The five Panthers who competed in the NCAA Championships have one thing in common — they’re all from Pennsylvania. In fact, 27 of the 31 wrestlers on Pitt’s roster hail from Pennsylvania. Pitt’s head coach, Keith Gavin, is also from Pennsylvania and had a successful career as a Panther wrestler.

The remaining three will compete in the quarterfinals on Friday, starting at 11 a.m.

With Pittsburgh hosting the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1957, it’s fitting that the Panthers will send five wrestlers to enjoy the hometown advantage: Micky Phillippi, Demetrius Thomas, Taleb Rahmani, Nino Bonaccorsi and Kellan Stout.

After becoming Pitt’s only cross-country runner to qualify for the NCAA Championships this season, sophomore Gillian Schriever placed 106th out of 250 runners in the 6k with a time of 20:52.1 over the...