in his seventh season, will again have seven entries in this weekend’s tournament which begins Thursday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.

“We are very proud to have an entry in seven of the 10 weight classes,” Gavin said. “This is what these kids work for all year long, a chance to wrestle in the NCAA tournament.”

Gavin had his first national champion last year as Nino Bonaccorsi lived up to his pretournament billing as a No. 1 seed by winning the 197pound weight class. Bonaccorsi has since graduated and now serves as student-athlete development coordinator for the Panthers.

Pitt may have seven entries in the three-day tournament, but none is seeded as high as Bonaccorsi was last season. The Panthers’ highest seed is Reece Heller (20-6), who is seeded No. 15 at 184 pounds.

“The seedings were a bit unexpected for everybody,” Gavin said. “I felt we should have been seeded a bit higher in certain weights, but you can’t worry about seeding. You just have to go out and prove it on the mat.”

Pitt’s top entry is Cole Matthews (16-10), a five-time NCAA qualifier who picked up another year of eligibility after the 2020 tournament was canceled. Matthews, who is seeded No. 18 at 141 pounds, placed fifth in the country in 2022, but fell one win short of a second All-America finish in last year’s tournament.

“It’s really difficult to wrestle for five seasons,” Gavin said. “Cole lost a few matches that he should have won, but he’s also beat three of the top six seeds, including the top seed (Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez). This is the time of year that he really turns it on. This weight class is really deep. He just has to take them one match at a time.”

Four of Pitt’s seven entries are from WPIAL high schools. Franklin Regional grad Finn Solomon (17-10) is competing at 149. Waynesburg grad Luca Augustine (14-6) is at 174. Mt. Lebanon alumnus Mac Stout (21-6) is at 197. Mount Pleasant grad Dayton Pitzer (11-5) is at 285.

Penn State’s defense

Penn State is a prohibitive favorite to win another NCAA team title. With Cael Sanderson at the helm, the Nittany Lions have won 10 of the past 12 team titles.

This year’s Penn State squad is so highly touted that some feel the Nittany Lions can break the team scoring record of 158, set by Iowa in 1986. Penn State came close in 2017 with 146.5.

Penn State has an entry in all 10 weight classes and all are top-10 seeds, including four No. 1s and two No. 2s.

Headlining Penn State’s talented lineup are two threetime champions: Aaron Brooks and Carter Starocci.

Only five individuals have won four NCAA Division I individual titles in the nearly 100-year history of the tournament.

Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis became the fifth fourtime champ last year, while Iowa and Franklin Regional graduate Spencer Lee fell short in his attempt to win a fourth title.

Brooks (17-0) is one of four Nittany Lions who enter the tournament with an unblemished record. Brooks has moved up to 197 pounds after winning three titles at 184.

Starocci (12-2) is a threetime defending champ at 174 pounds, but his road to a fourth title will be much tougher due to an injury that kept him from competing at the Big Ten tournament.

Starocci defaulted twice during the tournament to be eligible as an at-large entry. Despite those being his only two losses, the NCAA selection committee seeded Starocci No. 9 in the 174-pound bracket.

Starocci replied to the shockingly low seed with this message on X: “Don’t even have me seeded,” Starocci wrote. “Just have me wrestle every single kid in the bracket, one by one, and I’ll take them all out inside three days.”

Also unbeaten for Penn State are Levi Haines (18-0), Mitchell Mesenbrink (21-0) and Greg Kerkvliet (15-0).

Haines is the top seed at 157 after placing second last year. Mesinbrink, a redshirt freshman, is the No. 2 seed at 165. Kerkvliet is the defending heavyweight champ.

The other top two seeds for Penn State are Braeden Davis (19-2), the top seed at 125; and Beau Bartlett (19-1), the No. 2 seed at 141.

Entries from the WPIAL

The four local wrestlers from Pitt are among 14 entries who wrestled in the WPIAL.

Augustine is one of three entries from Waynesburg. The others are Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh and Lock Haven’s Wyatt Henson. Welsh (22-4), a true freshman, is seeded No. 6 at 174 pounds. Henson (35-2) is seeded No. 12 at 133.

Solomon is one of two entries from Franklin Regional. The other is Ohio University’s Garrett Thompson (26-6), who is seeded No. 12 at 165.

West Allegheny graduate Ty Watters is one of five entries for West Virginia. Watters (25-4), also a true freshman, is seeded No. 5 at 149 pounds.