The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford wrestling team made its inaugural appearance in the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference championships on Sunday, finishing in 8th with 34.0 points. Two Panthers were able to finish in the Top 5 at their weight classes.
The Panthers 8th Place finish was well ahead of 9th place Penn State-Behrend, but also just 2.5 points behind Cortland State, who took 7th.
Individually, Victor Elias had the best finish of the day for the Panthers, as he took 4th at 174. After receiving an opening-round bye, Elias advanced to the semi-final round with a victory by pin at 3:43. He was unable to advance to the final as he lost by major decision in the semifinal but battled back with another victory by pin in the consolation semifinal. He won his third match of the day with a pin at 4:10. He had another tough match in his final bout of the day but fell by a 7-5 decision to secure 4th place, earning 13.5 points for the Panthers.
Tyler Newton also had a strong day for the Panthers, as he took 5th place at 165 with 11.0 points. Newton also started his day with a win, picking up a 6-3 decision in the first round. Newton lost his quarterfinal match by a 3-1 decision but came back strong with two dominating victories in the consolation bracket. He picked up back-to-back wins by tech fall in the 2nd and 3rd consolation rounds. He shut out his opponent in round two with a 16-0 victory and followed that up with a 16-1 win in the third. Newton lost another tight 3-1 match in the consolation semifinal and finished his day with a 3rd 3-1 decision of the day to take 5th.
Nathan Powley picked up 9.0 additional points for the Panthers, as he took 6th at 184. Powley lost his first match of the day by an 8-2 decision but was able to pick up two victories by pinfall in his next two matches. He pinned his first opponent in the consolation bracket in just 56 seconds, and his second in 3:52. Powley was unable to maintain his momentum in his final two matches of the day as he lost both to finish in 6th.
Elijah Hernandez was the only other Panther to earn points on the day. Hernandez went 1-2 on the day, but was able to pick up a 2-0 decision in the 2nd consolation round.
The Panthers will be right back in action this week, as they are scheduled to travel to Thiel for a dual match on Wednesday. The action will begin at 7:00 p.m.
