Hiram, Oh. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford wrestling team traveled to Ohio on Saturday as they competed in three dual matches at the AMCC Quadmatch event. The Panthers started the day with a 30-11 win over Hiram, before falling 36-8 to Alfred State and 32-24 to Penn State-Behrend.'
Match 1 - Pitt-Bradford 30 - Hiram 11
The Panthers got off to a strong start as they used 5 pins to take down the hosts, Hiram.
Jacob Rodgers opened the day with a pin, finishing his opponent in 3:51 at 125. After a tough 1-0 loss at 141, Pitt-Bradford took a commanding lead with wins at 149 and 157. Nikolas Fegert won his match with a pin at 2:54, and then Raymond Worsen III followed with a pin at 2:00.
Hiram was able to close the gap to 7 points with a decision victory at 165 and a tech fall at 174, but following a double forfeit at 184, Colton Gietler and Gavin Thompson secured the victory with a pair of pins. Gietler won in 2:45 at 197, and Thompson won the heavyweight class in 2:46.
Match 2 - Pitt-Bradford 8 - Alfred State 36
Pitt-Bradford was unable to use the momentum from their opening victory in the second match, as they were only able to win two bouts against the defending AMCC champions.
The Panthers trailed 21-0 through five bouts before they were able to get on the board. Wrestling at 165, D.J. Slovick was dominant, shutting out his opponent for a 15-0 tech fall victory in just 1 minute and 24 seconds. The Panthers lost the next three classes before Thompson was able to pick up his second victory of the day, winning by a 2-0 decision.
Match 3 - Pitt-Bradford 24 - Penn State-Behrend 32
The Panthers fell behind early once again in match 3, dropping the first four weight classes. They found themselves trailing 20-0 after Nik Fegert was forced to withdraw due to injury at 149. Worsen once again got the Panthers started, pinning his opponent at the end of the first round with a time of 2:51.
After a loss by pin at 165, Slovick and Gietler each won their bouts, with Gietler pinning his opponent in 2:22, and Gietler following with a fall at 2:44. The pins cut the deficit down to 8, but the Panthers had to forfeit at 197 to give Penn State-Behrend the victory. Thompson was able to finish the day on a high note, as he picked up his third win of the day, pinning his opponent in 1:39.
The Panthers' dual meet record is now 2-6 on the year. They will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Elmira and Niagara CCC in a tri-match beginning at 7:00 p.m.
