Rochester, n.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford wrestling team traveled to Rochester, N.Y. on Friday, looking to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship meet at the Mideast Regional Qualifiers. Seven Panthers competed at the event, totaling eight wins and 19.5 points, putting them in 18th place. DJ Slovick is the only Panther who advanced to the placement rounds on day two, as he went 2-1 on the day.

Slovick was the lone Panther to pick up a victory in the Championship rounds, wrestling in the 165-pound weight class. He defeated his first opponent by pin at 4:15. DJ jumped out to an early lead, picking up 7 points within 2 minutes of action. His opponent cut the lead down to 2 points with an escape and a takedown to start the 2nd, but Slovick was able to pick up a reversal before his pin. After dropping into the consolation match with a 12-3 loss in the quarterfinal, Slovick clinched his spot on the podium with a second win by fall, this time pinning his opponent in 2:13. Slovick will be the third Pitt-Bradford wrestler to earn a podium position at the regionals, following Mitch Dowd (8th) in 2019-20 and Sam Colebert (6th) in 2018-19.

Three Panthers just missed out on a podium spot, as they were eliminated just outside of the placement rounds.

Freshman Gavin Thompson had a strong showing at 285. In his opener, Thompson battled back from an early 6-1 deficit to tie the bout at 6, but could not make up riding time and lost the match 7-6. Once in the consolation bracket, Thompson was dominant, pinning his first opponent in just 1:34 and then breezing to a 10-1 major decision win in the 3rd round. He fell just shy of the Placement round with a 17-2 technical fall loss in the 4th.

Wrestling in his final NCAA event, senior Colton Gietler also fell just shy of placement rounds, finishing 2-2 on the day. Gietler got off to a difficult start at 174, falling by a 9-1 major decision in the opening match, but quickly battled back with two victories.  He took a 7-0 lead in the 2nd consolation round before pinning his opponent in 1:37. He followed that up with an even more dominating performance in the 3rd. Gietler registered 4 takedowns and one 4-second near fall on the way to a 17-2 tech fall win. He could not pick up one final win to earn a podium spot, as he fell 12-1 in the 4th.

At 133, Jacob Rogers also finished his day in the 4th consolation round, posting a 1-2 record at the event. After being pinned at 4:21 in his opening match, Rodgers advanced to the 4th round with a pair of byes around a 5-4 decision victory. In the win, Rodgers fell behind 3-1 in the first, but after choosing to be on the bottom in the 2nd period, took a 5-4 lead with an escape and a takedown. In the third, he was able to hold on to his lead, remaining in control through the final period to pick up the win. In his 3rd match of the day, Rodgers fell behind early but was not able to make up the deficit despite picking up 5 points in the 3rd. 

Uriah Morris picked up the final win for the Panthers at 125. He dropped a tough opening matchup 17-1 but was able to respond with an 11-6 decision victory in the 2nd round. Morris led 5-4 through two periods but closed strong, taking down his opponent twice in the 3rd to secure the win.

The Panthers will remain in Rochester, with only DJ Slovick preparing to wrestle on he 2nd day of the competition. He is guaranteed at least two more matches and depending on results can finish between 3rd and 8th place. The action begins at 9:00 a.m.