Yesterday on Packer and Durham the analyst barely mentioned Pitt. This is the first time I have thought that the network dis Pitt. Is Pitt wrestling that far behind the rest of the ACC?
ACCN Wrestling Analyst
- Thread starter TFBaum
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No, but they lost a lot from last year's team and although they are still good, they likely wont compete for an ACC title this year. NCST, VT, and UNC should be the clear top 3 with Pitt falling in behind them.
Pitt is at least a darkhorse right now. If the young guys step and perform in ACC meets and the tourney, Pitt could make a run. Considering the level the ACC is at right now, it is a long shot though.
I hear you but wrestling is not sport where class matters. Having lost early and often to younger wrestlers.
Class absolutely matters. The only time it doesn't is with elite recruits. Class provides experience and that experience matters to guys like Jake Wentzel, Gregg Harvey, Nino, etc and it will matter to Matthews, McGill, Baggett, etc.
Freshmen like Spencer Lee, Real Woods, Mehki Lewis are the exception and not the rule.
I was responding tongue in cheek based upon my failures. Being a WPa Guy I want Pitt to dominate.
Outside of Meech I don’t think we lost much losing Stout and Talen from last year’s team IMO
I'd call Newell up at 133 a loss. It would have been good to have his experience at 125 for that spot. I think Camacho will be good but he is going to take some lumps. I agree with Ryno that Talib is a big loss too. I like Baggett a lot. He looks like a future hammer on top, but for this season he is a downgrade
I watched the NC State vs UVA match. NC State had three freshmen wrestling and all three of them were really good. They have Mekhi Lewis, who won the NCAAs as a freshman and then took an Olympic redshirt last year. Quite frankly, I don’t see us beating them.
I thought UVA was better than I expected them to be.
When you consider the history of the program and the location of Pitt in probably the best HS wrestling state in the country, it’s crazy that we are behind NCState, UNC and VT. Although NC State has two wrestlers from Georgia, they don’t rely on local talent. They have been a power longer. The job Coleman Scott has done at UNC is extraordinary.
So, the likelihood is that we are going to be ranked behind three other ACC schools.
But, we aren’t alone. Nebraska has been a big time wrestling power also. Their lineup has ten nationally ranked wrestlers and they are #6 in the nation. They wrestled Iowa and got steamrolled. And Michael Kemerer didn’t wrestle for Iowa. So, Nebraska might be #6 in the country but it hardly could compete with #1.
I thought UVA was better than I expected them to be.
When you consider the history of the program and the location of Pitt in probably the best HS wrestling state in the country, it’s crazy that we are behind NCState, UNC and VT. Although NC State has two wrestlers from Georgia, they don’t rely on local talent. They have been a power longer. The job Coleman Scott has done at UNC is extraordinary.
So, the likelihood is that we are going to be ranked behind three other ACC schools.
But, we aren’t alone. Nebraska has been a big time wrestling power also. Their lineup has ten nationally ranked wrestlers and they are #6 in the nation. They wrestled Iowa and got steamrolled. And Michael Kemerer didn’t wrestle for Iowa. So, Nebraska might be #6 in the country but it hardly could compete with #1.
Could we move 133 to 141 and 141 up to 149?
Would that hurt or help the lineup? We have zero wins at 149.
No that would hurt the lineup. Bumping up weights is tougher than it seems.
The other reason not to bump up...dual meets do not matter. Wrestling needs more emphasis on duals. Dual national championship would be awesome. They have to find a way to make duals mean something.
For example, if Pitt goes 0 for in duals but have a few all Americans at ncaa tournament then they are probably a top 15 team or if they go undefeated in duals but lay an egg at NCAA’s then they would be lucky to be in the top 50 as a team. The way the sport is now duals are fun but all that matters is the ncaa tournament.
For example, if Pitt goes 0 for in duals but have a few all Americans at ncaa tournament then they are probably a top 15 team or if they go undefeated in duals but lay an egg at NCAA’s then they would be lucky to be in the top 50 as a team. The way the sport is now duals are fun but all that matters is the ncaa tournament.
I disagree I love how wrestling like track and swimming is a mixture of team and individual goals.
I don’t think Pitt is too far off from the other schools in the ACC outside of NC State. NC State has been on a different level and are in the conversation as a top 3 team. I do think Pitt, VA Tech, and UNC are all about even, maybe VA Tech is slightly ahead, but with 3 wrestlers in the top 10 at their weights, I’m looking forward to a good year this year for Pitt. Gavin has been recruiting extremely well and it’s going to take time to get the right guys in the lineup.
Guys, Pitt was 2nd in the ACC just last year. They lost by a very slim margin to nc state. I’m talking about the acc tournament not duals. So clearly they are not far off. They are currently ranked ahead of UNC. As of today Nc state is ranked 4th, VTech is 8th, Pitt 12 and UNC 14. I think UVA is top 25 too. That’s a heck of a conference
So does every top team. PA wrestling = FL football.
