Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford wrestling team hosted the inaugural AMCC quad-meet on Saturday afternoon, taking 2nd place at the event. The Panthers went 2-1 on the day, picking up victories over Hiram and Penn State-Behrend before falling late to Alfred State.
Match 1: Pitt-Bradford 32 - Hiram 19
The Panthers began their day against Hiram and used a rally of four straight bout victories to secure the match. Ja'Shad Bumpers began the day with a victory by fall, pinning his opponent in 2:01. Following a Panther forfeit at 133, Braedon Johnson made a memorable debut for the Panthers, picking up a victory by pin in 1:23. Hiram was able to take a 1 point lead at 13-12 after a major decision and sudden victory win at 149 and 157, but the Panthers quickly responded. D.J. Slovick got the Panthers back in front with a 13-7 win at 165 before Colton Gietler won by a technical fall of 16-1 at 174. Kyle Keefe and Nate Powley put the match away at 184 and 197, pinning their opponents in 1:31 and 2:41 respectively. Hiram was able to win the final bout with a defensive pin at 285.
Match 2: Pitt-Bradford 45 - Penn State-Behrend 11
The Panthers continued to roll in the second match, as they easily defeated Penn State-Behrend 45-11. Bumpers picked up his second win of the day to start the match, winning by a 5-3 decision at 125. Following a forfeit at 133, the Panthers rolled off 7 straight pins to earn the win. Johnson (1:29), Keefe (1:17), Slovick (1:14), Gietler (1:38), and Powley (2:57) all earned their second wins of the day. Raymond Worsen III and Eli Hernandez each picked up victories as well. Worsen pinned his opponent in 2:25 at 149, and Hernandez won in 1:58 at 157.
Match 3: Pitt-Bradford 18 - Alfred State 34
After winning the first two matches of the day, the Panthers got off to a good start against Alfred State, but were unable to keep up down the stretch, falling 18-34. Bumpers started the match with his third victory of the day. He pinned his 2nd opponent of the event in 1:43 to give the Panthers an early 6-0 lead. Johnson followed a Panther forfeit at 131 with his third pin of the afternoon, this time using just 41 seconds to give the Panthers six more. Alfred State responded at 149, tying the match with a victory by pin, and then going ahead with back-to-back decisions at 157 and 165. Colton Gietler stepped up at 174 and delivered an important pin to tie the match at 18. He won his bout in 1:56. The Panthers were unable to capitalize from there, as the Pioneers were able to put the match away with victories by pin and major decision at 184 and 197.
Alfred State finished the event in 1st with a 3-0 record. Pitt-Bradford was 2nd at 2-1 and Hiram secured 3rd with a 33-22 win over Penn State-Behrend in the final match of the event.
The Pantehrs are now 4-8 in dual matches this season and 2-1 in AMCC competition. They will be right back in action next weekend, as they will host a trimatch on Saturday. January 7th. The action is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.
