No. 13 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 6 Gannon Share PSAC Dual Meet Title
---Information courtesy of Pitt-Johnstown and Gannon ---
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. --- The thirteenth-ranked Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats defeated Gannon and Mercyhurst in wrestling this past weekend to claim a share of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Dual Meet Title with Gannon.
On Friday, the Mountain Cats defeated Gannon, 18-12, and on Saturday, Pitt-Johnstown took down Mercyhurst for a share of the Dual title.
With the win Saturday, it was Pitt-Johnstown’s sixth consecutive PSAC Dual Meet title. The PSAC Wrestling programs will now prepare for NCAA DII Super Regionals, Saturday, Feb. 26 in Pitt-Johnstown. Recaps courtesy of Pitt-Johnstown and Gannon below:
Saturday Recap:
The 13th-ranked Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers knew what they needed to do to claim a share of their sixth consecutive PSAC Dual Meet Championships. A victory at 19th-ranked Mercyhurst in the season's dual meet finale would give Pitt-Johnstown a share of the 2021-22 title with No. 6 Gannon, a team it defeated, 18-12, just over 12 hours earlier.
A technical fall win by sixth-ranked Jacob Ealy at 149 lbs. helped Pitt-Johnstown race out to a 13-point lead, and Alex Weber's major decision win at 184 lbs., put the match out of reach and gave the Mountain cAts their sixth straight PSAC crown with a 29-12 victory over the Lakers. Pitt-Johnstown wrapped-up the dual meet season at 13-1 overall and 6-1 in the PSAC.
The Mountain Cats got off to a quick start with Matt Siszka's 10-1 major decision over Jacob Ruggeri at 125 lbs., before Mercyhurst answered with a fall from Eric Bartos at 6:42 in the 133-lb. bout to go in front, 6-4.
However, Pitt-Johnstown bounced right back with four consecutive wins to climb out to a 13-point lead At 141 lbs., Caleb Morris used a point for riding time to outlast Alexis Soriano, 2-1, and give the lead back to the Mountain Cats and sixth-ranked Jacob Ealy won a 16-0 technical fall at 5:50 over Mike Zacur to make it 12-6.
Weber_Alex.jpgPitt-Johnstown continued to build on its lead. A 5-2 decision win from 11th-ranked Nate Smith at 157 lbs., followed by an 11-0 major decision from No. 8 Dillon Keane over Mike Clark at 165 lbs. increased it to 19-6.
At 174 lbs., No. 11 Dillon Walker upset fourth-ranked Brock Biddle, 17-10 to get the Lakers back to within 10, but Weber's 8-0 majors decision over over Barbules in the 184-lb. made it 23-9 bout put the match out of reach with just two bouts remaining.
Mercyhurst picked-up a decision win at 197 lbs., but Pitt-Johnstown's Oggie Atwood closed out the 29-12 win by pinning Justin Petrilena at 4:50.
With the loss, Mercyhurst ended its dual meet season at 10-6 overall and 5-2 in the PSAC.
Pitt-Johnstown will host the 2022 NCAA Division II Super Region I Wrestling Tournament in the Sports Center on February 26., before traveling to St. Louis for the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championships on March 11-12.
at #19 Mercyhurst University – 02/12/22
125 lbs. Matt Siszka (UPJ) Major Decision Jacob Ruggeri (MU) 10-1 4-0 UPJ
133 lbs. Eric Bartos (MU) Fall Dajauhn Hertzog (UPJ) 6:42 6-4 MU
141 lbs. Caleb Morris (UPJ) Decision 2-1 Alexis Soriano (MU) 7-6 UPJ
149 lbs. #6 Jacob Ealy (UPJ) Technical Fall Mike Zacur (MU) 16-0 (5:50) 12-6 UPJ
157 lbs. #11 Nate Smith (UPJ) Decision Max Stedeford (MU) 5-2 15-6 UPJ
165 lbs. #8 Dillon Keane (UPJ) Major Decision Mike Clark (MU) 11-0 19-6 UPJ
174 lbs. #11 Dillon Walker Decision #4 Brock Biddle (UPJ) 17-19 19-9 UPJ
184 lbs. Alex Weber (UPJ) Major Decision Brent Barbules (MU) 8-0 23-9 UPJ
197 lbs. Hunter Harnish (MU) Decision Dakoda Rodgers (UPJ) 4-2 23-12 UPJ
285 lbs. Oggie Atwood (UPJ) Fall Justin Petrilena (MU) 4:50 23-12 UPJ
Friday Recap:
A share of six straight PSAC Dual Meet Championships was on the line for the 13
th-ranked Mountain Cats entering this weekend's final two dual meets of the 2021-22 season. Pitt-Johnstown needed victories in both and it all started with a trip to sixth-ranked Gannon on Friday.
Pitt-Johnstown won six straight matches to storm out to a 15-point lead, including No. 6
Jacob Ealy's 8-2 win over No. 2 Dominic Means at 149 lbs., and kept its PSAC Championship hopes alive with an 18-12 victory over the Golden Knights. The Mountain Cats improved to 12-1 overall and 5-1 in the PSAC.
A win at 19
th-ranked Mercyhurst on Saturday would give Pitt-Johnstown a share of its sixth consecutive PSAC dual meet title.
Gannon took a 3-0 lead with a 3-1 win in in the opener at 125 lbs., but the Mountain Cats responded with six wins to take an 18-3 lead. At 133 lbs.,
Mason Myers built a 3-0 lead after two periods in a 5-3 win over Chase McLaughlin, and
Caleb Morris got a takedown in overtime to defeat Austin Hertzel 5-3, at 141 lbs.
In a battle of two of the top six-ranked wrestlers in the country at 149 lbs., Pitt-Johnstown's sixth-ranked Ealy earned a convincing, 8-2, decision victory over No.2-ranked Means, and 11
th-ranked
Nate Smith climbed out to a 6-3 lead, then held off Nick Young for a 7-6 win at 157 lbs. that extended the lead to 12-3.
The Mountain Cats kept it going. Eighth-ranked
Dillon Keane's 8-6 decision over Evan Fisler at 165 lbs., before fourth-ranked
Brock Biddle (174 lbs.) used a big third period to erase a two-point deficit deal Frank Guzzi a 10-6, loss that made it six straight wins and build the Pitt-Johnstown advantage to 18-3 with just three bouts remaining.
The Golden Knights kept their slim hope alive when No. 10 Joey Petrella got a late takedown and a point for riding time in a 4-1 win over
Alex Weber at 184 lbs.
Gannon needed fall in the last two matches to tie the match. However, the Mountain Cats would not let it happen. The Golden Knights were only able to get a 3-0 decision win at 197 lbs. from No. 3 Joel Leise and a takedown in overtime from No. 12 Freddie Nixon to defeat
Oggie Atwood, 3-1, at 285 lbs.
With the loss, Gannon slipped to 8-3 overall and suffered its first PSAC loss fall to 6-1 in its 2021-22 dual meet finale.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.