A kid from Punx is a wrestler at Iowa. Pitt needs to own PA wrestling
Iowa has 5 starters from PA. All ranked in top 8. Two ranked #1, one ranked #2.
Okay so what does Pitt need to do to keep those wrestlers at home? The thing I like about wrestling is you can be a great wrestler regardless of conference.
Pitt needs to start consistently producing All Americans. Been a while since we had one (2020 AA not counted bc it wasnt achieved via NCAA tournament)
If you want to keep all the top PA guys home then you need to get out your checkbook. Top guys have Olympic aspirations and they'll pick a school that, among other things, has the best wrestling partners. That includes the coaching staff if they are young enough to get on the mat. But, more importantly, it's about the local non-affiliated wrestling club and their roster of paid volunteers whose primary role is to work with the local school's wrestlers. Their salaries are paid entirely through donations. That's from people like you and me. Check Iowa's roster of club volunteers. Without even looking I'll bet it's a who's who of former champions. We have 3 athletes, all great ones, but only 3 - Nico Megaludis, Luke Pletcher and Meech. We need more to keep the top guys home. Simple as that. Google Pittsburgh Wrestling Club and get involved. H2P!
Agree with Nish. If you want to help Pitt wrestling, donate to the PWC. It certainly helps PSU and Iowa especially when both schools have former NCAA champs staying in town and wrestling in the wrestling club of their school.
Pitt should be better than everyone in the ACC but they will never be Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, or Penn State because the ACC is not as committed as the Big Ten, they lack the history of Ok State, and the money. It took a donor giving Penn State the biggest war chest in wrestling to elevate that program.
Pitt needs to start developing the talent they have into AAs before they get the guys who have the raw talent to win NCs and then those guys need to be developed. Homegrown success in freestyle would also help in recruiting.
Pitt needs to start developing the talent they have into AAs before they get the guys who have the raw talent to win NCs and then those guys need to be developed. Homegrown success in freestyle would also help in recruiting.
PSU owned the EWL. Poke State only got there because of John Smith. Better than Iowa? Why not? If Pitt kept home the PA wrestler on the Iowa roster then yes they can surpass them. Pitt has one of the oldest wrestling programs in the country with one of the greatest backyards
Like someone said PA is the state where the wrestling is the best.Pitt should be able to assemble a really good team just from W pa,but eastern PA has awesome wrestling as well
Pitt and wrestling hierarchy need to be reaching out to former wrestlers in the corporate world. I remember when Rubbermaids CEO promoted the brute line of products and sponsored the event at the fieldhouse. He was a local wrestler that just happened to be CEO and appreciated wrestling. Wrestling is a fraternity and the character it teaches has helped many successful people thru tough times. Easier said than done but for instance. LinkedIn can be drilled down to college, region, job titles and a copy and paste of a message from an official wrestling club can generate interest. I get a weekly email regarding clarion football from a former player that graduated 10 years before me, he raises alot of money that helps with scholarships for student athletes. Just my opinion but wrestling is the program that can translate to being a top 10 school quicker than any other because of the quality of wrestling in Pa.
Pitt was ranked 8th last season going into ncaas. They are currently ranked 12th. So top ten is reasonable right now but beating the top teams is still a ways away.
That Rubbermaid ceo at that time was Joe Galli. He now owns Milwaukee Tools. He wrestled for UNC and so he funds their program (RTC).
Did you watch the PWC event on Tuesday? They mentioned a couple sponsors. They have to be paying guys like pletcher, Demetrius and Nico so I imagine they are doing what you suggested. I think the problem is they are far behind in that regard. A year or two ago flowrestling released and article that had the financial info of all the big RTC’s. Penn states RTC had $5 million dollars. Pitt’s rtc has just started and can’t imagine it’s anywhere close to that number.
Pitt is in a great recruiting area but you’re crazy if you think a kid like Spencer lee, who has Olympic aspirations, would choose to go to Pitt. Pitt just started a RTC when this new staff arrived and the Pitt wrestling program has never had an Olympian in the history of the program. Hell they’ve only had like 10 ncaa champs ever. Look at Nc State with Gwiz, he’s a ncaa champ and world medalist. How was nc state before gwiz? They were awful.
The top high school kids want to be ncaa champs and Olympic champs. Pitt is playing catch up and has a long way to go.
I don't expect they will ever be penn state, Iowa, or any of the bluebloods but they can take some of the top guys from Pa. and be a force. They don't need the state champs to be a force just kids in the hunt for the state championship out of pa. that will develop with great partners and coaching.
well what is considered being a force? They were 2nd in the acc last Season and ranked 8th in the country. They are currently ranked 12th right now. Is that a force?
Beating a top 5 team like NC State will require getting the best guys. And if you are beating a team like NC State who is ranked 4th then you are beating the bluebloods.
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