No. 23 Pitt wrestling and cross-country find success over the weekend

Pitt XC posts strong showing at ACC Championships

Pitt cross-country traveled to Cary, North Carolina, to compete in the ACC Championships this weekend. The women’s team completed a 6k and the men’s team completed an 8k on the WakeMed Soccer Park. Both teams posted solid showings with the men coming in 13th and the women following suit in 16th out of the 17 and 18 team fields respectively.

The Pitt women’s team finished with 410 points. Senior Winnie Incorvaia, a consistent top finisher for the Panthers, finished 42nd overall and first for Pitt. Incorvaia clocked a time of 20:29.5. 

Graduate student Sadie Carey-Tharp, sophomore Olivia Bufalini, sophomore Camy Kiser, redshirt junior Ellen Baker, senior Sarah Hurst and first-year Ella Cook collected additional points for Pitt. Carey-Tharp and Bufalini finished in the top 10 female runners. The women’s team placed 16th overall.

The men’s team finished with 373 points. Eight of the runners had personal best races.

Senior Quintin Gatons finished first for the Panthers with a sub-24 minute time and came in 79th place overall. 

Senior Luke Miller, junior Luke Simpson, first-year Thomas McMahon and senior Peyton Geehrer all finished in the top 100. Miller and Simpson also had sub-24 minute times. Senior Finn Walsh and junior Ethan Fingerhut collected additional points, finishing in the top 110 male runners. The men’s team finished in 13th overall. 

Up next, the Panthers will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, to compete in the NCAA Regional Championships on Nov. 15. A strong performance in Regionals is crucial to Pitt’s performance at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23, which will conclude the team’s season. 

Pitt wrestling routes Navy in opening duel 

The Panthers dominated Navy on Saturday at the Fitzgerald Field House 35-3. Former NCAA tournament qualifier graduate student Nick Babin highlighted the victory with a fall over Navy’s Nick Treaster at 125 pounds.

Pitt earned redemption after falling to Navy 21-12 last season. Redshirt sophomores Vinnie Santaniello and Dayton Pitzer also posted tech falls. Santaniello bested Navy’s Hunter Hefflin 16-2 at 133 pounds, earning 13 points in the first period. Pitzer shut out Alistair Larson 15-0 in the heavyweight division. 

Babin and Santaniello pushed the Panthers to an early 11-0 lead with their fall and tech falls respectively. Pitt’s only pushback came in the third match at 141 pounds where redshirt first-year Anthony Santaniello dropped a narrow 8-6 decision to Navy’s Josh Koderhandt 5-4.

From then on, it was smooth sailing for Pitt as it won seven straight matches to get the victory.  Redshirt sophomore Mac Stout and redshirt junior Luca Augustine also showcased impressive performances. Stout, an NCAA round of 16 qualifier, won against Navy’s Payton Thomas 11-5 at 197 pounds. Augustine gritted out a solid victory 4-3 over No. 22-ranked Danny Wask at 174 pounds. Augustine scored a takedown early in the first period which proved to be the turning point.

Redshirt sophomore Finn Solomon, a Pittsburgh native, toughed out an unbelievable comeback at 149 pounds. After going down 7-1, Solomon outscored his opponent 15-2 with multiple takedowns in the third period to secure the three points for the Panthers.

Redshirt first-year Dylan Evans, redshirt sophomore Kellin Laffey and graduate student Reece Heller also picked up victories for the Panthers at 157, 165 and 184 pounds respectively.

Pitt returns five of its seven NCAA tournament qualifiers from last year and looks to have a strong campaign in 2024-25. The Panthers finished 10-8 last year.

The Panthers will look to build on this win next weekend at the Journeyman Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The next home meet is Sunday, Nov. 24 at the Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt will look to build upon its 21-12 victory over Lehigh in 2023.