Washington, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford wrestling team traveled to Washington, Pa. this week to compete in their first invitational of the season. As a team, the Panthers finished in 11^th place with 70.0 points and three Panthers earned individual places.

Colton Gietler was the top finisher for the Panthers, as he took 3^rd place at 184. Gietler started the day with a bye, and then quickly advanced to the semifinals with two victories by decision. He won his first match 4-1 and then took the second 6-5. In the semis, Gietler fell by pin at 5:48 to the 12th-ranked wrestler in the nation at his weight class. He was able to battle back in the placement match, shutting out his opponent in an 8-0 major decision victory.

Two other Panthers earned places in their weight class, as D.J. Slovick took 6^th at 174 and Gavin Thompson finished 6^th at 285.

Slovick ran into some tough luck in his class, as he posted a 5-1 record on the day, but was unable to compete in his final placement match as he already reached the daily maximum of six bouts. Slovick got off to a strong start, as he won his opening bout by major decision 9-1. He lost in the 2^nd round by a 6-3 decision but was utterly dominant in his final four matches of the day. Slovick won his next two matches by fall, pinning his opponent in the 3^rd round at 3:00 and in the 4^th round at 0:58. He followed this up with a pair of major decision victories. He won in the 5^th round 20-9 and then closed his day with a 16-2 win in the 6^th.

Thompson was able to finish 6^th in his first collegiate invitational, posting a 4-2 record. He started his day strong, picking up a win by fall at 1:52 in his first bout, and then winning by major decision 9-1 in his second. After dropping his 3^rd match 11-1, Thompson picked up two more victories. He won in the 5^th by fall at 4:12 and then earned a tight 2-0 decision in the 6^th round.

While 3 Panther wrestlers were able to earn spots on the podium, they were not the only grapplers to have a strong day as four others picked up multiple wins. Wrestling at 149, Nikolas Fegert was able to go 4-2 in the tournament, including two victories by fall and another by major decision. Uriah Morris (125) and Darren Christian Jr.(157) both responded to tough opening losses with three straight victories. Morris had one win by fall and another by major decision, while Christian Jr. pinned two opponents. Raymond Worsen III went 2-2 on the day, picking up one win by fall.

The Panthers will be back in action next weekend when they wrestle in the Baldwin Wallace Invitational. The action is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 18^th.